May 24: a bit of a relaxed day today. We left Camping de Paris mid morning and drove about 90 minutes on a maze of smaller motorways southward. We decided to make Melun our 2 night stopover while we see Fontainebleau, which we’ll do tomorrow.
This afternoon we settled into a quiet and grassy campground on the left bank of the Seine, then biked a couple of kms back into Melun to tour sround. Melun was a headquarters for the Capetian kings around 1000AD, and served as a royal administrative centre for centuries following. Those French kings seemed to live everywhere! Unfortunately not too much remains of any of the castle, the walls nor any of the ancient bridges. There is a church with much of its medieval structure, and an excellent walking tour showing where things used to be. Pat did find a 1200 year old kiln to play with!
Tomorrow we plan an adventure: a 25km bike trip up the Seine to Fontainebleau, with a train ride back to Melun
May 25: Phew! Almost 40 km ride today from Melun to the Chateau Fontainebleau, another one of those ubiquitous homes of French kings and emperors this one had many features from the 16th C but was mostly furnished by Napoleon
The ride was a beautiful ride in its own right, mostly easy and flat along the banks of the Seine much of it was through decently surfaced woodland trails, but also a few kilometres of amazing manor houses, some quite modern but many appearing to be renaissance era in reality they were apparently built for Belle Époque party retreats for the rich and famous
We stopped for picnic lunch in Samois sur Seine where me met Django Reinhardt in a riverside park he grew up in a nearby gypsy encampment (still there, we rode by it) and then he spent his last few years in the town.
The last 3 or 4 kms were a bit more challenging with hills and traffic, and then we found ourselves in the Chateau park with a 2 km approach road through the Royal woods.
Fontainebleau rivals Versaille history and opulence, if not the sheer size. Some of the halls and ballroom are as they were in 1600s, but the most breathtaking were the personal effects of Napoleon and Josephine, including clothing, beds, bathrooms, and the desk upon which Napoleon signed his abdication papers. It’s amazing to think that man, who came from humble Corsican beginnings, became such a popular leader, and then a self declared Emperor appointing his siblings to rule most of Europe. Despite his ultimate humiliating exile, he is still revered in French history.
The original plan was to catch a train back to Melun, but the ride out had been such a delight that we decided to ride back. Turned out to be more of a slog with clouds and some wind, but still glad we did it. Will see if we can walk tomorrow!
May26: Chartres and Mozart
Dove a couple of hours to Chartres. Been here before on a cold wintry night in 2011 on our great year long adventure, so it was great to see it again in a warmer daytime.
What a delightful town! Of course there is the cathedral itself, one of the largest and most original cathedrals in existence, it’s present form mostly dating from 1300s.
Breathtaking enough, but a serendipity was lurking. As we walked around inside we noticed an audience gathering, and then some chairs gathered orchestra style. We checked Google and found there was to be a performance of Mozart’s Requiem in just 30 minutes. This is truly one of my favourite classical pieces, with Pat and I having sung it with Lyn Vernon’s choir about 15 years ago so of course we stayed to hear it performed in a thousand year old cathedral. The orchestra and choir appeared to be semi professional and competent, and the soloists were up to the task of filling the space with strong and pure voice.
Of course we had to celebrate the delight with bière and pâté de canard afterwards, and a stroll through the medieval streets. We always justify such cost when we are in one of the free “aires de camping” spots for the night.
I tried getting into this shop this afternoon, but it was closed due to the Ascension Day holiday I’m still waiting…
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