***Got out at the crack of 10 and headed down to Fountainebleau, the chateau I have a crush on. Took a couple of hours from our apartment to reach the chateau using Metro and RER trains. We bought sandwiches, drinks and macaroons at a patisserie for a picnic on the grounds of the chateau. The macaroons were the first I've had on this trip and the first of Elizabeth and I think we were all surprised by how good they were. I'd had them before but found them too sweet, so I enjoyed a different experience this time around.
*** We wandered out to enjoy the view of the water features of the chateau grounds and to see if we could find our carriage guys. On the way, enjoyed watching the gardeners laying out the new bedding plants. So cool to see them using essentially the same types of tools the monks are shown using in various Books of Days from the medieval period. They were pleasant and patient and let me ask some dumb questions. They raise the bedding plants in the chateau's greenhouses and were training some young apprentices in the gardening arts.
***Spotted our carriage guy coming along one of the allee's. This was the gentleman we met at the Foire de Chantou and had met up with again on our last visit to Fontainebleau. His glossy matched bays put on an impressive, booming trot as they started up the cobblestone incline to the chateau, much to the delight (and trepidation) of some visiting middle-schoolers, obviously big-city kids.The horses loftily ignored the squealing and scuttling students and wheeled clattering around to stand placidly to be included in dozens of selfies. Later, a group of Chinese tourists was equally impressed and just as nervous around the big, unfamiliar animals. And took even more selfies.
*** We decided to take a carriage ride around the grounds while the sky looked semi-clear. A blond-braided young woman was driving the horses, getting ready to share some of the busy season duties. "Our guy" commented that she needed to get used to the team and I commented that they needed to get used to her, as well. He laughed and said in an aside that they were being "naughty" and were trying to take advantage of her. He would speak reprovingly to one or the other of them and they would flick their ears in irritation and get back to what they were supposed to be doing. As Elizabeth commented it was similar to the stories small kids tell babysitters all over the world ("But Mom always lets me stay up until midnight and eat all the cake I want...")***The grounds, forest and fountains were green and lovely. Lots of wildflowers, and the clear spring water that feeds all the fountains and ponds for which the chateau is named and famed. Hundreds of acres of grounds and I can't remember how many tens of thousands of bedding plants I was told they put out each year.
*** As we chatted with the horse gentleman (he makes me speak French and him English so that we both practice) we mentioned Elizabeth's upcoming Munich trip. He quietly phoned an old Munich friend to ask if he would show her around, then wrote down the guy's name and number for her to call if she wishes. Turns out our horse guy was a head waiter in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Munich (the first in Germany) in a past life, before he retired to play with horses at Fontainebleau.
***We've already blogged about the rooms in the chateau. It knocks me out every time I see it, and I keep seeing new things each time. Elizabeth commented that it's just totally overdone - way too much bling - and I can't agree more. Warren says it makes him understand the French Revolution. I agree with both but still love the place!
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