Photopost: Pierrefonds, Part 1
So yesterday, I got to visit Pierrefonds. And it was AMAZING. I took over 400 photos, so these are just a few. I didn't upload most of the ones of the castle as I know most people have seen it before, so most of the pics will be filming-related. Not to say that it wouldn't be easy to do an epic picspam of the castle, because it is absolutely breath-taking, but that can come later.
This first part is all around the castle.
I cannot even express how much glee there was when I arrived in the village square to see this stunning castle dominating the skyline.
And there was even more glee, and some high-pitched squeaky noises when I saw this sign!
Walking up the path towards the castle, there was a familiar-looking village!
I've seen the castle before, of course - in pics and in the series, but nothing can possibly compare to the reality of actually being there, seeing the sheer immensity of the place, touching the old, worn stones and seeing the familiar locations from a new perspective.
Looking at it on the screen as I type, I can remember the way it felt to stand and stare in awe at all the familiar-new landmarks. So many things I recognised, but the way they are in this reality is so different!
Finally in the famous courtyard! Not the knights I hoped to see, but very cute nonetheless.
There was no sign of the filming immediately evident. It was at about this point I managed to meet springinstep and her friends, French fans who were lovely enough to flail with me! And there were a few things around that we saw. Through this forbidden door we could see the little stairwell that led to Gaius from the first ep, and the dungeon stairway. But we couldn't see anything that looked filming-related.
Then a truck with some strange-looking poles arrived, and there were a number of crew-type-people wrangling them up and into one of the rooms on the second floor.
In the absence of anything filming-related outside, we decided to explore the interior. So many familiar places! We romped through the castle, squeeing over the stairwells and statues, giggling at murals and pointing out things we recognised.
Eventually, we came to a very familiar room! This was were the crew had been moving things about, but it wasn't closed yet. We were told that there would be filming there tomorrow.
Particularly notable are the thrones. Yes, that's right - two thrones.
This prompted much speculation! Of course, there were signs telling us not to sit in on the thrones, as well a crewmember sitting nearby to make sure we didn't do exactly that. I probably would have tried otherwise!
From there, we continued on until we found something that made me giggle and the others stare at me blankly. Crossbow slits! Yeah, I know, but how could I not? XD
And the view was spectacular.
Around another corner and there were more familiar things! Probably in preparation for later in the week.
There were lots more amazing things, and we had an absolute ball going all over the castle, but that was all we saw for the filming at the chateau.
But, I asked a crewmember about the filming today and she told us that they were on 'the football field' nearby. So we set off on a great expedition to find the football field! It took some searching, but we were well rewarded.
The pics from there will be in the second post, which will be up shortly.
This first part is all around the castle.
I cannot even express how much glee there was when I arrived in the village square to see this stunning castle dominating the skyline.
And there was even more glee, and some high-pitched squeaky noises when I saw this sign!
Walking up the path towards the castle, there was a familiar-looking village!
I've seen the castle before, of course - in pics and in the series, but nothing can possibly compare to the reality of actually being there, seeing the sheer immensity of the place, touching the old, worn stones and seeing the familiar locations from a new perspective.
Looking at it on the screen as I type, I can remember the way it felt to stand and stare in awe at all the familiar-new landmarks. So many things I recognised, but the way they are in this reality is so different!
Finally in the famous courtyard! Not the knights I hoped to see, but very cute nonetheless.
There was no sign of the filming immediately evident. It was at about this point I managed to meet springinstep and her friends, French fans who were lovely enough to flail with me! And there were a few things around that we saw. Through this forbidden door we could see the little stairwell that led to Gaius from the first ep, and the dungeon stairway. But we couldn't see anything that looked filming-related.
Then a truck with some strange-looking poles arrived, and there were a number of crew-type-people wrangling them up and into one of the rooms on the second floor.
In the absence of anything filming-related outside, we decided to explore the interior. So many familiar places! We romped through the castle, squeeing over the stairwells and statues, giggling at murals and pointing out things we recognised.
Eventually, we came to a very familiar room! This was were the crew had been moving things about, but it wasn't closed yet. We were told that there would be filming there tomorrow.
Particularly notable are the thrones. Yes, that's right - two thrones.
This prompted much speculation! Of course, there were signs telling us not to sit in on the thrones, as well a crewmember sitting nearby to make sure we didn't do exactly that. I probably would have tried otherwise!
From there, we continued on until we found something that made me giggle and the others stare at me blankly. Crossbow slits! Yeah, I know, but how could I not? XD
And the view was spectacular.
Around another corner and there were more familiar things! Probably in preparation for later in the week.
There were lots more amazing things, and we had an absolute ball going all over the castle, but that was all we saw for the filming at the chateau.
But, I asked a crewmember about the filming today and she told us that they were on 'the football field' nearby. So we set off on a great expedition to find the football field! It took some searching, but we were well rewarded.
The pics from there will be in the second post, which will be up shortly.