After a lavish and delicious dinner in the restaurant in the former stables, we returned to the chateau for a candlelight stroll.
Monday, July 13, 2009
One large chateau
On Saturday the two classes went to Vaux-le-Vicomte, a Versailles-era chateau in the countryside about an hour from Paris. Though it seems that only the ground floor of the chateau has been restored (along with the cellars) and half of that is an exhibit about the fall from political grace of Vaux-le-Vicomte's builder, the exterior was quite impressive, particularly the huge gardens. They feature sculpted shrubbery, optical illusions, and lots of fountains and other bodies of water. Just when you think you're close to the final fountains and can climb up to view the chateau from the rear, you realize that you actually have to walk all the way around "the skillet" -- a 3/4-mile-long canal. I bet the garden's designer is laughing in his grave thinking about all the people he fools. Because of course when you've walked around and enjoyed the view, the only way back to the chateau is to walk all the way around the water again.
