New Year's Eve at Chateau de Fontainebleau

The decision to stay in Fontainebleau instead of going to Paris was not an easy one for us. The trains out to our neck of the woods do not operate after midnight and the hotels were very pricy in Paris. There were no fireworks scheduled for the Eiffel tower which was suprising. An event being promoted at the castle here in the center of Fontainebleau sounded intriguing and we thought that it might be a fun and mellow way to ring in the New Year. Well, we greatly underestimated these townspeople. Our expectations were exceeded far beyond what we could have imagined.

Nick cooked a lovely dinner for us at home and we indulged in a chocolate tart from one of the local bakeries. Bundling up for the cold, we headed toward the castle and walked for what seemed like miles until we reached the canals and grounds. It was a sight to behold and I'm not sure if I can describe the scene well enough for you to understand. Hopefully the photos will help.

The grounds of the castle are vast and there are several very large ponds as well as a canal that begins near the castle and extends north through the forest for as far as the eye can see. This entire expanse of earth and water contained hundreds of fire sculptures that were of various shapes and sizes. The sculptures in the water looked like giant trees with limbs of fire. There were fire cones filled with hot coals to warm yourself by and all the pathways were lit with torches. Everyone was walking toward the forest so we followed, not sure what we would find next.


We came upon another large building with a courtyard. There were 3 stages set up with live music, dancing, gymnasts, and other entertainment. About twenty jacuzzi tubs were randomly placed in this courtyard. People had brought their swimsuits and were lounging in these tubs while they sipped champagne and watched the entertainment. A large dance area was filled with people dancing to a bizzare marching band and some men dressed in drag with batons and twirling flags danced on stage with them. After the marching band finished their perfomance, tons of people jumped on the stage and were dancing to the music played by a DJ from Argentina. We danced a little, sat and watched the crowd some and decided to head home because it was so very cold. Happy 2009!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nharlow/sets/72157612516121053/

Also included in this batch of photos: Chateau de Fontainebleau , Sacre Coeur/Montmartre, Market in Fonti and Our 1st Snow Day. Enjoy...