Un-fontain-lievable

This weekend Jen and I escaped Paris and headed for the woods....that is, the woods of Fontainebleau. Chateau Fontainebleau was the "hunting lodge" for French royalty. All sorts of royalty (and the Pope for a while) lived in the chateau throughout the years and each must have added a wing to it. By the time the monarchy fell, the chateau had grown in size to nearly rival Versailles. Apparently, they didn't skimp on decorations in the hunting lodge either. The grand appartements are all lavishly decorated and preserve most of the furniture and original artwork.

Fontainebleau is a short 40 minute train ride out of the city. There is a town around the chateau of the same name and one of the biggest forests in Europe around both the town and chateau. One of the most famous business schools in Europe, INSEAD, is also close by to the chateau. We barely found anything on it in our guidebooks, but are convinced that Rick Steves has made a mistake on this one.

It really was an impressive site and I ran the battery on my camera all the way out trying to capture it. There were so many good ones, that we decided to publish them all.

Next weekend we are off to find the royal ski chalet in the Alps!

Fontainebleau