It was much better than Versailles ...

Saturday we decided to go to the Chateau Vaux le Vicomte.

We started out kind of late, because the night before, Eric was slipped a Mickey at the Hippopotamus. The Hippo is a chain of restaurants around France that serves mostly beef at a fairly reasonable price. It's right around the corner from us, and Ella gets some chicken nuggets, Orangina and ice cream for less than 7-Euros.

Not our Hippo, but a reasonable representation ...

Friday night we ate a late dinner at the Hippo and decided to split a Ben & Jerry's dessert. The flaky waitress asked if we wanted coffee, and Eric asked if they had decaf. She said yes and naturally brought Eric an espresso (he forgot to order American-style coffee). It wasn't until about 1 a.m. that we both realized that it was not a decaf espresso. Lesson learned: don't order decaf from a flaky server who barely speaks English.

So Saturday at about 11 a.m. we headed out for the Chateau with plans to take the M1 to Gare de Lyon where we'd catch the RER D to Melun. In Melun, we'd hop on the Chateau shuttle bus for the 5 km ride to the estate.

However, the platform for the M1 at Gare de Lyon was closed for renovations. We backtracked into the heart of Paris to catch the RER D at another station. It was a pleasant 45-minute ride, but when we got to Melun there was no signage for a Chateau shuttle bus. We went to the taxi stand (where there were two parked, unoccupied taxis) and waited for an on-duty cab. The ride was quick and cost 16-Euros.

When we got to the Chateau we were delighted ... there was hardly anyone there!! This Chateau was built by Louis XIV's financial secretary Nicolas Fouquet. The story is that Fouquet held a fete and invited the King. The King saw the chateau and was extremely jealous, because it was the finest estate and garden of the time.

Voltaire summed it up best, "On 17 August at 6 in the evening,
Fouquet was King of France; at 2 in the morning, he was nobody."
Some believe Fouquet was the Man in the Iron Mask.

The next day, Fouquet was thrown in to prison for life. He was accused of embezzeling the King's money to pay for the estate (but it was never proven, as far as I can tell). The King seized his property and hired his artists and archetects to make Versailles the amazing palace that it is.

Chateau and gardens - Versailles on a smaller scale

Versaille is a seething mass of sweaty, stinky humanity, but this lovely precursor was nearly empty. Plus it has costumes for the kids. While Eric and I listened to the audio guides, Ella twirled and curtsied around the Chateau in a princess dress with roses.

Oh ... and this place is furnished with some original pieces and period pieces to show what the place REALLY looked like. It's privately owned, and between the furniture, the costumed employees and the multmedia emersion techniques, it seems the owners really know how to create a tourist attraction!

Here's the library

Tapestries hide the masonry walls to make the place more cozy.

Ornate ceilings painted by 17th Century master Charles LeBrun

Ya gotta see Versaille, because, well ... it's Versaille. But if someone was short on time, I'd send them here instead (sorry Chad & Nicole, we didn't know). We enjoyed the entire estate and especially enjoyed being away from the crowds. Along with Chateau Vincennes, this has got to be one of the best kept secrets in Ile-de-France.