We arrived in Paris about 4:00 p.m. after a fascinating visit to Guedelon Castle in St. Fargeau. A crew of 25-30 are building this castle according to the way it would have been built in the 13th century using the exact methods and materials that were used at the time. They are quarrying the stone, dressing it, doing the blacksmithing of the iron work, cut the timber, and have built "squirrel cages" for men to walk in to use to pull thing to the top where they are working. The walls were laid in 3 sections of stone for a total of 9 1/2 meters so they are exceptionally strong. Many of the myths we have been told about castles were de-bunked, such as castles had no windows and were plain stone walls but in fact they did have windows and beautifully decorated walls.
They have been working on the construction for 15 years already and expect it will take 10 more to complete. Our guide was one of the foremen on the project so he did an excellent job of explaining the process. All the work that had to be done to build the castle was amazing!
We are meeting our Rick Steves' guide, Martin, at 5:30 to tour the Louvre and then we are going on a cruise of the Seine River. It will be another full day! I'm going to have to go home and rest up from this vacation!
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| Our group arriving at Guedelon |
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| Inside one of the rooms |
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| A decorated wall of the castle |
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| The Seine taken during our boat cruise |
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