Visiting the
Reuil-Malmaison Château outside Paris (France): Napoleon and Josephine’s
Country Estate by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
The
Reuil-Malmaison Château belonged to Josephine Beauharnais, the wife of Napoleon
Bonaparte and Empress of France.
Napoleon
liked going to Reuil-Malmaison, because Josephine had more relaxed etiquette at
this château than in the Parisian salons.
Josephine
was from the West Indies in the Caribbean, which is much hotter than
France. The fashion in this region
tended to be lighter – in fabric and in color to deal with the heat. Light colors reflect the sun rather than
absorb it like black clothing.
Light
black garments might have been worn over clothing to do marketing and protect
clothing, but generally clothes were not as constricting and hair was kept off
the shoulders and neck to keep perspiration down in the West Indies
(Caribbean).
Before
visiting the Château, my husband Laurent, toddler Florence, and I visited the
Parc de Bois-Préau nearby to just see what was in the park. There was an aristocratic event going
on: a fox hunting dog show.
Five
musicians in red waistcoats wandered around and played their circular hunting
horns among the crowd. Florence enjoyed
running around the lawns.
We
eventually made our way back to the Château and took a guided tour. Josephine’s home was decorated in First
Empire Style – lots of Egyptian motifs bathed in gold.
Florence
squirmed during the visit, but I held her hand and stayed in back of the group
in case Florence started chattering. She
liked looking at the gold Egyptian busts of the Sphinx on the chairs.
My
favorite room was Napoleon’s recreation room, because it looks like the inside
of a tent albeit an imperial one with lots of gold tassels.
Josephine’s
red velvet bedroom had an octagonal mirror above the bed. The general color scheme at Reuil-Malmaison
is gold and black. (The color scheme at
Versailles is silver and white as a point of contrast.)
After
visiting Reuil-Malmaison, we went to Versailles and let Florence splash her
hands in the Neptune Fountain.
Then,
we walked a kilometer to see Marie-Antoinette’s hamlet where she pretended to
be a peasant with her ladies-in-waiting.
Marie-Antoinette’s
hamlet is made up of a village of thatched roof farmhouses that gave us many cute
photo opportunities for Florence.
Florence especially liked petting the sheep in the children’s zoo.
By
Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
 |
| Ruth Paget Selfie |
