Friday August 4 - Fontain Bleu

Today we had didnt have to meet with the group until noon. So before then Katie and I went and found an H&M only like 2 blocks away from our hotel. We went to the Royal Chateau of Fontainebleau. It is the largest of the French royal chateaux. It was very beautiful. We got to take a tour through the state apartments and then we sketched in the gardens.















I loved the way the glope reflects the shape of
the arched ceilings.




















Katie and I are here enjoying one of the
large gallaries. The scale of each room is
unlike what is typical today. I love the
tall ceilings.




















As if this isn't the most amazing stained
glass ever!! The amount of detail was
crazy. You can just feel the ruffles of that
fabric draped over the edge.














This is The Royal Chateau of Fontainebleau. Isn't it beautiful?

Friday August 4 - Vaux Le Vicomte

Then we went to Vaux Le Vicomte, which is the palace that inspired Versailles, which we will see tomorrow. The king was jealous of Vaux Le Vicomte’s beauty so he threw the builder in jail and built something bigger and better to prove his status. Something that was different about Vaux Le Vicomte is that we could take pictures of the interiors. It was a beautiful palace and the grounds were amazing. We had the wonderful opportunity to take a candle lit tour of the palace and the grounds. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The ambiance with the candles made the experience so magical. It was so romantic with the sun setting, candles burning and pure beauty all around. I missed my fiancé like never before. This evening was simply enchanting.
















This is the backside of Vaux Le Vicomte. I love
all of the stairs leading up to it.




















I thought these hedge designs were way cool.
Some hedges can get out of hand and come off
as tacky but i thought that these were a nice
unique touch to the gardens.















I was so excited that this palace had a mote.
There was even a small drawbridge. It really
added to the magical feeling of the night.




















Here Katie and i are on our way through
the gardens during our candle lit tour. It
was definitely one of the best evenings of my life.















I thought that it was interesting the way they
used bricks as paneling and decoration on the
stables. It was something new that i hadnt seen
before and set it apart from the other palaces
we've visited.