We left the city today for the first time and went to Chateau du Fontainebleau. This required taking one metro to another metro in order to get to Gare du Lyon. After multiple flights of stairs and escalators, we finally got to the correct train track. The train was almost empty and was really nice and went super fast. We arrived in Fontainebleau about 30 minutes later. Then we had to take another bus to the chateau, followed by a walk of a few blocks.

Fontainebleau is smaller than Versailles, which is a good thing. Much more digestible. It is a royal palace that was inhabited by several monarchs and emperors, most famous of which is Napoleon. There is a Napoleon Museum, the Grand Apartments, and the Petit Apartments. We made the huge mistake of taking the Petit Apartments tour first, which forced us to follow around a French-speaking guide for over an hour. We were unable to understand most of what he said but were unable to leave the tour because there were only 4 of us on the tour, and we were in an obscure part of the chateau. Everything in this part of the chateau has seen better days. They were completely unrenovated rooms that I believe were intended to show the complete state of disrepair the chateau had fallen into after Napoleon's reign was over. Our tour guide was a very expressive Frenchman who went on and on in every gloomy room that was full of cracked walls, peeling paint, and disintegrating fabric. It was a complete shit hole. About half way through we were so done with the tour that I completely lost my shit and couldn't stop laughing. It was rude, I know, but I couldn't help myself.

Then we finally got to the gorgeous parts of the chateau. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective) where we started the tour was actually the end. So we were swimming upstream to see these incredibly massive rooms with ornate ceilings, fabrics, frescos and furniture. It was amazing. There are huge fountains and gardens that we were in the middle of when it began to rain. But, it didn't last long and cleared up enough that we could sit outside and have a pastry at an outdoor cafe. OMG, have I mentioned the pastries? Or the cheese, bread and wine? I have eaten more of each of these things every single day than I have in a year. Given all of the walking, I hope it's a wash when all is said and done. Anyway, I just want to close my description of the chateau by saying that the entire grounds smelled like ass. Despite this, it was still an awesome e place to visit, and it was great to have a bit of a quieter day.

Helped AnneMarie get some money from an ATM today. This is noteworthy only because she never does this and was convinced her card would be confiscated. When both card and money were spit out, she was overjoyed, only to spend it all on an incredibly over-priced glass of bad wine in Montmarte this evening. We have bought some seriously good bottles of wine for like 5E (about $7) yet paid 11E each for one bad glass. Only bad thing I've had so far. All of Montmarte is disappointing now, actually. All of the charm of the painters who used to set up their easels right in the square and up and down the windy steep streets have been replaced by commercial junk shops and restaurants. Probably due to the economy.

The washer/dryer in our apartment is making me nuts. It is a combined unit that both washes and dries, but it seems to only like to wash, several times in a row. Everything is really clean, but really wet and really, really hot. Thankfully we can put things outside to dry. Tried reading the user guide in French and think I am doing everything correctly and it still doesn't appear to be drying. 2 more minutes till my latest attempt is done.

Have I mentioned the cheese? I'm obsessed.