Another Sunday at the Chateau 5-31-15

Today being Sunday we decided to head out to Fontainebleau for a picnic, a carriage ride, and a visit to the chateau.  What we didn't count on was the fact that it's Mother's day in France and that there is a large fair at Fontainebleau therefore entry is free.

We got out by about 10:00 and made our way down to Gare de Lyon but of course due to it being Sunday the ticket office for the train was closed.  So we had to make our way down two levels to a ticket office for the RER which is the regional commuter train network, where we were able to get tickets.   Our train turned out to be a local, very local, train which made stops at practically every available train platform between Paris and Avon.  So the trip took a bit over twice as long as our previous rides, but it did make it.   Once we got there we caught the bus to the chateau, and even it was very different than the previous rides, this is when we found out that there was a large fair going on in Avon, the town just outside the chateau of Fontainebleau.   We ended up taking a route that completely circumnavigated the chateau grounds, an area that we would never have gotten to see had there not been a fair going on.   So once we arrived we headed into the Queens garden and had our bit of picnic lunch.  Chicken sandwiches, olives, tomatoes, rose wine, and little French cookies provided a perfect little lunch.  


After that we headed over to gardens to see if the carriage rides were being conducted, since it was raining slightly.   They were and we were able to join 8 other people in a large covered carriage for a nice trek out into the forest, our driver was the same young woman who had taken us out on the trip we took with our niece Elizabeth last week, and again it was an enjoyable jaunt.  Then we went into the chateau at which point we found out that the chateau was having a free entry day.   It ended up being the busiest day we've had anywhere by a big margin, half of Paris was out seeing the chateau with us.

Still in all it was a great visit and they had an additional painting gallery open this time that has not been previously open so we were able to see a number of beautiful paintings.  We hoped that Terry and Gina were as knocked out with it as we have been.   After the trip we stopped for a little boisson at a brasserie before taking the trip back to Paris.   Deb cooked up some delicious little fillet steaks for dinner which we paired with a nice little Bordeaux as a fitting end to a fun day.