Paris - Day 8

Today we ventured a little further out of the city to a little town known as Melun. It was a fun 40 minute train ride outside the city. It was fun to see the city slowly change from industrial, to rural, to country side.

From there we waited about an hour for the bus to show up to take us to the Chateau Vaux le Vicomte. This was the place that Louis XIV wanted to out do, and he did with Varsaille. This was a little of a disappointment having seen Varsaille first, but still a spectacular building and grounds. They were even getting ready for an Opera production on the grounds with the Chateau as the back drop. Ahhh the French! Alas this did not really allow me to take pictures of the front of the Chateau.

The highlight was definitely being able to walk up to the dome of the Chateau and an amazing view of the grounds. The gardens were spectacular and we were treated this time to the fountain show (every second Saturday they have the fountains on for 3 hours). These fountains are gravity controlled by the resevoir that is on the grounds. Truely amazing.

We of course had to walk the grounds and I was taken back by all the sites. I pictured how it must have felt back then. This was their entertainment, walking the grounds each day and stopping every so often to admire the sounds of the water, the beauty of the fountains themselves and the gardens.

After 3 hours of walking the grounds it was time to get the last bus back to the train station and work our way back to our temporary home.

This has definitely been 2 full days of walking and walking and more walking. My feet are aching and I need a break tomorrow!