November 2012 trip to France: Chateau de Vincennes

One day while Silke and Noah were off doing other things, Chris and I took Metro line No. 1 all the way to its eastern end, to the Chateau Vincennes, a marvelous castle in Vincennes, which is now a suburb of Paris.

The now-dry moat of the castle, which dates back to the 1200s, with many additions and corrections through the ages. Much history unfolded here involving kings, queens, heroes and villains.

The castle is just as a child might imagine a castle to be, with parapets, a drawbridge, a moat and a dungeon.

Chris inside the castle courtyard. Shortly after I snapped this photo, a group of French schoolchildren appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and engulfed him for a while. It was otherwise pretty deserted.

Chris on the drawbridge.

The Gothic Chapelle Royale of the castle is beautiful inside and out.

Inside the chapel.

Inside the chapel. Like most French churches in November, it was freezing.

A statue inside the chapel. These are allegories, not people, it seems. They looked like people to us, though.

Outside the castle walls was a forest with a huge field that used to be used for jousting. Chris said he and Silke love coming out to this area, away from the busy, hectic, crowded streets of central Paris. I could see why; it was quiet and lovely.