点评:Twelve miles west of Paris is the town of LePecq where our cruise ship docked and our tour group boarded buses to visit the Château de Malmaison located in the town of Rueil Malmaison. This Château was Empress Josephine’s home and Napoleon’s last residence in France. The Empress purchased the home when Napoleon was in Egypt and resided here after her divorce and until her death in 1809. From 1800 to 1802, it served as the headquarters of the French government. The house was considered a “fixer upper” and Josephine spent a great deal of money to have it renovated. It was finally restored at the start of the 20th century.
Once you enter the Chateau, you will notice the black and white floors in the dining and billiard room. The architects chose to make the entrance look like a Roman villa and to provide continuity in the reception area. From there we toured many rooms of which Josephine’s bedroom, the music room, Napoleon’s bedroom, the Marengo room, and library were my favorites. The first room we saw was the billiard room painted green and accented with brown wooden doors. It is where Josephine would go after dinner for a few games of pool. Filled with paintings with gold frames, the music room features mahogany and gilded yellow fabric chairs, and a marble fireplace. Our guide said the original fireplace was a gift from Pius VII to Bonaparte in 1802 but was its mosaic inlays were destroyed during the war of 1870. It also has the harp played by Empress Josephine and an antique Victorian piano. Mahogany woodwork painted arched ceilings, a desk, and red drapery are the predominant themes of Napoleon’s library and study room. The portrait of “Napoleon Crossing the Alps” dominates the Marengo room. Josephine’s bedroom is decorated in red and gold with a curtained bed. However, our guide said it was mainly for show since she slept in a not so lavish bed in a smaller, less formal one.
Be sure to visit the gardens designed by Josephine. The rose garden has approximately 150 varieties of flowers. Another must see is a stop at the calvary stables and guard house near the entrance to the property. Inside the stables building you will see a collection of 19th century coaches and carriages including the ones used by Josephine and Marie Antoinette. When you enter the building, you are greeted with sculptures of Greek mythology figures including a centurion, Apollo, Venus, Neptune,
A gift shop is located near the entrance of the estate. Some trivia: Malmaison literally translates from French to mean "bad house" or "evil mansion." In one year, it is believed Josephine bought 136 gowns, 520 pairs of shoes and 985 pairs of gloves.
翻译:巴黎以西12英里处是勒佩克镇,我们的游轮在此停泊,旅游团成员则乘巴士前往位于吕埃-马尔迈松镇的马尔梅松城堡参观。这座城堡曾是约瑟芬皇后的居所,也是拿破仑在法国的最后住所。拿破仑远在埃及时,约瑟芬皇后便买下了这座宅邸;离婚之后,她便一直在此居住,直至1809年去世。1800年至1802年间,这里还曾作为法国政府的所在地。这座房子原本被认为需要大量修缮,约瑟芬花费了大量资金对其进行翻修。最终,它在20世纪初得以修复。
一进入城堡,你就会注意到餐厅和台球室里黑白相间的地板。建筑师们特意将入口处设计得酷似罗马别墅的风格,以确保接待区的整体协调性。随后我们参观了众多房间,其中包括约瑟芬的卧室、音乐室以及拿破仑的卧室。马伦戈厅和图书馆是我最喜欢的场所。我们首先参观的是台球室,它的墙面被漆成绿色,并配有棕色的木制门。约瑟芬常常在晚餐后在这里打几局台球。音乐室里挂满了带金框的画作,室内还有桃花心木制成的座椅以及镀金的黄色织物软垫,还有一个大理石壁炉。导游告诉我们,最初的壁炉是1802年教皇庇护七世赠予波拿巴的礼物,不过在1870年的战争中,壁炉上的马赛克镶嵌装饰遭到了破坏。这里还有约瑟芬皇后弹奏过的竖琴以及一架维多利亚风格的古董钢琴。桃花心木木制品、带有彩绘的拱形天花板、书桌以及红色帘幕,构成了拿破仑书房与阅览室的主要装饰风格。《拿破仑翻越阿尔卑斯山》的画像则是马伦戈厅的核心装饰。约瑟芬的卧室以红色和金色为主色调,里面有一张带有帘幕的床。不过导游说这主要是为了做做样子而已,因为约瑟芬实际上睡在一张较为普通、不那么奢华的小卧室里的床上。一定要参观由约瑟芬亲自设计的花园。玫瑰园里有大约150个品种的玫瑰。另一个不容错过的景点是庄园入口处的骑士马厩与警卫室。在马厩建筑内,陈列着一系列19世纪的马车,其中包括约瑟芬和玛丽·安托瓦内特曾使用过的那些。步入建筑后,首先映入眼帘的是一系列希腊神话人物雕塑,其中包括百夫长、阿波罗和维纳斯。海王星,
庄园入口处设有一家礼品店。有趣的小知识:“Malmaison”这个词在法语中的字面意思就是“破房子”或“糟糕的豪宅”。据说有一年,约瑟芬购买了136件礼服、520双鞋以及985副手套。