Although I've let more than a week go by since our last day trip, we actually were quite ambitious last week: we visited Chantilly AND Senlis on Wednesday. Aren't you impressed?!? No really, the countdown to Baby Day has really begun, and we are desperate to see as much as we can before he arrives... So there we were.
Chantilly is a quick train ride from Paris and famous as not only the home of a beautiful Renaissance chateau but also the heart of horse racing in France and the source of Chantilly cream (fabulous, rich, heavy cream, often whipped). Needless to say, there was plenty to please. We began by walking past the 18th century stables that border the race track; can you imagine being a horse and having that kind of accomodations?!?! Reporter Keeley (as she becomes with her spring jacket and trusty camera) was happy to pose for a pic:
The visit to the chateau is rather unique, as the final owner of the chateau, who left the estate to the state about 100 years ago, required an odd condition. Nothing in the chateau was to be moved; it is all to be displayed and shown just as it was left. So far, the state has kept that promise, so his massive art collection and furniture and such is all where he left it. The castle itself was magical; I just wish the weather had been prettier!
Inside, my favorite place by far was the library. How can you not become intoxicated by the smell of old leather-bound books and the coziness of the dark wooden bookcases? I was in heaven!
We also toured the older part of the chateau which included one very interesting room: La Grande Singerie (the big monkey room). All over the walls were intricate French-Asian paintings of men and monkeys. Each picture represented one of the four major continents at the time: the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia (see below) or one of the 5 senses.
Outside, this adorable statue reminded us of the nature of this place as a hunting lodge originally:
We then caught a bus to Senlis, where we toured the cute, little, mostly medieval town. Our visit began with the rather colorful train station which faced a park housing a WWII memorial.
We quickly found the lovely Eglise St. Pierre, a church built in the 12th century which has (as so many churches do) added parts from the 15th and 16th centuries. Despite its size, it rose rather quaintly above the cobblestone streets and buildings surrounding it.
As with many medieval towns, Senlis is home to more than one old church. From 1151 (12 years before Notre Dame Paris was begun) to 1191, Senlis built its own Notre Dame, a smaller but still impressive cathedral:
This town was originally a Roman stronghold, and then a medieval stopping point for kings, and then a well-preserved and quiet provincial town for centuries. The really cool thing to see as you wander the town is the integration of those three stages. Here, you see parts of the old Roman city walls with medieval homes built directly into them:
And here a beautiful park which again blends Roman walls with, this time, parts of a medieval palace built for the French kings as they made their processions from Reims (where they were crowned and anointed) to Paris (where they reigned):
In that same beautiful park (which happened to hold a bunch of truant-looking junior-high boys on the other side - strange contrast to the beauty it displayed) was a breathtaking view of the cathedral's bell tower.
The quaint cobblestone streets were a joy to wander:
And we ultimately were NOT disappointed in the least with our day of exploration, especially when we managed to finish it off with a humongous brownie for Keeley and a decadent chocolate muffin for me from the boulangerie by the train station... Perfect end to an excellent day!
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