There has been a train strike so we delayed our visit to Fontainebleau outside of Paris. After reading that many trains were still running, we decided to try. We went to the Gare de Lyon station and were very pleased with the many people who were kind enough to answer our questions and get us on the right train. We enjoyed a peaceful 45 minute ride to the town of Fontainebleau and took the bus to visit the chateau. This chateau is several hundred years older than Versailles and has been the home of French kings going back to the 12th century. Because it appears that every king and queen added to the chateau and redecorated, it's not as symmetrical as Versailles but every bit as impressive. The gardens are not as formal and well groomed or as large as Versailles, but this was the country home of kings, not a formal palace from which they conducted business. You can see from the pictures that it is lavishly decorated in French style with no surface left unembellished. We enjoyed touring this chateau because it was not as crowded as Versailles but the audio tour was well done and interesting.

  We ended our day at the chateau with dinner in Fontainebleau, a pleasant village that is easily walkable . We met a nice man and his son while watching the soccer game in a local bistro. He taught accounting for the last 6 years at the U of A in Tucson and now teaches international business in a school in Fontainebleau. It really is a small world!