Chez Napoleon

We left Lincoln with Brigitte one day so that we could go to the chateau Fontainbleau, just outside of Paris. As Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte lived primarily at Fontainbleau, so this was on Jonathan’s “must do” list.

The first thing we visited was the Napoleon museum inside the chateau. They had many of his personal belongings, which was interesting. We saw such captivating items as his bathroom/hygiene travel case (impressively big), silverware (golden), chess table, and shoes (small).

                          

Jonathan needed his picture taken with both busts. He’s a huge fan of Monsieur N.

                                           

Francois I also lived here at some point. We learned a lot about him from our audio guide. For instance, he was a big fan of his first initial, so it is all over the place, and his symbol was a salamander because he thought they could resist fire. We don’t really know much about salamanders, so we can neither confirm, nor deny.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamander

                          

Jonathan in the throne room.

Napoleon often slept in a camp bed. He had this green one was set up in his office because that’s where he spent most of his time. We saw his actual bedroom, but apparently he rarely slept there. The chapel in the chateau was, also, lovely.

                                                    

The gardens of Fontainbleau were beautiful. Unfortunately, it started to rain towards the end of our garden exploration, so we didn’t get to see quite as much as we would have liked. Nevertheless, we were most pleased.

 

                                                       

Finally as we were leaving we climbed up the large horseshoe staircase at the chateau’s entrance.