This is the entrance to the Château de Vincennes,
where I went with my art history class last Friday.Yes, this class is legit. The
castle was constructed in the 14th century by Charles the V, and
currently houses art exhibitions and tours, as well as part of the French
Department of Defense. Yes, their Department of Defense is literally in a
castle. That has a moat. And a drawbridge. I think that’s how you’re supposed
to do it, Pentagon
A view of the backside of the entrance, while standing in the inner courtyard of the castle. Unfortunately, this isn't original to the castle, as a lot was demolished throughout the years, especially under Louis XIV, who wanted to renovate the site in his own style.
A view of the exterior wall surrounding the castle site. There used to be a manor here constructed by Philippe-Auguste to watch over the forest help and help with the hunt, but it has since been destroyed. Apparently the castle used to be very popular with the women of the court, and as a family vacation destination for the nobility.
A view of the castle chapel from the inner courtyard. More on that later.
The tower on the right is the original keep, dating back to the 14th century. On the left, you can see the buildings erected under Louis XIV.
While we were there someone was filming a movie. Apparently it was set in the 1940s, which makes sense because during World War II the castle was used by the Nazis for "administrative purposes".
Another view of the keep. Weapons and stores of food were kept here in case of an attack, as well as the stores of gold, to which only the king had a key.
The moats (now dry, as you can see) surrounding the keep. They're a lot deeper than they look in the picture, and apparently they worked, as the tower is still standing.
A view of the inner courtyard from the roof of the keep.
The chapel to the left, and the part to the right that is separated is the work of Louis XIV.
Another view of Louis XIV's section. The Arc du Triomphe-looking structure in the middle of the exterior wall used to be one of the original towers, but he cut it down to fit the style of his time period.
Part of the exterior wall. The covered part is called a "chemin de ronde" use to survey, and for the king's daily walks.
More of the keep. There's also a bedroom for the king there, in case he should have to take refuge there, though that was only as a last resort. He had to be careful, though, because the doorways were really low, and apparently one king died by hitting his head too hard on the door jam. Ouch.
Drawings made by former prisoners of the castle. They're all over the walls in there. They could have been done by the Marquis de Sade or Diderot, two famous prisoners of the castle.
Inside the chapel on the castle site.
Gorgeous stained glass windows, actually completed during the Renaissance, not the Middle Ages, so they are a lot different from the ones in the Sainte Chapelle.
The rosette in the chapel. Apparently it is supposed to look like flames.
More chapel.
Now, here we are at the Fête des
Vendanges which was last weekend, an annual festival at the feet of Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, where they harvest the grapes from the local vineyard, and vendors from all over France (and Belgium) come to sell their cheese, chocolate, sausages, and wine. There's music, free samples, art exhibits, and people in really excellent traditional regional dress.
Some of the vendors with their wares on display.
Some huge loaves of bread in front and sausages in the background. It was so hard to choose what to get!
This gives you some idea of how many people were out and about that night.
A stuffed boar's head presiding over the meats and cheeses.
Some old apparatus used to ferment the grapes, I think. This is near the stand where I bought some hot chocolate "made in the ancient style". I'm pretty sure it was just a chunk of dark chocolate in a cup with hot water poured over it. But I'm good with that.
A kind of blurry view of what I think were professional wine judges, though I'm not sure. Either that or they are professors at Hogwarts. But apparently professional wine judges do exist, and they carry around their own wine tasting cup on a string around their neck.
A view of some artisan nougat on display. Didn't get to try it, but the variety was amazing.
This gives you an idea of the atmosphere of the festival, and of the regional clothing. You can also see in this photo the professional wine tasting cups around their necks.
This was my dinner. It's called tartiflette, and comes from the eastern part of France (near Talloires and Annecy), by the border with Switzerland. It is chopped boiled potatoes, a lot of Reblochon cheese, and little bits of bacon. Highly recommended.
Me keeping warm with a bunch of piping hot churros. Not sure why they were served here, but hey, I'll take churros anywhere I can get 'em.
We also stayed for the fireworks that night. They were set to classical music, which was very neat, and though this picture doesn't do it justice, seeing them in front of Sacre Coeur was absolutely beautiful. And while waiting, I met a French woman who was an au pair in Minnetonka, Minnesota when she was young! Go figure.
Well, hope you enjoyed these little snippets. I'll write more next week, after I get back from my visit to Normandy/Bretagne this weekend!
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