Yesterday Bob and I had a lazy day around the resort and Susan and John ventured forth to Crecy-La-Chapelle, a very pretty village about 15 minutes from here. We’ve been there quite a few times and it is straight out of a painting with lots of little waterways, lilies and other lovely flowers. A Visit to Crecy La Chapelle will give you a good idea of what it’s like. We are going to dinner there on Thursday night.

So today we were up with the lark to drive about an hour south to the great chateau/palace of Fontainebleau, originally a keep, a hunting lodge but developed over the centuries by the kings and emperors of France to become a stunning palace showcasing the incredible skills of French artists and artisans. Again, Bob and I had been before but it was a pleasure to revisit it. It really is magnificent. Here is a report from our previous visit in 2020 https://travelswithallie.blog/2020/08/28/a-visit-to-fontainebleau-palace/

We parked in the official carpark across the road from the palace. The town itself is very charming and quite bustling. Looked a lovely place to live. We got our tickets – full price . The French don’t seem to do discounts for seniors! And we took the audio/video guides which were very useful and good. Well, there are so many rooms to visit…. room after room of incredible splendour, so many works of art, Gobelins tapestries, amazing carpets and rugs, exquisite Sevres porcelain in all forms. It’s just a feast for the eyes, if a little overwhelming by the end. I think there were well over 40 rooms to see.

It is very much associated with Napoleon 1 (Bonaparte) as he favoured it above all other palaces and indeed it was here that he was forced to abdicate. I describe in the previous trip report how he made his address to his massed troops from the stairway in the great courtyard, now called the Court of Adieu. He was obsessed with ancient Rome and he modelled many of his political ideas on that. You get the idea; a republic lead by an emperor….. shouldn’t have worked but there was precedent…. He wanted to be judged as good a general as Caesar, but also as good a politician as Augustus.

Anyway, we spent about 2.5 hours exploring the house, then had a sandwich lunch in the Oval Courtyard and a quick walk around some of the gardens. It was a really good visit. The sun came out at the end (it had at least been warm and dry till then) and we came back and enjoyed sitting in the garden. John toyed with a swim but the pool was 22C and that seemed a bit bracing…..