Travelin' Fullers Blog: Alas, our last day in Paris.....

Our last day was still filled with wonderful experiences! We met our TERRIFFIC guide, Katia, and we were off to the newly opened, very modern, Louis Vuitton exhibition. It is an amazing art gallery built to remind you of the sails on a ship! It is a lot of individual glass "sails" that are each unique! There are only three artists exhibiting currently, but there will be several more by next June! Definitely worth a visit, even if you aren't into contemporary art and sculpture! And by the way, did you know Louis Vuitton used to pack the many trunks of the wife of Napolean the Third? In the beginning, trunks had rounded tops which made them impossible to stack. He was the first one to invent and design a flat top for trunks and suitcases so they could be transported more easily! Also, for those ladies that sometimes travel with "excess" luggage, just tell people you're better then Sarah Bernhardt who traveled with over 300-- yes, 300 trunks!

After the Vuitton Exhibtion, we traveled outside the city to visit a petite Versailles--- the Vaux Le Vicomte Chateau! It has the MOST gorgeous Christmas decorations! It is a private chateau owned by the same family for three generations and is being maintained by patrons and private contributions. It is quite a Lovely Chateau and well worth the 45 minute ride from the city! It was built in an entirely different style for the time- much more light with an "airy" feeling and acres of beautiful formal gardens. The owner and builder of the chateau , the Minister of Finance for Louis XIV, was Fouquet . He had been a successful Finance Minister who rose from humble beginnings. But there was great jealousy for his success in the court and there were those who worked behind the scenes to "frame" him for embezzlement. He had no idea of the undercurrents. When the Chateau was completed, he threw a gala party and invited the King (to whom he offered the Chateau as a gift.) Louis was very jealous (he was then living in the Lourve) and ultimately he built the much grander version -- Versailles. He confiscated all the treasures from Fouquet's Chateau and threw him into jail. (I know, so unfair, right?). Fouquet's wife was banished from the country for 10 years. She later returned to the Chateau and remained there for the rest of her life while her husband remained in prison until his death.

Our evening was a trip to a church to hear a concert by the Harlem Gospel Choir. While they are an excellent group, the acoustics were not the best unless you are sitting down front and we were disappointed that they didn't sing one Christmas song....

What a "treasure" this trip has been --- in so many ways! A very special memory of a lifetime.....thank you to all who helped create this memory and worked so hard to keep it a secret! And special love and thanks to my pretty TERRIFFIC husband!