Lunch with the DelCano group

There are a lot of Brits in Lyon – in fact they are one of the biggest groups of expats here.  We are fortunate to have been adopted by members of the local Del Cano unit, a group of British with ties to the Royal Air Force.  (In case you are wondering - Juan Sebastián Del Cano was the officer in command when Magellan’s crew actually completed circumnavigating the globe.  Magellan had died in the Philippines part way through the voyage.)  The DelCano group is made up of Brits living in Lyon – either as retirees or employed here.  (And, a good many of them are pursuing French Citizenship due to Brexit, but that’s another story.)  Anyway, they have generously welcomed us colonials to their monthly lunches.

Some of the members chatting before the meeting. 
 (In the very rustic room.)

We typically meet for lunch at a restaurant in Vieux Lyon in a small room that is rumored to once have been a Roman cistern.  Very rustic and cosy.  The owner of the restaurant is quite pleasant and was once an exchange student in the US.  He enjoys chatting with Anna in American English about the US and often makes a special effort to be sure Anna totally understands the menu options.  (David says she must remind him of his American exchange “mother.”) 

Our menu:  David had the Terrine of Pâté, Anna had the beet soup (with a dollop of crème fraîche on top), and both enjoyed the Parmentier (Shepherd’s Pie), and crème brulée.

There were sixteen of us for lunch on Thursday – a good turnout for the group and just the right size for our meeting room.  Our speaker, a member of the group, told us about sailing around the Caribbean with his wife on their catamaran.  He has been sailing all his life and comes from a long line of sailors.  He told us that an ancestor was among those who volunteered their boats to defend against the Spaniards when the Spanish Armada was sailing in to attack.  His ancestor was recognized by Elizabeth I as a “Freeman” (a person who is given special rights as an honor), and the title has been passed down to the eldest son through the generations.   So, sailing is definitely in his blood!

Attached are the maps he used to illustrate his voyage:

It was quite the adventure!  He and his wife met some very interesting other sailors in various ports; they are still in contact with one couple that is sailing around the world.  He told us about returning to a safe harbor just in time to miss a major storm.  And, he mentioned the joys of sailing in the Caribbean – for example, starting the day off with a nice dip off the stern and into the water, and sailing along accompanied by dolphins that actually swam between the two hulls of the catamaran.  He and his wife are already planning sailing trips to take as soon as she retires. 

 

It’s easy to see why we are happy to join the Del Cano folks for lunch when we are in Lyon.  Interesting conversations and interesting fellow diners as well as fascinating speakers!

It’s Beginning to Look at Lot Like Christmas!

We live quite close to Le Centre Commercial de La Part-Dieu, a huge shopping center.  It opened September 8, 1975, and remains one of the largest shopping centers in Europe with five levels, over 260 stores, and 33.6 million shoppers per year.  We often go there to shop at Carrefour (a large grocery, book, electronics, clothing, etc. store), David shops at Decathlan for his biking supplies, and Anna likes to shop for clothes in the many boutiques in the center.

It’s been fun watching all the Christmas decorations popping up all over the center.  Here are some of our favorites so far this year:

The ceilings in the center are decorated from end to end.

There is a large, open area in the center of the shopping center.  It’s used for concerts, fashion shows, demonstrations, etc., and normally has a dancing fountain. 

The fountain that normally is
in the center of the Shopping Center.

 

Right now it's the home of a giant Christmas tree with one bear climbing up the tree and another popping out of the top.  All this is accompanied by movement and flashing lights.

 

Santa's Helpers receive the many letters to Santa in this motorized display.

 

And, this throne is reserved for Santa and his many visitors.

 

Even the escalators are decorated!

 

More decorations seem to pop up daily in the various shop windows.  What a lovely time of year!

Thanksgiving 2

AVF has coffees every Thursday morning so members can get together and chat while they enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee and a pastry.  Periodically, a group from a specific country will host one of the coffees to commemorate a national holiday or just to share goodies from their country.  For instance, the Irish always host a St Patrick’s Day coffee.  Thus, it made sense for the Americans to host a Thanksgiving coffee on Thanksgiving Day.

To be honest we hadn’t thought much about having an AVF Thanksgiving Day coffee.  We were too busy packing what we would need for our 5 weeks in Lyon including Thanksgiving at Estelle and Laurent’s.  That is until we got an email from Dominique telling us about the planned American Thanksgiving Day coffee and asking us to bring something “American” and Thanksgiving-themed.  What could we bring that is “American”, fits easily in our suitcases, and can be obtained on short notice? Our apartment in Lyon has no real oven so taking something to bake there was out of the question.  Then Anna got the great idea of going to our local Dollar Tree store and buying Thanksgiving table cloths, napkins, fold-out or expandable decorations, and other table decorations.  Nice, flat stuff that fit well in our luggage and didn’t weigh much.

Why Dominique ended up organizing an American Thanksgiving Day coffee was a bit of a mystery to us.  Somehow, although she is a native of France who spent a good deal of her adult life in Ireland and has visited but never lived in the US, she got “volunteered” to take the lead on the American coffee.  Apparently, there just weren’t many Americans around when the planning started so the event was placed in Dominique’s capable hands. 

Then there was a minor American invasion:  Maria and Tom arrived from Iowa followed by our arrival.  Maria suddenly found herself “in charge,” several people volunteered to prepare “American dishes” for the coffee, and we were able to present her with a bag full of Thanksgiving table decorations and the promise to help set up and host.

Some of the American crew and friends part way
 through our Thanksgiving feast.  (You can see
some of the dishes are nearly gone.)

The result was a huge success!  The decorations we brought fit the tables perfectly, someone contributed a lovely cornucopia, we had streamers of American flags, and little American flag-motif signs to explain what each dish was.  Maria, who teaches French at a university, explained the Thanksgiving story and holiday to our guests in her flawless French, and the celebration began.  We had pumpkin pies, apple pies, pecan pies, chocolate cupcakes, small peanut butter sandwiches, even hot dogs!  In fact we had so much food, we were wondering what we would do with the leftovers.  But, no problem - there weren’t any!

People had such a good time and enjoyed the food so much that they just didn't want to leave; the coffee ended up lasting much later than the usual noon end time.   And, you can be sure that Thanksgiving Day and American hospitality (and food!) will be fondly remembered at AVF in Lyon for some time to come.

Thanksgiving #1

We have celebrated Thanksgiving with the Neveus (our French daughter, Estelle, her husband, Laurent, and their sons, Paul and Victor) and guests twice before.  Each time the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner was a big hit.   So, since we were in Lyon during Thanksgiving, we all decided it was time to do it again.  Our celebration would be the Sunday before Thanksgiving due to work and school schedules.  (No Thanksgiving Vacations here!)

The first thing was to ask Estelle to order a turkey.  (Anna always specifies a “naked and empty” turkey since we’ve heard it’s not usual to get a turkey that’s dead but still has all its feathers and all other body parts untouched by human hands.)  Whole turkeys are not as popular in France as they are in the US and generally are served at Christmas, so Estelle’s special order was a key part of the preparation.  She even went in to check with the butcher the week before our feast to make sure the turkey would make its appearance.

That done, the rest of the planning and prep began.  Dominique and Roger were coming as guests so we planned dinner for eight.  Here’s the menu: deviled eggs and California (onion) dip with chips before dinner; turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing (a special favorite for Laurent and Paul), corn, cranberry sauce (hard to find in any form in Lyon), and rolls and butter for the main course; lemon meringue and pumpkin pies for dessert.  Very basic and traditional.  Each course would be served with the appropriate wine choices, of course!

The catch is that dinner and all the preparation happen at the Neveus since they have a full kitchen.  We provide all the ingredients and do all the preparation, but all chez Neveu.  This involves transporting a few odd items – disposable pie pans, for instance – from the US.  (The tart pans in France are much shallower and just not the right shape for basic American pies.)  And, since our apartment is a metro ride followed by a bus ride away from the scene of the crime, that means planning carefully to make sure we take everything we need when we go to the Neveus.

We arrived Saturday and Sunday mornings to make sure everything would be ready for the feast.  Anna had prepared the “overnight mashed potatoes,” the dip, and cooked the eggs at our apartment so she got right to work on the pies Saturday morning.  Meanwhile, David and Estelle went off to retrieve the turkey.  Then David prepared the dressing while Anna removed the remaining insides from the turkey, cleaned it, and got it ready for the oven.  Sunday morning was spent doing various last minute things.  For instance, preparing the eggs was teamwork with David shelling them and Anna transforming them into deviled eggs.  We actually had everything ready with a little time to spare!

Our every move was monitored by a certain kitty.

At noon Roger and Dominique arrived with Champagne, and we started in with the appetizers.  It is always a bit of a surprise that those simple dishes are such favorites here, but there was not a morsel remaining.  Then we moved on to the dining area and the main event. It was time to get down to some serious feasting and continued conversations. David chose Dehlinger Pinot Noir from our cellar in the US (this is always a huge hit when we serve it in France!) and Pouilly Fuissé from our cellar in France to serve with our meal.  Both went beautifully with the dinner.   Everything, with the possible exception of cranberry sauce, was a big success.  Next came dessert.  Estelle had given Anna a very nice bottle of dessert Gewürztraminer (a special favorite of Anna’s) which went beautifully with the pies.  Then came coffee and the typical Thanksgiving groans of amazement about having eaten so much.  (With the exception of Paul, who never seems to run out of room for food.) 

Taken by Roger.  L-R:  Anna, Victor, Laurent,
David, Estelle, Paul, Dominique

And, taken by Anna - with Roger in the picture.

It just doesn’t matter where it’s celebrated – there’s something very, very special about sharing a Thanksgiving meal with good friends and family.  We are indeed thankful for all those who shared Thanksgiving with us – especially the Neveu family who so graciously gave us full use of their kitchen and were such wonderful hosts.

Découverte de la France

We have been members of AVF since we came to live in Lyon for a year in 2010.  (AVF or  Accueil des Villes Françaises is an organization that assists returning French and foreigners living in France become acclimated into current life in France.)  There are a number of activities, classes, and groups within AVF, and one we particularly enjoy is Découverte de la France.  Andrée-Anne, our fearless leader, created and conducts this class that is designed to help all us newbies learn about the geography, history, architecture, and culture of France.  (The class is entirely in French, by the way.) We have learned a great deal about France, met some delightful people and made new friends (including  Andrée-Anne) in the class.  So, although we are here for a short period of time, we made sure to fit in a class this trip.

And, last Tuesday we made our way over to AVF for the class.  Andrée-Anne’s current theme is “les grandes figures de l'histoire de France", and Asta, a classmate, was giving a presentation on Louis IX or Saint Louis.  It was great to reconnect with many of our AVF friends, and to enjoy Asta’s informative research and talk.  As always, we learned several new bits of information.  (For instance, did you know that after Louis died while on a crusade, his body was chopped up and preserved in a cask of wine so they could return his body to France?)  

As a surprise bonus, one of our classmates had brought a bottle of Champagne and some chocolates to class.  David was called upon to open the bottle and managed to do so without spilling a drop – you never know how much the bottle has been bounced around in transit.  So our class ended with toasts, bises, and good wishes all around.  How very civilized! 

Enjoying the Champagne with Andrée-Anne

 (sitting in the middle wearing the purple sweater)

  

Pilrimage to Valrhona’s Cité du Chocolate (and trip to Tain l’Hermitage)

One of the things we brought back for our grandkids last time we were in France was a package of little chocolate and caramel balls from Valrhona for Xavier.  Well, Xavier made a special point of telling us that he really, really liked them.  So, of course, we had to plan another trip to Tain l’Hermitage and Valrhona to get more.  (Since Valrhona is our favorite chocolatier and Tain l’Hermitage is in the heart of one of our favorite wine regions, going there was not tough duty.)

In the past we have usually rented a car for excursions like this, but this time David suggested we go by train.  He checked out the train schedule, how to get to Valrhona from the train station, possible restaurants, and we were good to go.   The Part Dieu station is a short walk from our apartment so it was easy to catch a 10:20 AM train and be on our way.  It proved to be a lovely, scenic ride.

Train station in Tain l'Hermitage (note the sunshine)

We walked a short way through Tain l’Hermitage to Valrhona’s Cité du Chocolate and were able to find Xavier’s requested chocolate immediately.  (Whew!)  For those of you who haven’t had the privilege of visiting this bit of heaven on earth, it’s a huge shop full of an incredible number of varieties of chocolates – strengths, places of origin, formats, etc.  And, there are samples to savor everywhere! We added a few more items to our basket and headed for a cashier, a very pleasant young woman who added some additional chocolate items to our bag after we had paid for our purchases.  You gotta love that place!

Inside the Cité du Chocolate
So many chocolates - so little time!

Then we were off to a restaurant David had found online, La Lanterne.  It was just noon and the restaurant was opening for lunch so our timing was perfect.  We entered the small restaurant and were seated by the proprietor (his wife was in the kitchen and came out later to check on things).  It is always impressive to note how few people it takes to manage a restaurant in France – in this case, just the two of them.  Our very pleasant meal was made even more enjoyable by the owner’s humorous comments and bits of conversation.

La Lanterne from across the street.

After lunch we were walking towards the Tourist Office when we saw a sculpture of two children in front of a church.  A very pleasant gentleman saw us stopping to look and told us about the statue and much more about the history of the town.  It turns out that the two children were the future King Charles VII and his bride, Jeanne de Bourbon, and they were married at this church on April 8, 1380.  They were just twelve years old at the time.  A surprise little nugget of history!

Chalrles VII and Jeanne de Bourbon

The inscription on the base.

We took a pleasant stroll down to the river front, walked along the river on the Tain l’Hermitage side, then crossed a bridge and walked along the Tournon-sur-Rhône side before crossing back over the river and returning to Tain l’Hermitage.  A very enjoyable stroll on a sunny afternoon.

Tain l’Hermitage from Tournon-sur-Rhône

The river front in Tain l'Hermitage

As it turned out, we still had enough time to do a little wine tasting before our train ride home.  Imagine that!  So our next stop was the Chapoutier tasting room and wine shop.  We tasted several wines with the aid of a young man who really wanted to speak English with us.  (We settled for Franglish.)  After purchasing a bottle each of Cornas, Condrieu, and Crozes-Hermitage, we were back on our way to the train station and our train ride back to Lyon.

It’s interesting how intriguing bits of information and little surprises along the way can turn a nice side-trip into a more memorable experience.  We’re looking forward to our next adventure.

Lunch with our Landlords - Past and Present

Other than two brief stops early on, we have always stayed in the same apartment in Lyon.  David found it online through Craig’s List France back in 2010 when we were looking for a place to call home for a year.  He negotiated our year-long contract with then landlady, Dominique, totally online.  A huge leap of faith for both of them!

Our apartment is the left two windows on
the 5th floor (American) / 4th floor (French)

We have come to think of it as “our apartment.”  It’s comfortably furnished and includes pretty much everything we need down to linens and kitchen utensils.  Over time David has done some minor repair work, we’ve purchased a few things for the apartment, and, in turn, we are able to store some things in the basement.  (Think wine.) It’s definitely a second home to us.

Also, Dominique and Roger, her husband, have become good friends of ours.  Roger and David are in what Anna calls the “Male-Bonding Bike Group” – the group of four men that makes annual 4-5 day bike trips.  And, we often get together with Roger and Dominique socially. So you can imagine our shock when Dominique and Roger sold “our apartment”! 

Fortunately, our new landlords, Stephane and Nathalie, are also very nice people and have become friends.  Among other things, we have found we share a love of jazz with Stephane, who plays jazz piano in his “spare time”.  In the course of getting to know them and their charming daughters, Lucie and Fanny, we have enjoyed meals with them at their home, at our apartment, and, most recently, at Roger and Dominique’s.  Roger’s Osso Buco was excellent, and he put the girls to work stirring the risotto which was also delicious.

Enjoying the cheese course. (Roger is taking the picture.)

After dinner we were treated to a recap of Stephane and Nathalie’s recent family trip to the US to see the eclipse and do some other sightseeing.  (We gave the girls sheets of the special issue US Eclipse Stamps and that are heat-sensitive and can show the details of the moon in front of the sun.)  We definitely enjoyed hearing about their favorite places on the trip and other tidbits. 

Great food, great conversations, and fun people to share it all with…we are, indeed, fortunate to have such super past and present landlords for “our apartment.”

Back in Lyon!

Our primary reason for returning to Lyon at the beginning of November for a six-week stay was La Fête des Lumières.  This annual December 8^th celebration has its origins in a thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary for saving Lyon from the plague or from the Prussians.  (We’ve heard both versions.)  It started with people lining their window sills with votive candles – a remarkable sight in itself in this city of apartment buildings.   More recently the city has also transformed itself into an incredible world of lighting displays.   Facades of buildings are metamorphosed via lighting, major city streets are transformed into breathtaking lighting displays, and the bridges and banks of the Saone and Rhone are changed into incredible displays of light and color.  Not surprisingly, it has become quite the tourist event with large crowds of people gathering in the streets to view the amazing displays, and also enjoy some roasted chestnuts or hot-spiced wine.  It is an amazing experience!  But, don’t take our word for it – check out the video of last year’s Fête.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzevNlhTl9s  )

But, we’re here for six weeks so, obviously, we have other things to look forward to.  Among them, a visit from our friends the Bergdahls , a Thanksgiving celebration at the home of our French daughter, Estelle, and her husband, Laurent, a pilgrimage to Valrhona for some great chocolate, and reconnecting with French friends. So stay tuned as we share some of our experiences with you.

Lyon during  La Fête des Lumières

Paul's Eighteenth Birthday Celebration

An eighteenth birthday is a big deal anywhere – and especially for Paul Neveu, our French daughter, Estelle’s, son.  Estelle and Laurent decided a big family trip was in order, and Paul really, really wanted to go to London.  His parents explained to him that going to England would have to wait; it was just too expensive a trip.  They would go to Lisbon instead.  Paul was disappointed, but, well, a trip is a trip, so he would make the best of it.  (Meanwhile, Estelle and Laurent started making travel arrangements for a surprise family trip to London.)

Paul's cake

A big celebration with the extended family is pretty standard for kids in Estelle’s family.  That means, in addition to Mom, Dad, and siblings, there are grandparents, great-uncles and great-aunts, aunts and uncles, cousins, and a few friends thrown in for good measure.  Fortunately, Estelle and Laurent have a large yard, and the weather cooperated.

Estelle and Paul discussing the trip and party

Paul had just found out they would actually be going to London, AND getting there by Eurostar!  Big smiles – all around!  The party even included a great video Paul’s best friend put together with highlights of Paul’s life.  It was quite the production and a perfect complement to this BIG birthday.

Setting up the show

But, there were more surprises coming.  Estelle was aware that Anna was also celebrating a BIG birthday, and surprised her with a special dessert and a lovely Swarovski necklace from all the ladies in Estelle’s family.  (This has been quite the birthday celebration year for Anna!)

Anna's surprise

First, the corks were popped from numerous bottles of Champagne, with Estelle's sister Bérengère doing the pouring.  Toasts were drunk to Paul, then to guests, then to family, then...we started eating birthday cakes, and quickly moved on to barbecue and salads and more dessert, with lots of conversation and conviviality for good measure.

These family gatherings are always very enjoyable occasions for all three generations.  It’s a great opportunity for adults to kick back and relax and chat and enjoy to company of aunts, uncles,siblings, nieces, nephews, and cousins they don’t see every day. And, it’s great fun to watch the younger cousins playing together with whichever aunt or uncle is handy helping out when needed.  There is lots of space to race around, play tag, and play hide-and-seek (cache-cache in France) at Estelle and Laurent’s.  These younger cousins range in age from infants to, well, 18-year-old Paul.

Estelle and Laurent's yard - a great place for conversation and fun

We were all having such a good time that time flew past. This became an issue because we take the metro and then a bus to get to Estelle and Laurent’s.  It’s really a pretty easy trip, normally.  But, by now it was nearly midnight the buses had stopped running, and Laurent had to hurriedly drive us to the metro station before the trains stopped running (a little after midnight).  It was then that we were treated to a very impressive electrical storm and torrential downpour.  By the time we walked from our metro stop to our apartment, we were totally drenched.  But, it was nice of the storm to wait until the party was breaking up!

Beaune - Part 2

In addition to touring the Hôtel-Dieu, we made sure to explore Beaune itself.  We were fortunate to be visiting before the crush of tourist season – we hear the place can become a zoo.  We walked along the remaining sections of the ramparts which now provide access to parks and residences.  There are even pieces of the moat in places!  We wandered through the city streets and neighborhoods, window shopped, and, of course, scouted out cafés and restaurants for lunch and dinner.  We ate well and enjoyed conversations with fellow diners and wait staff.

Entrance to hotel lobby



Breakfast room.

We ate breakfast at l’Hôtel Belle Époque, where we were staying.  They have a lovely sun room just for that purpose.  It was while we were having breakfast that we noticed that there were an amazing number of American tourists – not our usual experience!    In fact, with the exception of one British couple, the breakfast room was full of Americans one morning. 

Anna actually came to the rescue of an American man who was asking our hotel receptionist where the nearest ATM was. They are not called ATMs in France, and the receptionist had no idea what he was looking for.  What made the incident even more comical was that Anna couldn't remember the French name (initials) for an ATM (DAB - Distributeur Automatique de Billets). So she had to go into an explanation of how the machine is used and that one generally finds them on the outer walls of banks - with a little pantomime thrown in.  The receptionist said “DAB”?  Anna agreed, and all three of them breathed a big sigh of relief.  We saw the gentleman in Beaune later, and he assured us that he had gotten his cash. Anna doesn’t think she'll ever forget the term "DAB" again!

Lunch the 2nd day.  That's Anna in the middle toward the back.

But, we were in Beaune so we just had to do some wine tasting – right?  In addition to trying a variety of wines with our meals, we decided to go to a place for wine tasting.  Our hotel receptionist suggested we check out Patriarche Pere et Fils, and so we did. Patriarche Pere et Fils is quite a large facility.  It is actually located in the historic Convent of the Sisters of the Visitation.  The building was confiscated during the French Revolution in 1789, and then purchased by Jean-Baptiste Patriarche, a local vigneron, in 1796. 

We decided to take an audio-guided tour of the cellars with stops along the way with information about various wines and, of course, tastings.  This involved wandering through some of the maze of 5 km (a little over 3 miles) of vaulted cellars some of which date back to the 13^th century.  The cellars are quite impressive with all their twists and turns and millions of bottles of wine.  At various staions, bottles were set out with information about the wines, and the opportunity to taste, which of course, we did.

David is quite the fan of Pinot Noir, the red grape of Bourgogne, but feels that almost all the reds from Bourgogne that we have tried are actually rather ordinary.  This is especially true when one considers the price - which can run to hundreds of euros per bottle.  Many of the wines tend to be thin and rather short - with minimal fruit and little character to the finish.  They simply do not stand up to a top California Pinot Noir in the same price range of 40-70 euros.

A view of the cellars and stored wine

Anna in the cellars

(Patriarche no longer grows grapes; instead it buys grapes from growers and offers a wide range of Burgundian appellation wines.)  We bought two bottles of Premier Cru red and two bottles of Cremant, the sparkling wine of Bourgogne. It was quite the experience; and we ended up meeting, yes, you guessed it, another US couple. We walked back to our hotel with our purchases and then back into Beaune for another very nice meal – with wine, of course.

After our very pleasant stay in Beaune, it was time to stroll to the gare to catch our train for Lyon.  As much as we love Lyon, we always enjoy visiting other parts of France.  It’s a very interesting country with a variety of climates and geography.   We’ve also noticed some minor regional differences in food, customs, and even language.  One thing that seems to be a constant is the friendliness and welcome we find everywhere.

Beaune - Part 1

While we’re in Lyon, we like to take occasional side trips.  Our first one this year was to the city of Beaune in Bourgogne (Burgundy).  David found a charming hotel, l’Hôtel Belle Époque, located just outside the ramparts of Beaune.  Beaune is fairly small and quite walkable so we had a great base.  Normally we would rent a car, but we decided to take the train for the 93 or so mile trip north.  Lyon’s Gare Part Dieu is a short walk from our apartment, and the gare at Beaune is an easy stroll to l’Hôtel Belle Époque – perfect!

l’Hôtel Belle Époque

Beaune itself has a population of a little over 20,000 – or a little over 50,000 if you add in the surrounding area. It is quite old; in fact, there are references to it going back to 664 in mérovingienne days.  (Clovis, recognized as the first king of France, was a mérovingienne).  It has been through multiple wars – including the war to unify France (since it was part of the Duke of Burgundy’s territory) and the 100 Years War .  Thus the ramparts.
Beaune is, of course, known as the Capitale des Vins de Bourgogne (Capital of Burgundy Wines).  In fact, beyond the ramparts there are 42 individual vineyard sites classed as “premier cru.”  There are a wide variety of tours of the vineyards available, but we decided to stay within the city.  And, you may rest assured that there were multiple opportunities to taste and purchase wine in Beaune!

Entrance of Hôtel-Dieu from street

Inside the Hôtel-Dieu courtyard showing lovely roof.

Beaune’s famous Hôtel-Dieu is undoubtedly its most recognizable landmark.  In 1441 Nicolas Rolin, the Chancellor to Phillipe le Bon, Duke of Burgundy, married Guigone de Salins , and in 1443 they founded together the Hospices de Beaune, a hospital “palace of the poor.”  A new religious order, The Hospital Sisters of Beaune, was founded soon after.  This hospital took in impoverished people needing medical care without regard to their disease as long as it had room.  It also distributed bread to the poor outside the hospital.  The patients were given what was then state-of-the-art care in relatively private beds by doctors and devoted nuns who not only acted as nurses but also changed the linens, bathed the patients, cleaned the hospital, prepared and served meals, etc.  The hospital facility had an impressive laboratory and drug dispensary, kitchen facilities, and, of course, chapel.  The facility continued to provide free care well into the 20^th century. 

Showing individual beds and cubicles

Showing the full room of beds

Due to five centuries of donations and legacies of wealthy Burgundians and the good management of these gifts, The Hospices de Beaune are currently owners nearly 60 hectares of vineyards located in areas of designation first crus and grand crus.  In 1794 the hospices of Beaune began a tradition that lives on to this day – an annual auction of wines from their vineyards. The  auction takes place on the third Sunday in November, and the result of sales has, for five centuries, gone entirely to charitable and religious enterprises of former hospices and new hospital civil and secular institutions. The Hôtel-Dieu is now a museum, but the Hospices of Beaune lives on and employs 700 people in:
·         The Hospital Philippe the Good, a facility for short stay patients
·         The Centre Nicolas Rolin for medium and long stay patients
·         Two shelters for dependent elderly people
·         Management and maintenance of the Hôtel-Dieu and other charities

Statues of Nicolas Rolin and Guigone de Salins

Nicolas Rolin and Guigone de Salins would, we’re sure, be very pleased to know there legacy lives on!

Canal du Midi - Seventh Day

The hotel owner had very kindly agreed to get up early the next morning and provide us with breakfast at 6AM, so we could bicycle to the station platform before 7.





Outside the hotel in Vias heading for the train station
 

Waiting for the train at Vias 6:45AM

The bricked-up gare at Vias

The 'bus-shelter' that we had to hurry to about 30 yards away, behind the support on the left

We arrived at the bricked-up station about 6:45 and waited for our train.  A freight train blew by about 6:50, giving us all a start.  A young woman appeared about 6:55 and went to the other side of the tracks to wait for a train going in the opposite direction.  Gerard asked her if we were in the right place, and she pointed out what looked like a bus shelter about 30 yards away.  We just had time to push our bikes down there when our train arrived.  [French trains do not wait, especially at small stations.  One has about 3-4 minutes to get on or off.]  We found we were well-positioned to get on the car that had provisions for hanging bikes by the front wheel, although almost all the hooks were taken.  There were also few seats available on this obviously ‘rush-hour’ train, so I stayed with the two bikes that we could not hang, to prevent them from falling when the train started and stopped. 

Some people with bikes got off 2 or 3 stops down the line, so Gerard and I were able to get the remaining bikes up on hooks and I could go find a seat next to Tom in the next car.

I want to comment on our gastronomic experience in the south of France.  We all agreed that we ate and drank better in terms of quality, variety, presentation, and value than on any other bike trip.  That includes trips down the Loire valley, the Rhone valley, and through the heart of Burgogne.  Just look at the photos and read the descriptions in these posts.  Hard to argue!

We arrived in Toulouse at about 9:30, bicycled to the car, loaded the bikes, and left for Lyon.