Vaux-le-Vicomte
An announcement: no, still not dead, but I've changed jobs since last time I posted, and life was a tad hectic. Plus, my daily life as it is isn't the stuff novels are made of (thank God!): get up, take métro, work, take métro, home. Gah.
I'm seriously sorry I have been absent so much, but I guess I was a bit burried under RL drama. So I post a bit on GAFF - though the place is slightly going to Hell in a handbasket. I had the stupid idea of taking a look into Gabbery the other day and was impressed... not. Actually, I think GAFF and 75% of GAFFers now make me wanky. I better stop going there soon, it has a really bad influence on me.
And that's about it. I haven't even really read any new crunchy fanfiction, by Jove!
But let's forget the boring stuff, I bring you pretty pictures of fairy castles with a dramatic past: evil kings, ambitious ministers, a Musketeer and the Man in the Iron Mask. ;)
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Last Sunday, my significant other and I decided to get out of Paris for the day, and we chose to drive to Vaux-le-Vicomte.
Now, in my not so humble opinion, Vaux is one of the most magnificent castles in France. It’s 1 hour drive from Paris, so if you ever visit here, make sure you go to Vaux. Personally, I prefer it to Versailles - it’s graceful and airy, while Versailles has a cold magnificence probably more suited to royalty.
It has an interesting history. Vaux was constructed by Nicolas Fouquet. Fouquet was the Superintendant of Finances of the then young king Louis the Fourteenth’s. He was also a patron of the arts, and protected Molière in the theater, the poet La Fontaine and the tragedian Corneille. In his kitchen presided the famous cook Vatel.
Fouquet was extremely ambitious - as his personal motto indicated: Quo non ascendam? To which heights will I not ascend?
You know you're just asking for trouble with such a motto!
Btw, France - not Ikea - invented the cool hip baby chair.
Ze proof:
When Fouquet built Vaux-le-Vicomte (probably using a lot of money stolen right out of the King’s coffers), he constructed what was then the finest castle and gardens in France.
Then, he organised a magnificent celebration and invited the King and his Court: a Molière play was given in the beautiful gardens drawn by Le Nôtre, a dinner was organized by Vatel, and then an astounding firework showed off the castle and its grounds.
Louis XIV spent the night at the castle in this bedchamber:
It was the party of the decade - overshadowing Louis XIV’s own court. Well, the king didn’t like it. AT ALL.
The king was furious.He had already decided he didn’t want Fouquet anymore as his minister because of his power and corruption, but that party had really humiliated him, and it sealed Fouquet's fate. Also, his most trusted advisor, Colbert, hated Fouquet with the heat of a thousand suns, and was ready to do anything to get rid of him.
A few weeks after the party, Fouquet was arrested by d’Artagnan (yes, the d’Artagnan of the Three Musketeers - he really existed). He was put to trial and sentenced to banishment. Louis XIV, who couldn’t be accused of overindulgence, commuted the sentence to imprisonment for life. He was sent at the beginning of 1665 to the fortress of Pignerol, where, according to official records, he died in 1680, 15 years later.
Interesting tidbit: while he was a prisonner, Fouquet's fellow companion in infortune was the mysterious Man in the Iron Mask - whose identity is still a mystery today. Was he Louis the XIV’s twin brother? His illegitimate half-brother? A rebellious nobleman?
Anyway, today Vaux is a beautiful example of 17th century French architecture and gardens.
Plus, you can always spot a newly wed couple taking ridiculous poses for their wedding photographies!
I'm seriously sorry I have been absent so much, but I guess I was a bit burried under RL drama. So I post a bit on GAFF - though the place is slightly going to Hell in a handbasket. I had the stupid idea of taking a look into Gabbery the other day and was impressed... not. Actually, I think GAFF and 75% of GAFFers now make me wanky. I better stop going there soon, it has a really bad influence on me.
And that's about it. I haven't even really read any new crunchy fanfiction, by Jove!
But let's forget the boring stuff, I bring you pretty pictures of fairy castles with a dramatic past: evil kings, ambitious ministers, a Musketeer and the Man in the Iron Mask. ;)
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Last Sunday, my significant other and I decided to get out of Paris for the day, and we chose to drive to Vaux-le-Vicomte.
Now, in my not so humble opinion, Vaux is one of the most magnificent castles in France. It’s 1 hour drive from Paris, so if you ever visit here, make sure you go to Vaux. Personally, I prefer it to Versailles - it’s graceful and airy, while Versailles has a cold magnificence probably more suited to royalty.
It has an interesting history. Vaux was constructed by Nicolas Fouquet. Fouquet was the Superintendant of Finances of the then young king Louis the Fourteenth’s. He was also a patron of the arts, and protected Molière in the theater, the poet La Fontaine and the tragedian Corneille. In his kitchen presided the famous cook Vatel.
Fouquet was extremely ambitious - as his personal motto indicated: Quo non ascendam? To which heights will I not ascend?
You know you're just asking for trouble with such a motto!
Btw, France - not Ikea - invented the cool hip baby chair.
Ze proof:
When Fouquet built Vaux-le-Vicomte (probably using a lot of money stolen right out of the King’s coffers), he constructed what was then the finest castle and gardens in France.
Then, he organised a magnificent celebration and invited the King and his Court: a Molière play was given in the beautiful gardens drawn by Le Nôtre, a dinner was organized by Vatel, and then an astounding firework showed off the castle and its grounds.
Louis XIV spent the night at the castle in this bedchamber:
It was the party of the decade - overshadowing Louis XIV’s own court. Well, the king didn’t like it. AT ALL.
The king was furious.He had already decided he didn’t want Fouquet anymore as his minister because of his power and corruption, but that party had really humiliated him, and it sealed Fouquet's fate. Also, his most trusted advisor, Colbert, hated Fouquet with the heat of a thousand suns, and was ready to do anything to get rid of him.
A few weeks after the party, Fouquet was arrested by d’Artagnan (yes, the d’Artagnan of the Three Musketeers - he really existed). He was put to trial and sentenced to banishment. Louis XIV, who couldn’t be accused of overindulgence, commuted the sentence to imprisonment for life. He was sent at the beginning of 1665 to the fortress of Pignerol, where, according to official records, he died in 1680, 15 years later.
Interesting tidbit: while he was a prisonner, Fouquet's fellow companion in infortune was the mysterious Man in the Iron Mask - whose identity is still a mystery today. Was he Louis the XIV’s twin brother? His illegitimate half-brother? A rebellious nobleman?
Anyway, today Vaux is a beautiful example of 17th century French architecture and gardens.
Plus, you can always spot a newly wed couple taking ridiculous poses for their wedding photographies!