Jour 12: Jeu de paume & Fontainebleau

Our last day as a group ended on a high note!  The weather was perfect (yet again), and we profited from a lesson in how to play "Jeu de Paume" at the impressive Château de Fontainebleau.  Fontainebleau was home to French kings from Louis VII to Napoleon III (13 monarchs in total). But a few left their mark more than others on the chateau, weaving in surreptitious initials or symbols here or there.  These kings were: François 1, Henri IV, Louis XV and Napoleon I.

But before we delve into our visit of the château, Jeu de Paume!  As we learned today, Jeu de Paume is a tradition that has been dwindling since the reign of Louis XIV, "le roi soleil."  He wasn't very good at is, so it made perfect sense for him to ensure its downfall!  You can't be the center of the universe without talents in ALL things.  But, let's start at the beginning:

The game, which is very similar to tennis or racquetball, started in the 13th century in Paris, and was very much a "sport du peuple"--meaning that it was played primarily amongst commoners and was not reserved only for members of "la haute société."  The monarchy, however, regulated the fabrication of the rackets and balls, and the construction of the courts.  Why you ask?  It was basically the "deflate gate" of the 13th century--people were try to create better balls, rackets, etc. in order to cheat and ensure a victory.  There were fabulous "galleries" for spectators, and during the 15th century, there were approximately 250 courts in France.  At the time, it was truly known as the national sport of France, just as soccer is today.  Jeu de Paume became increasingly popular under the reign of François 1, who was a huge fan of the sport; Henri II & IV followed suit as both champions and supporters.  But since the reign of the Sun King, Jeu de Paume has lost some steam (though some of our students could be the players of the future, as you will see below!!!).  Currently, there are only 50 professional players of Jeu de Paume in the world (Éric, our teacher, being one of them), and only 2 official courts left in France; the rest have been transformed into theaters and other public spaces.  We did learn, however, that we are lucky enough to have one in Philadelphia, at the downtown Racket Club.  As I said, we may have some future professionals among us!

Our extremely raucous supporters!

It's hard to put into words what a special, team building experience this was.  The correspondents were all cheering each other on, and doling out high-fives!

Next was the visit of the Chateau.  All of the teachers agreed that Fontainebleau is more impressive than Versailles; it is fully furnished, and feels oddly comfortable.  The attention to detail is incredible, and the various styles of each king blend together beautifully.  Here are a few snaps:

A photo from the "game room." Seth thought it would make for a great place for musical chairs!

One of my favorite pieces!  A clock that tells you the time, zodiac sign, day of the week, lunar/solar phase, month, etc. 

After the visit of the chateau, we took a group photo on the stairs....don't mind the construction!

Patrick presenting a thank you gift to Mme Parmentier, who accompanied us to golf, Paris & Fontainebleau!  Mme Parmentier was particularly impressed by Patrick's ability to explain various golf practices in French, including how to grip the club and read the green.

Upon our return to Senlis, the students were visibly sad that our trip is coming to a close....but we know they will profit from their weekend "en famille!"  What a perfect day to close out the group portion of the trip!