We woke up Saturday morning to a wonderful French breakfast of hot chocolate, croissants, pains au chocolat and toasted baguettes with jam. Yummy! Then we set out with Dominique and Marie-Jo for the Chateau de Pierrefonds near Compiègne. Once again I have relied on many great photos from Dominique for this post.
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| Kate, Marie-Jo, Kelly and Jeanene at Chateau de Pierrefonds |
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| Approaching Chateau de Pierrefonds |
This chateau was built in the 14th century for Louis of Orleans, the son of King Charles V, to keep an eye on trade between Flanders and Burgundy, which were fiefdoms of the Dukes of Burgundy. The Dukes of Burgundy were the rivals of the Dukes of Orleans. In 1616, Louis XIII laid siege to the castle, dismantled it, and left it a pile of ruins. It was forgotten until it was bought by Napoleon in 1810. The rise of romanticism in the 19th century rekindled people's interest in the ruins. In 1857 Napoleon III entrusted the famous architect, Viollet-le-Duc, to restore Pierrefonds. The exterior was faithfully reconstructed but due to lack of funds, the interiors were never completed.
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| Kate at Chateau de Pierrefonds |
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| Family in front of chateau |
As we walked towards the entrance to the Chateau, there were reconstructed houses and stables where the peasants and their animals would have lived.
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| Peasant Home |
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| Kelly and Dominique Inspect a Salamander Spout |
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| Courtyard of the Chateau |
Inside the Chateau it was very cold. In the chapel was a statue of Michael, the Archangel. Outside of the chapel was a statue of Viollet-le-Duc in pilgrimage clothing.
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| Statue of Michael, the Archangel |
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| Contemplative Kate |
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| Viollet-le Duc |
Dominique was great at snapping photos of Kate. She has been a bit testy when it comes to photography lately but she happily posed for Dominique.
We also found a large statue of a winged lion. We tried to explain to Dominique and Marie-Jo that the Winged Lion was the mascot for Kate's school. We were lacking a bit in the vocabulary but we think they understood!
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| Winged Lion |
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| View of Courtyard through Leaded Glass |
Kate took this photo of the courtyard through the leaded glass.
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| Kelly at the Drawbridge |
After Pierrefonds, we drove to the clearing where the Armistice was signed in 1918 at the end of WW I. Unfortunately, we could not go inside the museum to see the train car where it was signed because of the museum's annual three-week vacation.
We headed to Compiègne to find a cafe for lunch. We saw many mansions on the way and the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall). I snapped the photo out the car window. I thought Dominique would keep driving but he kindly stopped in the middle of traffic while I took the photo. Kate of course was very embarrassed as cars behind us started honking!
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| Hotel de Ville de Compiègne |
We found a busy cafe and enjoyed a great lunch and great conversation. Dominique then drove us the last 40 kilometers to Paris. Marie-Jo even survived the Place de l'Etoile around the Arc de Triomphe. She claims whenever they drive in the round-about, she has to get out of the car and walk while Dominique drives because it is so scary. There are 12 avenues shooting off of the circle with no clearly defined lanes around the center! Dominique navigated it like a pro.
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| Cafe de Paris in Compiègne |
It was such a treat to enjoy this beautiful part of France with our dear friends the Forgons. We look forward to their visit to Paris in a couple of months for the Paris Marathon.
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