Live Like Royalty -- Even if Only for a Saturday Night

Last night, we decided to escape the heat of the city by leaving Paris for the evening, and it worked -- the temperature was actually a bit lower in the countryside, a relief after a hard day's heat wave.
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A Château by Night.

Last night, we decided to escape the heat of the city by leaving Paris for the evening, and it worked -- the temperature was actually a bit lower in the countryside, a relief after a hard day's heat wave.

A short 30 minutes hop on the TER train from Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, plus a ride in a taxi from the train station to the castle for the remaining three miles or so, and here you are! Other means of reaching Le Château include share drive cars and a bus shuttle that includes a day of discovery and the Saturday evening. All this is well explained on the castle's website.

A TER (Train Express Régional) is not a bullet train because it stops at several towns, but it's a very comfortable air-conditioned mode of transportation -- a mix between a commuter train and a long-haul TGV (Train Grande Vitesse.)

The magnificent castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte wants you to feel, really feel, how it was when royals were having dinner in their elaborate adobes. The sheer size of the lived-in castle makes Downtown Abbey pale in comparison.

I was always fascinated by the lives of castles-owners. The lifestyle of famed Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette is the best-known outside of France, but of course many other French kings, queens, princes and princesses populated the life of the country like nowhere else in the world.

Today still, it seems we never get enough of the royals -- the real ones with the court of England, the fake ones with the various TV series and movies. Everyday the so-called "Presse-à-scandale" brings off-beat news to common people, allowing them to dream about what it really is to be very rich, famous, titled, and coveted. And I am not talking about the nauseating K family here.

The Castle.

Baroque in style, the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte was built between 1658 and 1661 for Nicholas Fouquet, whose titles included Vicomte (viscount) de Vaux. He was the finance minister of King Louis XIV, the Sun-King (Le Roi-Soleil.)

Architect Le Vau, landscaper Le Nôtre, and interior decorator Le Brun - all superstars of the time in their particular field - worked on what was to become the first of the Louis XIV castle style. Le Vau also worked later on both the much larger Palace of Versailles and the Palais du Louvre.

Several levels of living quarters and several layers of servants running around like insects to make sure every meal, every bed, every bath, every outfit was attended to in the most luxurious manner -- all the time, non-stop. A castle was never sleeping. The help rotated their shifts so that a full staff was always on call, busy and working.

Sadly for this castle owner, almost after its completion, the young king (then age 22) stopped liking him -- a royal offense - and not only did he fired him from his high-privileged job, but he also threw him in jail, from 1661 until his death in 1680. Fouquet never had much time to appreciate his royal life, nor his castle.

Fouquet was arrested by d'Artagnan, the lieutenant of the king's faithful musketeers. While in prison, the man identified as "the man in the iron mask" - supposed to be the hidden twin of the king, but whose name or identity was never revealed - was his personal valet. A lot of history in these events. Many movies have shown us lyrical versions of these curious happenings, always based on real events.

Saturday Evening.

Upon arrival, you step into the scrumptious 100-acre gardens showing off the over-achieving amount of work by the team of gardeners -- not a rose out of place, not a leave going astray, nature here is domesticated, and you can only imagine that it was the same when the original residents were living here. They rake the gravel to perfect stripes and rounded shapes.

The maintenance of such a monumental structure and land is mind-bogglingly expensive - that is why many of these former private residences are now turned into museums, private or publicly founded by the government. A multitude of such chateaux still exist in France, and they were really built to last!

The grandiose idea behind those special evenings is the recreation of a real scene from the way it was in the 17th century -- with thousands of giant candles illuminating the outdoor tables and the seating area around the gardens and the fountains. It's simply magnificent!

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Several dining choices are offered, from seating down at tables set in the lawns with linen tablecloth and silverware (made of silver), plus crystal glasses -- to a more casual buffet setting. You can even have just desserts or just drinks in reclining chaises lounges, relaxing in the glow of the candle lights.

We settled on the simple-yet-decadent macarons/Champagne treat (18 Euros per person, on top of the entrance fee for the evening) -- while sitting on canvas lawn chairs, in the geometrical gardens, the specialty of Le Nôtre, the master landscaper in fashion.

Fireworks at 10:50 p.m. closed the evening with magic. The quick bursts of gold and silver stars were just another piece of luxury to the incredibly lavender sky - it was night but yet the sky was not dark, glowing with the anticipation of the dawn coming only a few hours away.

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From about 7 p.m. till midnight, we were transported to another era, another world, and had the best experience one can have for the price of admission. We felt like royals! Or at least we really stepped outside of our routine.

Seeing the castle surrounded by candlelight was a surreal and relaxing moment. No city noise, clear air, a soft cool wind wafting around, and the sound of diffuse live classical string music in the background -- the set-up was unusual and perfect. What a great idea for a Saturday evening!

The whole thing was magical, I only wish I could return for every remaining Saturday when the special evenings will be held -- and that is until October 3, seven more Saturdays!

Questions? Comments! sidoniesawyer@gmail.com
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