Paris: Fontainebleau

After a nice long night catching up on sleep, Andrew and I awoke in downtown Paris, threw our unpacked bags onto our backs once again, and ducked into a cafe for a Croque Monsieur just moments before the heavens opened up and it started pouring down rain. We had planned to walk around a bit more before heading off to our next destination, but the rain didn’t let up for a long time and we decided that rather than walk around and get completely soaked, we would spend the morning on the train and bus, and hope that by the time we arrived in Fontainebleau, the weather would improve.

Thankfully, it did! Fontainebleau, about 35 miles from the center of Paris, is home to Fontainebleau Forest, a huge French national park, as well as the Royal Chateau de Fontainebleau- a castle that has housed Louis XIII among many others. But the real reason we visited was that this was the town in which Andrew’s conference was being held. 

The first afternoon we spent perusing the shops and having crepes and coffee. We ate a really delicious dinner, practiced our French, and ordered way too much wine with dinner. The second day was conference day for Andrew, so I was on my own. I really enjoyed the alone time, though! I spent the morning at the Chateau, roaming around the enormous, seemingly endless grounds, where I passed a family of swans, many fountains and gardens, breathing fresh air, and was yelled at for placing one foot onto the grass (oops!). 

I also had plenty of time to sit and read… I finished two books on this trip, which is just unheard of lately! I felt like I was on borrowed time, though… no kids to get back to anytime soon and Andrew away until the early evening, I found myself forgetting how to just be by myself. Amazingly, after 5 hours I was starting to feel a little down-in-the-dumps. But I consider myself an extrovert: I tend to gain energy from being around people, and feel tired and sad when alone for too long…

But a real treat was awaiting me when Andrew returned. He invited me to his conference dinner, which was at a chateau just a short bus ride away. I jumped at the chance, got all dressed up, and felt absolutely giddy with excitement as we arrived at the castle. We were treated to champagne tasting in an ancient looking wine cellar before dinner- the sun was setting over the castle (which had a moat. A MOAT!) and the evening was beautiful. We ate the most delicious 4-course meal in the company of some hilarious, intelligent, and fun-loving international professors and again had waaaaaay too much wine. Afterwards, we all decided to continue the fun when we returned to town. There just so happened to be a street festival going on when we arrived, full of music and dancing and laughter. We stayed up very late and had just the best time with this group. And once again, my feelings about Belgian, German, and Dutch people were confirmed. They are simply awesome and fun-loving people. You know, the whole 10 or so I know! 

It was really nice to break up our trip with this mini-trip smack in the middle. I doubt we would have ever explored this region of Paris otherwise, but it was just perfect.