Vaux Le Vicompte

Years ago when I was in cousin Helga's apartment in Paris I remember her recounting the beauty of the small chateau Vaux Le VIcompte. She said the gardens were the most gorgeous she had ever seen and the house was more of a gem than Versailles. I didn't think much of it at the time, but last spring when I was doing Spring Term in AA my parents visited Helga for the last time and went to the chateau with her. They couldn't stop raving about it so to say the least I have had my heart set on going ever since even though it was a little sad for me because I knew I missed out on the chance to see it with Helga. So, I set out with my friend Marina and her mother on a rainy morning, we unknowingly didn't buy the correct metro tickets and almost had to pay 25 euros a piece on the train, but thankfully the metro man was nice, and then we end up having coffee right next to the bus driver who was going to the chateau, but he somehow managed to leave without us even though he knew we were hoping to catch his ride. So it wasn't easy to get out there, but even with the mishaps the sailing was not that rocky and we found ourselves in a taxi on a tree lined road that led straight up to the house. A little background first: Vaux le Vicompte was the home of Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV's high treasurer and was built by the same architects as Versailles...unfortunately for Fouquet. Fouquet invited the king out to see his mansion thinking it would put him in favor with the king but it only sought to make the king jealous and outraged at the splendor and magnificence of Fouquet's palce of residence.He had him arrested and used the engineers Le Vau, Le Brun, and Le Notre of the mansion to built his own masterpiece while poor Fouquet wallowed away in jail never to see him beloved home again. I guess we learn from this that we should know our place in the world?...... but I think that only applies if you live under the realm of the sun king. Right away I was struck by the quaint magnificence of the place, it had the same architectural presence of Versailles but it seemed so much more liveable, but maybe that's because I'm used to a 1950's ranch. It was symmetrical with a major dome in the center, surrounded by a mote and miles of gardens. The sun was shining and all I smelled was pansies white pansies, strangely the whole day I could only smell sweet fragrances wafting through the air, even when I was on the RER. I was relaxed the minute I walked through the wrought iron gates. Inside, we walked along the neatly coiffured grass that was much more enjoyable than Versailles. I felt apart of nature as opposed to walking on endless white stone paths that would end among a gaggle of tourists...damn tourisits. But at Vicompte, there were mostly French people enjoying a day of Leisure and our paths ended at a wide river. It was so peaceful and at one end of the river was a small bridge that overlooked a pond festooned with wild overbrush that reminded me greatly of the ravines of the Chicago suburbs. I found it strange that I was identifying with a type of landscape but it made me realize how one can truly become accustomed to their birthplace and find comfort in unlikely places. I felt transported back to Ravinia in an 18th century chateau. There were small waterfalls with the sound of water rushing and a climax of grottos that led up to a green hill topped with a statue of Hercules. We sat in the grass and I laid back and closed my eyes. My whole body was at rest as if a calm had settled over my being, I woke to the sound of an owlery and had the overwhelming feeling that Helga was with me, since she loved owls. The sun began to set and the gardners started lining the garden with candles. We entered the grand house and strolled through the rooms. They had all the furnishings of a palace with plumed beds and tapestry covered walls but the scale of a smaller room. every room was lit by candles which gave one the impression of how the place must have actually looked as the sun went down. I felt as if it was inhabited at that very moment. There was the game room with its gold walls and painted ceiling and the domed centerpiece of the house with chandeliers from candles and even a room with the video of a ball projected onto the wall. They did a wonderful job of recreating a feeling, a sense of a life that had existed behin the walls. And then we exited through the back door and came upon the site of the garden with the sky getting progressively darker and darker. As we sat on the stone steps and heard classical music waft through the air the candle slowly illuminated the expanse of the garden, I got the impression that a lavish ball was about to begin except it was a costume ball with people dressed as if they came from years in the future. I was ok with that. It truly was magical, a gem of a house unlike any other.