That does it. There’s no more discussion. Hey big guy. That’s right, you up there.When you send me back next time, I’m gonna be the king. You got that? I don’t want to hear about starving kids in Bangladesh or anything else. I’m coming back as the king. That’s all there is to it.
Our friends Sara and Marty joined us. For their first full day on Rabelo we decided to give them a treat and drive to Chateau de Fontainebleau. The French kings had three main summer homes, or what the rest of the world call palaces. There’s Versailles, which everyone knows about. Fontainebleau, which most know about and then there’s Compiegne, which hardly anyone knows about.
We actually visited all three palaces eleven years ago. While we found Versailles the most impressive because of its size, we prefer Fontainebleau because so much of it is furnished. In fact I was blown away. Like the man said, “It’s good to be the king.” Those guys really knew how to live. What I want to know is did the king have his own ladies in waiting, and what were they waiting for?
The first part of the chateau was built in 1137. From there Fontainebleau was added on, demolished, added onto again, and added onto some more. The French revolution came along and Fontainebleau was stripped of its furniture, but at least the buildings were left. When Napoleon I came on the scene he decided to turn the chateau into an imperial residence and refurnish the place.
Even though I want to be the king, I’m not sure about those guys back in the 16th, 17th, and 18thcenturies. I thought going to the powder room was just a polite way of saying,“I have to take a piss.” I never realized that going to the powder room really meant you were going to powder yourself. When I’m the king I’ll have to make some changes. The first will be to lose the powder. And what about those tights they wore? Real men don’t wear tights.
-Tom Miller
Author of “The Wave” – a Chuck Palmer Adventure novel
DEC
About the Author:
Tom Miller graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science in Geology. He is a consummate adventurer with over 1,000 dives as a recreational scuba diver, and an avid sailor who has traveled 65,000 miles throughout the Pacific including the Hawaiian Islands. Miller has also cruised the canals of Europe on his canal barge and given numerous lectures on cruising the canals of Europe, as well as sailing in the South Pacific. Piloting is also an interest of Miller's, and He has completed over 1,000 hours flying everything from small Cessnas to Lear jets.