Annual Visit to Roche de Solutré and the Adventure of Anna's Pass Sanitaire

 

We almost always take a day trip to Roche de Solutré during our annual stay in Lyon.  We also plan on eating lunch at a small Auberge in Solutré-Pouilly, the village at the foot of the rock, and one of the villages that make up the famed wine appellation Pouilly-Fuissé.  Covid made this year’s trip different – many places were not open, a Pass Sanitaire is required for restaurant seating, inside or out, and because of covid, our France trip is mid-June to mid-September instead of the usual mid-April to mid-July. The change in time meant that many more people would be visiting tourist spots than would be doing so in May when we would usually go to Solutré.  

So, we stopped off at the Auberge on our way to the Roche at 10AM to see if we could make lunch reservations.  No luck – they were already booked solid for lunch – and it’s the only restaurant in town.  We proceeded with our hike up the Roche, planning on driving to another, near-by town to have lunch. 

Anna on Roche with David's Finger in the Picture

Restaurant "Cassolette" in Crêche-sur-Saône

Upon arrival inn the village of Fuissé [another part of AOC Pouilly-Fuissé], we found the restaurant was closed that day.  So, off we went to the nearby, larger town of Crêche-sur-Saône, where we found an available restaurant. Not as exciting as our normal place, but family-owned and friendly.

After seating us, they came around to check our Pass Sanitaires – imagine our horror when Anna’s QR code did not register as valid!  Luckily, the process was still in a ‘break-in’ phase, and a work-around, in the form of a signature with name, address, and phone number was accepted, so we were able to have a pleasant lunch.  [This is for contact tracing in case a covid outbreak is traced to the restaurant.] Upon returning to our apartment, we were able to determine that the QR code on the paper copy of Anna’s Pass Sanitaire had an ink smear that rendered it illegible to the scanner.

12th Century Church now Tasting Room - Fuissé

Describing Fuissé and its 12th Century Church Building

After lunch, we returned to the village of Fuissé to visit a wine-tasting room that had been established a year or two previously in a deconsecrated, nicely restored 12^th century church building.  After a bit of tasting, and pleasant conversation with the charming and knowledgeable young woman pouring and explaining the wines, we made our purchases and headed back to Lyon.

Some of the Wines Tasted at Fuissé