On yet another weekend, we rented a small Perodua Kancil-lookalike (it's called the Panda, so maybe there *is* some obscure link there) to visit the Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte, in the south of Paris.
We started the drive to Vaux le Vicomte around 6pm. Now I've been criticised for planning too much, but time and again, the worst happens when I don't. This time we arrived at the castle at 7:45pm, only to be confronted by a 10-metre queue outside the only eating place inside the castle. So we waited for an hour for our turn and by the time we started to explore the grounds, it was past 9pm. Oh well, c'est la vie...
What is special about this castle is that they are one of the few (if not the only one) that offers candlelight visits. This means it is open at night for visits, and the interior and grounds are lit only by candles to recreate the atmosphere of the past.
The chateau is also famous for its role in the creation of the mother-of-all French castles, the Versailles. It was built in the 1600's by Nicolas Fouquet, the Financial Secretary, with the collaboration of three famed masters of his time - the architect Le Vau, the painter-decorator Le Brun, and the landscape gardener Le Notre. To cut the long story short, King Louix XIV, who had already planned the arrest of Fouquet as part of some political intrigue, burst with jealousy after seeing the magnificent castle and witnessing the admiration of the people for Fouquet, and was even more determined to get rid of him. Fouquet was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonement, his belongings including the castle seized, and eventually died in prison after 19 long years.
In the meantime, the King engaged the services of the same 3 masters to create another bigger, better castle for himself, and viola, we have the Versailles.
It is impossible to take a good picture of a castle in darkness, lit only by flames from candles. So, trust us when we say this is the Vaux le Vicomte, and not a haunted mansion (hmm... actually it could very well be...)
Waiting for dinner
We queued for 45 minutes to enter the castle. It was almost 10pm. The kids should be in bed, and yet here they are, leaping about with unbridled energy. Predictably though, Ju conked out within 10 minutes of entering the castle.
Chandeliers took on an surreal aura inside the dim rooms.
View of the candle-lit gardens from a window in the castle.
One of the bedrooms.
Sorry I can't get anymore specific than that, coz guess who had the audio guide? Not me.
And there we are!
Fireworks at midnight to cap it all off
This weekend, the weather took a distinctly cold turn, so it's time to dust off the jackets and gloves. YL made a rare request to go shopping, so we headed off to the Opera area, and had lunch in Little Japan.
Heading off to catch the bus
We are, after all, Chinese East Asians. We need our rice & noodles, even in the land of gastronomic paradise. It wasn't fantastic, but certainly served its purpose.
The Opera Garnier in the background
Close up of the Opera Garnier. I must admit, the French have some pretty impressive buildings. But then, this is probably the reason why Gaston Leroux set his novel, The Phantom of the Opera, here. And yes, there really is a man-made lake beneath it. Not sure about phantoms, though.
Wandering in the streets of Paris
We finally staggered home around 7pm, and hid from the drizzle by ducking into the nearest restaurant which turned out to be a creperie.
I had crepes with honey, bananas, sugar and vanilla ice-cream. Yes, it was my dinner. No, I did not feel guilty. It was heaven.
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