Chateau de Vincennes

It was another rainy day in a long string of rainy days (rumor is that the Seine has started to overflow its banks with flooding -- stay tuned for a photo update on that!).  We had arranged to meet Catherine at the Chateau de Vincennes.  Since it was, ahem, raining, there are few outdoor shots, so you will have to imagine how the chateau looks from outside the gate, and as it would have looked in the 14th century as it rose out of the thick Vincennes forest.

We started in Sainte-Chappelle which was undergoing some renovations.  but still, it was better than our first visit years ago when it was closed completely, and the rest of the chateau was also being renovated.  Then our brochure basically told us to use our imaginations. 

Outside the church was shrouded in scaffolding. 

Inside it was lovely. 

The entrance to the chateau itself is cross the large courtyard. 

 From there we went up to a viewing area. 

 The tall building in the distance is the town gate. 

The promenade the king would use to take walks around the chateau. 

 The bridge provided access from the king's office above the entrance gate, to the chateau where he received visitors and lived.