Sunday, September 5th, we took the RER out to Fountainebleau, a quick 35 miles or so, passing through Melun, which we got to know in 2019. We had visited the chateau at Fountainebleau in 1979, we think, and have skipped it in all our subsequent Paris visits. But we thought we'd take another look, a more mature look, this time around. There is a great deal there, the Napoleon Museum and the chateau itself, and the grounds, so I'll do two posts. Lest anyone be mislead, it's still a distant second to Versailles, as French royal palaces go. But it's much older and more historic. And much more complicated.
 |
| Fountainebleau and grounds; before we could get nearly this far in the grounds, a huge thunderstorm came up: end of our tour; thanks for the picture, Wikipedia |
 |
Main entrance, under construction wraps; but the wraps were interesting |
 |
| Usually the wraps just picture the building being renovated; this one show members of France's assorted royal dynasties, on the left; every French king and queen, from the 12th century through the Bourbons, made Fountainbleau a home; some were born or died there; on the right, of course, is the new guy, a commoner, tearing his way in...Napoleon didn't spend a lot of time at Fountainbleau--he was more often away on campaigns--although he favored it over Versailles |
 |
| Our first tourist train in two years! You don't see them in the city; but every little town or chateau has one |
 |
| Another World Heritage Site; we must have seen a couple hundred over the past 13 years |
 |
| Anyhow, we are off now into the Napoleon Museum, which constitutes a floor of one of the chateau's many wings |
 |
| Gerard's Coronation portrait |
 |
| One of David's portraits of the emperor |
 |
| There were a couple rooms of commemorative dishes and plates and serving pieces and such from state dinners...after so many visits to the British Museum and the V&A we are sort of over serving pieces for now |
 |
I'm still into urns, however, especially of General Bonaparte meeting folks from the Near East |
 |
| Some of N's campaign kit |
 |
| Re-creation of N's campaign tent, cot, table and chairs, etc. |
 |
| Stuff actually worn by him |
 |
| The first empress, Josephine, gets scant mention and coverage; Marie Louise of Austria, the second empress, succeeded where Josephine had not, that is, in bearing Napoleon an heir; it's complicated |
 |
| Cradle of Napoleon II |
 |
| Toys for the heir, who was emperor for two weeks in 1814; was given a title; died of TB when he was 21; very complicated |
 |
| So after Russia and Elba and Waterloo, Napoleon was off to St. Helens, courtesy of the British, to write his memoirs; what a book deal it might have been, had they such things back then |
 |
| Family tree...very complicated...especially as it gets into some of today's royal houses |
 |
| View of some of the chateau as we left the museum wing |
