Living like lords in the Beaujolais wine region - Contiki days 4-5

So Paris was amazing. This is a Euro trip though, not a weekend in Paris. Meaning that we had to leave. On the bright side, the time in Paris had tired most of us out. People hadn't really worked out the pacing for the trip. We were ready for a break. A holiday within a holiday. As if Contiki had been in this situation before and knew what we needed, they conveniently had a Chateau waiting for us just out of Lyon.

So on a bright and cheerful morning alot of hungover and bleary eyed tourtists fell asleep on the coach. After a night at Moulin Rouge, not many people had got even a partial nights sleep. A quiet bus ride got us to a little town by the name of Foutainebleau. This had a palace/mansion/giant house that I think looked better than the Palace of Versailles. However having not seen everything at Versailles, that probably isn't a fair comparison. It is a place that was made famous by Napoleon. It was his residence when he resigned and was exiled. There are some famous stairs that he stood on as he told the staff of his resignation. However the reason that many on our trip will remember this place is that it is the place where alot of people almost missed the bus. We had wandered into the town and to a supermarket, not realising how long it would take and how far away the bus was. We waited though as there were so many people. Had it been one person, the policy is to leave without them. Moral of the story was don't be late!

The Contiki chateau is a 16th century chateau that Contiki has owned for the past 50 or so years. It is on the property of a vineyard that has been owned by the same family for the last eight generations. It looks spectacular and I forgot to take a photo. Sorry. We had the place to ourselves and it was nice to not have to worry about your gear, after the constant vigilance we had to have in Paris. We arrived and went straight to a wine tasting. The wine was miles better than anything we had tried on the trip. That night was a combination of a 'P' themed party and a birthday party for one of the girls. Needless to say, everyone was still exhausted or drunk in the morning.

Luckily for us, the only thing planned for the next day was a light hike and a picnic from a lovely look out spot. Or atleast it should have been a light hike for 45min through the french countryside. After everyone got lost and the group broke into smaller groups, it turned into an hour and a half hike down random paths before some of us made it to the correct place. I am not sure where the others gave up and had lunch. Everyone somehow met back up on the walk back to the chateau. The afternoon was spent recovering in the sun and laughing at the people who underestimated the sun and imitated a cooked crayfish. The evening there was nothing planned, so some people took it on themselves to hold a dance party in one of the rooms. From all accounts it was a success. I had a sore throat so took it easy and played cards before heading to bed.

The rest stop there was much needed and in a place that everyone looks back on with fond memories. However we couldn't stay forever and Barcelona was next on the list. Bring on Spain.

Foutainebleau

View from the chateau when we arrived

Wine and cheese