This past Sunday, Shelley, Emma and I took an afternoon trip outside of Paris to Château Vaux le Vicomte, located just outside of Melun, France. Nicolas Fouquet, the head financier of King Louis XIV, bought the small castle in 1641. Within 20 years he had bought the two small adjacent villages and transformed the small castle and its surrounding land into a beautiful château and garden. Fouquet enlisted the help of the architect Louis Le Vau, the painter Charles Le Brun and the landscape gardener André Le Nôtre to create a comprehensive plan that encompassed their three expertise. This was the first time that three different crafts were employed together to create one collaborative design. Louis XIV was so taken by the design and aesthetics he hired the three men to design a much larger and more elaborate château: Versailles. The style of both Châteaus is known today as the "Louis XIV style" and you can see that the similarities between the two are vastly apparent, especially in the gardens.
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Château Vaux le Vicomte
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| Shelley, Emma and Me |
For the month of December the Château is completely decorated for Christmas inside and out! Christmas music plays in the foyer and the smell and feel of a warm fire softly burning in the fireplaces envelopes you as you enter the rooms. Each room was decorated according to a theme, one room prettier than the next. The whole place felt like Christmas and it was so nice to leave Paris for a little and enjoy the fresh air and scenery. The photos don't do the Christmas trees any justice, but hopefully you'll get a little idea of how beautiful it really was!
Merry Christmas!
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