Fête de la Saint-Patrick

No one seems to be celebrating around here (at least not in Belleville, which seems to have welcomed every ethnic and religious group but Irish Catholics), but that needn't stop us from paying hommage to St. Patrick, aka Sanctus Patricius, aka Naomh Padraig, on his feast day. So here's some green from our photo archive.

Barbie, Rue Dénoyez, all made-up for the St. Paddy's Day Parade

Park behind the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris, 4e arr.

Lockers, Archives Nationales

Chinese New Year's Day Parade

Lobby, Hôtel Georges V

Completely unintelligible pedestrian sign, Lyon

Napoleon's "Camp" Bed, Fontainebleau

Wall tiles, Le Bon Marché

Design-y Lamps, 5e arr.

Happy St. Patrick's day!

Paris Day Trips: Fontainebleau

Just 35 minutes by train from Paris, the Château de Fontainebleau rivals the Château de Versailles in size and splendor. On a snowy Friday in early January, my mom, Cathy, Maggie and I went to check it out.

Thanks in part to the snow, we basically had the place to ourselves. Where the audio guide politely asked us to move quickly through a room, we dawdled. We took pictures of empty rooms, appreciating how they must have looked during the significant part of the year that the French court was not in residence.

We appreciated the many layers of French history represented by different styles of architecture and interior decoration. François I established the chateau in full Italian Renaissance style in the 16th century, building on top of a Romanesque abbey constructed by Saint Louis in the 12th century. In addition to the above picture, the chateau's chapel pretty well sums up what "Italian Renaissance" means:

Each French king in turn managed to decorate a room or tack on a wing. But it took French emperors (Napoleon and Louis-Napoleon) to leave the longest-lasting impressions on the place. Napoleon actually abdicated (for the first time) at Fontainebleau, and his throne remains at the scene of the crime.

Looks kind of short, if you ask me . . . then again, I'm not one to talk. Anyway, in addition to the Château itself we would have loved to explore the grounds, which include the largest parterre (planned garden) in Europe and a humongous forest that itself welcomes millions of visitors each year. But it was almost impossible to see what with all the snow, and we were cold, and we have to leave something for next time, right?

We also failed to find the location of the American summer music school that supposedly takes place within the Château, and that holds a decently important role in music history. We did succeed in finding a solid Belgian-themed brasserie to have lunch in, and my mom and Cathy got to share waffles. Success!

If you get the chance, visit the Château de Fontainebleau. Not on a Tuesday. It's closed Tuesdays, as my mom, dad and I discovered all too late, one fateful day 10 years ago. And if you do get there, don't get too distracted by the magnificent vistas and sumptuously decorated rooms. There are plenty of small-scale details to appreciate, too.