The plan:  Fly from Lincoln to Paris via Chicago. Rent a car in Paris and head out to Beaune, France, for the night. Along the way, a side trip to Fontainebleau or the Abby de Fontnay is possible. We are staying at the Hotel Belle Epoque in Beaune.

The reality:  WE MADE IT!

Everything went incredibly smoothly on the 1/2 full flight over to Paris. We left on time and landed a 1/2 hour early. A much improvement over the last United experience. Rented a small Ford C Max from EuroCar Rentals and hit the road to Beaune.

From the airport, we drove directly to the city of Fontainebleau–a relatively short distance–where we visit our first museum. The Fontainebleau Palace. I’ve seen enough gold gilded (fake and probably some real) wood for a while. Home to a long succession of kings and emperors dating back to 1100 A.D., its most recent (and maybe notable) royal resident was Napoleon Bonaparte was definitely into the glitz. 

The long story of the Chateau is full of French historical importance and is worth a visit to the website for a quick understanding of how the entire structure evolved through the eight centuries culminating with the French revolution and Bonaparte’s ultimate downfall.  

I can’t say that it’s all that relevant to to today’s architectural direction when it comes to interior design (or exterior for that matter) but I would say the main take away is that I can see why there was a revolution!