Fountainebleau : C'est tres beau!

My parents are here (yay!) and we had an excellent weekend. It was filled with wine, food, and a little adventure. Yesterday, we hopped on a train at Gare De Lyon and went to a beautiful town called Fountainebleau to visit a chateau and Andrew's school (!!). I had never been out there before, so it was an excellent opportunity to site see, with a little business mixed in.

[side note: there are a million train stations in Paris (at least 5 that I can think of) and did you know that by the name of the station you generally know where the trains come from? For at least 3 stations....Gare Du Nord (station from the north), Gare De L'est (station from the east), Gare De Lyon (station from Lyon...or south). You may have already figured this out, but I had never put put two and two together and it blew my mind a little bit.)]

Okay, back to Fountainebleau. (Another thing that blew my mind: I've been spelling it wrong forever. It's fountainEbleau. An extra E is thrown in there...just realizing this post is making me look very unitelligent ha). Anywho, the chateau is gorgeous. It's the summer palace of many kings and queens, as well as Napoleon (I,II, and III). In addition to being awe inspired, Andrew and I walked away feeling a tad bit ignorant on French History. (Who was Francois I again? Why are there multiple napoleons? Why are we so stupid? and/or why is the North American Education system so poor? j/k to all my teacher friends :-)) Anywho, I took lots of fun pictures and have vowed to read a book on the French Revolution (orrrrr at the very least watch Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette again doh).

Let's start with the grounds. Stunning. Can't wait to see it in the spring, but there is something beautiful about an ominous sky and naked trees.

The inside is gorgeous. The french clearly understand opulence and Fountainebleau is no exception. After seeing the 15th gilted ceiling you start to understand why the French revolution happened (and question why it didn't happen sooner).

I also noticed there were a ton of chairs everywhere (many I would love to steal and put in my apartment). A lot of sitting was done back in the day apparently.

Also, the detailing is magnificent. Below are two of my favorite examples from the party room. The salamander is the symbol of Francois I (or 'brand logo' as I like to call it. An old example of marketing at its finest -- a salamander was apparently known for being able to resist fire...take that enemies!). The other are 3 interlacing crescent moons. They are either supposed to be a C for his wife Catherine or could be construed as a D for Diane his favorite. Bit of a stretch, but a fun story none-the-less.

And lastly, here are some pictures of INSEAD yay! The campus is approximately a 10 minute walk away from the Chateau, which is pretty cool if I do say so myself. The town is quite charming, with a mix of an old french feel, with some busier commerce. The juxtaposition is seen quite well actually in the pics below -- on the left is the old chateau in which the strategy department is housed (how cool!?), coupled with a beautiful, modern and angular building on the main campus. I'm looking forward to making this my country home next year. So proud of you Andrew!