Category: France

We took a taxi over to Gare Montparnasse where we looked for a ticket kiosk. Finally found a real old one. Luckily, a young lady came up and pointed out the newer ones. We got our tickets to Chartres then found a place for coffee and croissants. They are even good in the train station!

We left on time. We went to the upper level of the train to watch the scenery. About 25 minutes into the trip, the train stopped. An announcement came over the loudspeaker and said someone was on the tracks up ahead. What?? About 20 minutes later we resumed the trip. We had stopped at a station, St. Cyr. I think that’s where the French military academy is.

We reached Chartres and when you leave the station you look up, and there it is.

It’s about a 10 minute walk. We had an appointment to meet our guide at 11:30 and we had some time, so we had another coffee at a cafe where we just gazed at Chartres Cathedral. To say it’s spectacular would be an understatement.

I had arranged to meet Malcolm Miller who is probably the foremost expert on the cathedral. He’s English, 86 and said he’s been studying Chartres for over 60 years.

We spent an hour and a half with him. He talked about the stained glass windows which are almost entirely the originals.

What an education! He said that a group of guides counted the figures in the windows and came up with well over 4000. The colors are unbelievable.

At the end of our lesson, he took us outside and showed us some of the carved figures, saints carrying the instruments of torture used on them. Nice.

During the revolution, several of the figures were smashed, but the townspeople saved them until France could declare the cathedral property of the state.

Our heads were spinning so we had lunch at the same cafe. I had an omelette, Ria decided on a proper roast chicken lunch. I went to have a walk around the town. It was very quiet, most stores and restaurants are closed on Monday. It was hot and with a very strong sun, so I didn’t last long.

I went back into the cathedral and walked around, then sat and read about it. Ria texted me and asked if I would mind if she took the crypt tour. Which she did.

She was so excited. She touched a Carolingian wall!

Time to go back to the station. We had a bit of a wait and listened to announcements that a train was delayed because someone was on the tracks. I’d love to hear why people are always on the tracks!

On the way back to Paris, a HUGE building appeared. It was Versailles.

We decided to meet for dinner at 7:30.

Neither of us were very hungry, so we met at a crepe restaurant.

I looked over the choices and decided what the heck. I ordered a crepe with stewed apples, caramel sauce and (a very small) scoop of artisanal ice cream. It was perfect.

Ria and I had a long conversation about her PhD thesis. She is looking for medical notes written in the margins of medieval texts. It’s quite interesting!

We said a fond goodbye, we both leave tomorrow. It was so sweet of her to meet me for a few days.

Back to pack, the taxi is picking me up at 7:45am.
Over and out.
Love,
Lynnn

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Responses

“He’s English, 86 and said he’s been studying Chartres for over 60 years.”
Is he single?
xo Barbara

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Wonderful – I have only seen Chartres at a distance, so thanks!

Amy

I met Ria at the taxi stand just after 9 and off we went to the Marche D’Aligre. It was quite a distance and we got to see some grittier parts of Paris. Willa told me about a woman, Martine, who had a stall there with wonderful scarves and accessories. We walked through the market, saw beautiful fruits and vegetables including the most adorable radishes you could ever imagine. On either sides of the street where the market was set up, there were stores selling all kinds of food and food related items. All kinds of dead animals (enough to make you a vegetarian), cheese, spices, and lots of stores with outdoor rotisseries with chicken turning slowly around. At the bottom of the case there are potatoes just roasting in the chicken fat. Yum. We passed a few cafes, but none looked quite right for breakfast. We couldn’t find anything approaching a stall with accessories, most were used clothing or flea market finds. I finally asked a woman stall-holder if she knew Martine, and she said she was on vacation! Oh well, the best laid plans….

It was pretty quiet but we walked a few blocks and found a cab. We went to the Marais and found a wonderful cafe under the arcades in the Place des Vosges. It is so beautiful there.

Years ago, Laura and I stayed in a hotel there, secreted away through an archway. I found it, there is a beautiful garden in front.

We sat at a cafe, got the menu and found that you could have a coffee and selection of three mini breakfast Viennoiserie for €10. That sounded nice.

I had a silver pot of coffee, a small pitcher of milk and a plate of not-so-mini croissant, pain au chocolat and brioche. And I managed to eat them all, as did Ria. It was wonderful to sit under these ancient arcades without being asked to move along. I figured out why no one ever bothers you when you’re at a restaurant or cafe. Everyone gets a living wage and healthcare and I think subsidized education. They don’t have to live on tips so they don’t have to try to turn the tables.

I wanted to walk through the Marais, I remember it have lots of charming shops. Well, it sure has changed. The shops are now outposts of chain stores. There is still the famous falafel place L’As de Falafel but otherwise you could be anywhere in Paris. I didn’t see any religious Jews walking around, and it used to be filled with them. What a disappointment.
We got tired, it was hot! Found a cafe and I ordered a limonade. I remember the first time I was in France, that was the only soda they had. It’s like a 7Up. I wanted to take a trip down memory lane. Ria had a Coke Light. We decided to see two famous churches back in the St Germain district.

First we went to St. Séverin.

We walked in a back door and immediately saw this wonderful twisted column that branched out. It resembles a palm tree. The outside of the church sports fantastic gargoyles.

Then we went to St. Germain des Prés, back in our neighborhood. It’s undergoing renovations, but it will be wonderful. Rene Descartes is buried there.

Ria and I decided to meet up again for dinner.

Restaurants with a terasse are a gift. We sat looking up at beautiful quintessential Haussmann style buildings. Some of the apartments had window boxes.

I ordered a croque monsieur, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with cheese grilled into the top. I only ate half, that was my concession to diet.

Ria had a delicious looking ham, cheese and onion omelette. She was happy, too.

We arranged to meet at the taxi stand tomorrow morning for our trip to Chartres Cathedral. I’m looking forward to the trip.

Love,
Lynn

Today there was gruyere cheese for breakfast, stinky and wonderful.

There is a Mephisto shoe store just down the road from the hotel. I noticed their prices are half of what they are in the US. I thought I’d give it a try. The saleswoman was fantastic, so enthusiastic! They didn’t have my Helen sandal in the leather I wanted but she talked me into what she had. Then she told me (this is all in French, are you impressed?) that she had one sandal left in my size that I MUST get. And it was on sale! It was red. But my style guru Gail had told me that Parisian women were wearing bright colors so I took it as a sign. Now I own red sandals. Actually they look pretty good.

My wonderful friend, Ria, whom I met at the Cambridge summer session 7 years ago, came to Paris from her home in Utrecht to meet me. By the way, if you’re planning a trip to the Netherlands, skip Amsterdam and go right to Utrecht. It’s wonderful. I visited her there four years ago.

When she came into the lobby she looked exactly the same.

We plotted our day and started with a walk to the church of St.-Sulpice. It is the second largest church in Paris after Notre Dame. I thought it might be crowded because obviously Notre Dame isn’t taking visitors. It wasn’t at all. It is overwhelmingly large when you walk in. And dark.

It is also the church written about in The DaVinci Code. The Rose Line is in bronze on the floor and goes right up an obelisk which is lit up. The church knows it’s a tourist site. Ria, who used to come to Paris often when her brother lived here, said that for a few years after the book came out, there were crowds around the obelisk. Now, no one.

Ria found a quiet chapel and lit a candle for her father.

We were getting peckish and decided to walk towards the Luxembourg Gardens figuring there would be a cafe there. And there was Angelina’s. It’s know for the best hot chocolate in Paris. We looked at the menu then into the pastry case. The hell with lunch. And since there were two of us, we got to share two different pastries. One was strawberries and cream, the other was basically chocolate mousse enrobed in a chocolate shell. It was worth the high price and the skipping lunch! I don’t feel to badly about overindulging since there is NOTHING like this at home.

The gardens are huge and very beautiful.

While we were eating we discussed what to do the rest of the day. I was embarrassed to mention it but I suggested a bateau mouche ride on the Seine. It’s about the most touristy thing you can do in Paris. Ria started to laugh and said she was thinking the exact same thing!

We taxied over to the port near the Eiffel Tower and with several hundred other people we boarded the boat.

Tons of tourists were taking selfies. We commented on the fact that they actually weren’t seeing anything. Of course everyone was taking photos of Notre Dame in scaffolding.

We came back to the neighborhood where both our hotels are located and sat on the terasse (sidewalk) at Cafe Louise. We knew we should both order wine, but Coke light it was, along with a plate of cheese to share. Perfect. At some cafes, the terasse extends the whole way on the sidewalk to the street. No problem, just walk around it in the street with the cars and electric scooters racing by.

I went back to the hotel to put my feet up for an hour before we meet for dinner.

There is a famous restaurant, Le Relais de L’Entrecote, which just happens to be 2 blocks from the hotel. Just steak frites. No reservations. We met there and waited about 20 minutes before being shown to a small table. You just tell the server rare, medium or well done. We got a green salad to begin, then 3-4 slices of steak and a mound of fries. After you’re done, the server comes with the rest of your steak and another mound of fries. The sauce on the steak makes it doubly delicious, there’s mustard in it, but the recipe is a secret. People were having big ice cream concoctions but we were much too full.

We wandered back to my hotel, we had about an hour before being picked up for a deux cheveaux tour of Paris.

Our driver came at 10 and off we went. These cars are no longer being made and with good reason. It’s like riding in a sardine can.

The driver was very nice, asked us where we wanted to go and we asked if we could go up to Montmartre. So we did.

It’s a long ride. On the way we passed both the Comedie Francaise and the Opéra where people dance at night. The neighborhoods are so different from central Paris, narrow winding streets, some quite gritty. We saw all the famous spots, Moulin Rouge, the building that was the Bateau Lavoir where the (much later) famous Paris artists worked, and there is an actual vineyard up there, too.

And of course Sacre Coeur church. It’s a madhouse on a Saturday night, lots of people drumming, chanting making noise.

On the way back, we had a great look at the Eiffel Tower sparkling.

I’m tired, time for bed.
Love,
Lynn

I decided I needed a plan so I wouldn’t waste the day in Paris. I looked at some websites describing places off the usual tourist path and found the Musée de Cluny.

There is no entry fee, which I thought was terrific but I paid €3 for an audio guide.
The first stop was the frigidarium which took my breath away. The thermal baths, of which this is part, were built in the third century. The third century!! I was able to sit and listen to the audio guide which gave quite a lot of information.

Then up a few floors to the room exhibiting the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. Another WOW!

There was also a small gallery of artifacts, gold and jeweled treasures from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

I walked over to Shakespeare and Co. a bookstore famous for its storied history. There were lots of young people hanging around the entrance, probably all students. There is also a wrought iron 7’ tall water fountain in front. It says “water of Paris” and kids were filling up their water bottles.

The store makes Webster’s look like Versailles. A rabbit warren of tiny rooms, packed floor to ceiling with books. It made me claustrophobic so I didn’t stay to look for a book or two.

I read that they had a cafe and I was looking forward to having lunch there. But it was small and dirty so I left.

Right across the way there is a small park in which the oldest tree in Paris resides.

The park was next to the church of St. Julien le Pauvre, the oldest church in Paris. (Do you see a theme going here?) it is small, and now associated with the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Icons decorate the walls.

I decided to walk for a bit and find a place for lunch. By this time it was 3:00 and I was ready! I passed a few cafes but nothing called out to me. Then I saw it…..Chipotle! (Pronounced SHE po lay). Just what I wanted, a good salad. Of course I had to make it French, so I had a bottle of Evian with it. I sat in an indoor/outdoor area and could see into the McDonalds next door. There were many touchscreens, about 5’ tall where everyone was ordering. Coming soon to State College?

I got a taxi back to the hotel.

I did some research and found an interesting liberal synagogue with services in French and English with an American rabbi. It was about a 20 minute taxi ride with an insane driver. The synagogue was in a regular apartment building with no sign outside. You have to ring to be admitted.

The room where services were held was small, the chairs were tiny uncomfortable folding chairs. The rabbi was very energetic, the prayer book was in French, English and Hebrew. Funnily enough the English transliteration of the Hebrew was very French sounding and used French punctuation.

There was an oneg afterwards and I had my choice of wine or juice, then challah.

I asked a young woman, Julia, to walk me to a street where I might get a taxi and we had a nice chat on the way. She’s originally from Rochester but lives in Paris. She’s trying to make up her mind whether to move to NYC. The neighborhood is gorgeous, classic Paris architecture.

I finally found a taxi, he didn’t put the trip on the meter but at that point I wasn’t going to argue.

I love driving through the city. It is so beautiful.
Love,
Lynn

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Responses

And speaking of taxis do you need ride home from air port?

Lassie

No exiting news to impart today.

Breakfast in the lobby.

I walked over to the Monoprix store, which is like a small Target. I got a few great souvenirs, French Mariniere shirts for some baby gifts.

I was getting hungry and looked at some of the cafes but really didn’t want to spend a lot of money for a sandwich or salad. (The sandwiches start at about €14, a slice of quiche and a small salad €16). I passed a boulangerie, looked in and saw sandwiches on baguettes. My favorite! The also had sandwiches to heat up, paninis, grilled cheese (but so much more than ours) even “hot dog” which I couldn’t see since it was covered in cheese, as all the best sandwiches are.

I got a cheese baguette which had a sliced cornichon in it, and a Diet Coke. There were only 3 tiny tables outside and 2 were occupied by smokers. Luckily there was a narrow bar running the length of the shop. I sat, ate and read my kindle.

I walked up to a small shop I had seen advertised, La Maison Ivre. That means drunken house. It had lovely linens, nice ones, and ceramics. I got a set of napkins which I love. I just hope they don’t shrink.

I did some more walking, passed buildings owned by the University of Paris and the faculty of political and social science. That’s called “Sciences Po” here. It’s famous for turning out French leaders.

Occasionally I got a glimpse into a courtyard. Most of the buildings are built around courtyards, some are just paved, others are like little parks. There was a plaque on one building saying that the courtyard had been a Protestant cemetery in the 17th century. I could see a bit of it. Obviously it’s no longer a cemetery but there were several beautiful columns and trees. I also passed a small chocolatier. OMG it looked like a jewelry store. I did not go in.

And that was my day today.

Love,
Lynn

Breakfast in the lobby is wonderful. No buffet here, a tray was brought to me. Coffee in a French press with warm milk, fresh orange juice, a bowl of fruit, yogurt, a hunk of a very stinky cheese and a basket with a half baguette, croissant, and pain au raisin, a buttery snail shaped pastry.

I didn’t eat the baguette, one has to have some control. But the croissant was the best kind. When you pull the end, the middle comes out.

I took a very expensive taxi ride to a women’s store I had read about. The only things they had were from summer. And not many of them. What a bust! I look in a lot of the stores and it doesn’t seem as if they have enough stock to cover their nut.

It was in a lovely neighborhood, though. I walked a few blocks and was in front of the Four Seasons, not far from the Arc de Triumphe. I got a taxi when I reached the Champs Elysées. Wow! The sight of it gave me chills. That’s how you know you are in Paris! We drove past FIVE GUYS!! And now you know, we have a bit of Paris in State College. I think the whole drive down the CE is loaded with stores just for tourists.

I got dropped off in front of Galeries Lafayette. I walked into pandemonium. The ground floor is a series of expensive boutiques and makeup kiosks. The boutiques for Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci and a few more had lines of mostly Chinese people waiting at a velvet rope waiting to be admitted. And they had shopping bags with the logos of the most expensive shops slung around their shoulders.

It was like Christmas shopping at Bloomingdales on steroids.
I just couldn’t stay. The best thing about the store is the atrium and ceiling. That is spectacular. There is an overlook on the third floor that is cantilevered over the atrium with a line of people waiting to get on it to photograph both above and below.

Then I went over to BVH, a department store that had been likened to Target. It wasn’t at all like Target. It might have started out that way, but now it is luxury boutiques, too.

I did see a Longchamps bag I liked in their new autumn color of Cassis, but they were out of the style I wanted.

So I went over to the Longchamps store near my hotel. And there it was. The bags are about 25% cheaper here than in the US. I am now a proud owner of a cassis bag.

I dragged myself back to the hotel and had my afternoon Coke Light with a (small) bowl of chips.

I read for awhile in the lobby, then came upstairs and decided that tonight would be a good time to have a Kind Bar for dinner and call it quits. Enough is enough!

I have a friend coming on Saturday from the Netherlands. We met when I took the medieval history class at Cambridge University and have remained friends.

I’m sure we will be doing a lot of eating so don’t feel bad for me!

I think I’ll have some Netflix time and relax.

Love,
Lynn

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Responses

We had lunch on the terrace of either Printemps or Gallerie Lafayette – forget which!
Barbara

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What about Printemps? And its observation café? Totally different!
Love,
Amy

After serious contemplation, I decided to swallow the fee for the last two days in Beaune and go to Paris. My hotel had room, so things fell into place.

I walked to a third cafe for breakfast, ordered the baguette with butter and (apricot) jam, which is called a tartine, and a grand cafe creme. It’s funny how the coffee is served differently, today’s cup had a shot of espresso and a side pitcher of warm milk. I just filled the cup. It makes such sense to serve warm milk, your coffee stays hot.

There was a table of 5 teenage girls, probably 17ish, at the cafe. The croissants were gone so one of the girls went over to the boulanger and brought back a bag full. She was thin as a rail and proceeded to eat one plain and one chocolate. And had a chocolat chaud. They were all adorable.

My lovely taxi driver picked me up and off we went to the station. The woman in front of me on line had a 10 minute discussion with the woman selling tickets. I think she needed a special card for special fares. My request just took a few minutes.

There was a local train to Dijon where I changed for an express to Paris. Again, I got the first class ticket and I’m glad I did. There were SO many people waiting for the train.
I easily got a taxi and 10 minutes later I was at the hotel.

It is a very typique French hotel, ie small rooms. I wasn’t crazy about the first one I was given, and as my mother used to say, “if you don’t ask, you don’t get”. Now I have a Tiffany blue room with a wood floor, much preferred to a carpet!

Laurence (female, pronounced “Lor ance”) at the desk has been very sweet. I decided to go for a walk and she pointed me in the direction of the department store, Bon Marche.
The hotel is in the neighborhood of the Universite de Paris so I feel right at home.

There are wonderful shops all around, unfortunately many are still closed for the August vacances. Can you imagine paying rent in Paris and having no income for a month?
There were two right by the hotel that had quintessential fall clothes in their windows.

Beautiful cheerfully colored woolens. I think it helps to be a size 8 or less.

Bon Marche was a bit of a disappointment to me. The ground floor was divided up into very expensive boutiques of big name designers. I really want to see a more varied assortment of accessories which I think I can find at other places like Au Printemps and Galleries Lafayette. and I’m looking forward to going to a market recommended by Willa.

I returned to the hotel and Laurence gave me a Coca Light and a small bowl of chips. Perfect. The entire wall in the lobby is a living wall.

I’ve never seen anything like it. FAB!

By the way, I see lots of people of all ages riding electric scooters. It’s a thing!

I asked for a restaurant recommendation and was directed to Cafe Louise, two blocks away. I didn’t want a big dinner and told the waiter that. He told me to get their burger Louise. So I did. It was delicious, it came with cheese, onions, tomatoes, lettuce and a special sauce (sounds like a McDonald’s commercial). Also a small salad and delicious. FRENCH fries. I sat at a table just inside, looking out on the Blvd. St. Germain. I wasn’t quite ready to leave so I ordered a decaffeinated coffee. And I got the bill. 8 1/2 bucks. I think that’s the end of my coffee ordering in France.

I am very happy to be here.

I have learned a few things, valuable lessons. Although the fairytale was that I would meet congenial people and get around by myself in a rental car, the reality is that single women are somewhat invisible. I didn’t see any others. I didn’t feel confident enough to rent that car and go out on my own. That disappoints me. I think that travel for me, from now on, will probably be with an interest group, cooking or educational, being with people who have similar interests. Although I must say that I am happy to be in Paris. We will see what the next few days hold.

Love,
Lynn

I walked into town to try another restaurant for my petit dejeuner as I didn’t think yesterday’s croissant was quite up to snuff. I ended up at the restaurant where I had dinner the first night I was here. I tried the baguette avec beurre et confiture. And a grand cafe au lait. The confiture was abricot which I see a lot here. and it was delicious.

Perfect baguette. I don’t know why we can’t have a good baguette in State College. And no, I don’t think Gemini’s baguettes are authentic.

A wonderful thing about the cafés here is that they don’t care whether you sit for hours. Unfortunately they also don’t care if you smoke. I brought a book and had a lovely time.
I have noticed that there are so many young families strolling around town, with babies in strollers, babies in slings, and tots in hand. Also, surprisingly, I have not heard very many Americans. Although today I did see two groups from a river cruise following their leader.

A lot of American voices there!

Acknowledging the wonderful job Philippe did on Saturday, I wandered off the main streets. As soon as you leave the pedestrian only streets, you are practically alone. It’s really something to see these ancient buildings. Some are nicely restored and others look like they haven’t been touched since the war. Fortunately there aren’t many like that.

I recognized several of the places we saw together. I hadn’t yet been to the church so decided to go take a look.

It almost reminded me of a mosque from the front. It was ancient of course and dark. They do have an exhibition of tapestries that looked lovely. I couldn’t get into see it because it was close but you could see some of them through a gate.

I kept walking, it didn’t matter where, and I found myself on some streets that were normal every day streets. With every day shops, not just the tourist shops. Unfortunately most were closed. Not only is this the end of the annual August vacation but a lot of stores and restaurants here are closed on Monday.

I ended up on a busy street so I checked my map and was very close to the apartment. I came back and put my feet up for a while.

I have a reservation at a nice restaurant for dinner tonight so I decided not to have lunch. Instead I wanted to treat myself to a teatime at the wonderful patisserie I went to several days ago.

It was closed. Tant pis!

Of course I found another one. This time it was suggested to me to try the strawberry tart. It had a cookie base with lovely whipped cream and sliced strawberries perched on top of that. And I had another café au lait.

I didn’t want to waste the rest of the afternoon so I went to the Musée des Beaux Arts.

Rather a disappointment, a lot of dark old paintings. Sorry, Amy, it was “a magnificent collection of Flemish and Dutch Painter’s from the 16th and 17th century”. OK, I’m a philistine. I did like one artist, Felix Ziem.

I made a reservation at a restaurant recommended to me by my landlady, Ecrit’Vin.

The waiter was very nice and sat me down on the terasse, as they call the sidewalk. I had the “menu” because it had the Burgundian specialities I wanted to try. First was eggs meurette. Two bowls were put in front of me, one had a poached egg in white wine sauce and one in red. The sauce was thickened and had lardons, thick bacon, and mushrooms. Fantastic.

Then I had boeuf bourguignon. That was a bit of a disappointment, it was fatty. But it was served in a bowl with pasta that soaked up the sauce

The piece de resistance was dessert. The waiter told me to order it. Pain Perdu. Bread soaked in egg then fried in butter. Topped with a small ball of caramel ice cream.
You know how the crust of whatever your making gets crispy when sautéed with butter?
OMG.

I even had a glass of Pinot Noir of the region. I’ve had better, but it made me feel like an adult.

I think I’m going to have to start making better decisions.

Love,
Lynn

I finally found a link to the old laundry next door.

I walked to the tourist office and met the guide for the vineyard tour. There was only one other person, a man, Haruki, from Japan. Our guide Brigitte took us in her Audi SUV and off we went. She thoroughly explained the area we were to visit, south of Beaune.

The names are magic to wine lovers: Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne Montrachet and Santenay. There are only two grapes grown here, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. There are so many walled vineyards, Brigitte explained about families keeping them through the generations even though by French law the children inherit equally. We drove through these small wine towns which were very, very quiet. She said they always are except for during the harvest. A lot of the houses were closed up. That’s where the vineyard owners keep their supplies. They can’t build in the vineyards. The whole area is UNESCO designated. She told us how the whole production is done in one place, the family’s house, the winery, and the sales rooms all together. Some of the vineyards have gates leading into them and it is very picturesque.

I asked if people ever jumped over the low walls to steal the grapes. Apparently they do! Before the harvest they have drones and helicopters monitor in the whole area.

Millions of years ago there were many earthquakes in the area. It made the geology very different from one area to the next. She showed us the different colors of the earth in neighboring vineyards, and each produced a very different taste.

We stopped in Puligny-Montrachet for a wine tasting. There is a great statue in the square. We were given three glasses and three bottles of wine to taste. Once explained, I could really tell the difference. The third bottle was the most expensive and it was the best: Premier Cru Les Chalumeaux 2017.

As you all know, I am not the biggest drinker in the world! I had a little from each glass. Haruki drank them all. We drove back to Beaune on a smaller road with no traffic and he fell asleep. He blamed it on jet lag.

For those of you interested in bike riding, a trip to this area would be fantastic!

We were dropped off in the center of town. I didn’t know whether to tip or not, so I did. She really gave us quite an education.

By this time it was 1:30 so I wanted to find a place for lunch. I found a tea room, I didn’t want the whole big lunch that people seem to have here. I had a quiche and an iced latte. Perfect. I chatted with the server. She lived in New York where she met her husband who was from Beaune. Now she works with him. She told me she is an artist and gave me her website.

The forecast was for thunderstorms late this afternoon and this evening so I bought a “dry sausage” sandwich on a baguette so I wouldn’t have to go out. She told me to just warm it in the oven a few minutes and it would be fine.

I finally got to go the most famous place in Burgundy, the Hotel Dieu, the Hospices de Beaune. You can see it from everywhere because of the very famous Flemish tile roof. The place is fabulous. With the entry fee you get an audio guide that you wear around your neck.

Each room is numbered and you press the button of the room number and you hear all about it. It really works although it is a bit hokey, the narrator is supposedly the founder of the place in the 15th century and his third wife. In a climate and light controlled room they have the famous altarpiece by Rogier van der Weyden. There is just too much to describe, so you will just have to read about it.

I had my (salami) sandwich, heated a bit so the baguette was nice and crunchy. Very thin slices of salami, a few slices of cornichon (like a sweet pickle) and butter. Interesting.

And…it didn’t rain.

Goodnight.

Love,
Lynn

My landlady picked me up at 9:15 to drive me to the Parc de la Bouzaise where I was to meet Philippe Roux, a member of the Beaune Greeters. This is a free service for tourists.

He knew my landlady, was friendly with her parents. They had a nice chat.

The park is just outside the old city and has the source of the river. It was manicured with gravel paths and lots of ducks by the river. I had to be careful where I walked because the ducks aren’t house trained. We walked through the park and out onto a small road where there was a sign with the wine domaines of the region. There are many. Philippe explained that the Hospice owned a lot of them. He showed me the old walls around most of the vineyards, they enclose the vineyard, hence “Clos” like Clos de Vougeot. Some of the vineyards are quite small, like the size of a large lawn in State College. And one owner might own several, all in different locations. We walked through the vineyards on a small road, up and up until he finally turned me around to show me the gorgeous view. He brought a notebook with photos and showed me pictures from the turn of the century when the town turned out for a great fete after the harvest.

We walked back through the park, where they have a pigeonnier with white pigeons which were fanning their tails out. My guide thought they were much better cooked!

He had his car at the park so we drove back into town and parked at my B&B. I am only five minutes from the center and it was the best parking!

Then we started walking again. He showed me so many parts of town that I would never have seen on my own. He is fourth or fifth generation living there.

Saturday is market day and had I been alone I would’ve been looking through all the stalls.

There is a covered market which is only open on Saturday which had beautiful cheeses, the famous chickens from Bresse, and lots of eats not for vegetarians. Whole rabbit anyone? The market is used for the famous wine auction in November. think it’s the most famous in the world.

Everywhere we walked, Philippe literally bumped into people he knew. He always introduced me, and I got smiles and “bonne journee”.

He took me through alleys and courtyards and small streets that were absolutely empty. We would turn the corner and there would be hundreds of tourists. Instead of taking me to the front of the church of Notre Dame (he said he and his family would walk there every Sunday from their summer cabin in the hills near Beaune) he brought me to the back where there are buttresses and a terrace and lots more architectural bits than the front.

He showed me the Rue Paradis then showed me the next street which was Rue Enfer (hell). In reality, it was where the Duc de Bourgogne had his palace and kitchen and the heat from the kitchen gave it its name.

In between cafes on one of the main streets, he took me to a door, got the code from his phone but couldn’t open it. Luckily a very nice looking woman of a certain age came up and unlocked it and bade us to come in. We walked down a stone entry hall then into the most marvelous courtyard. I kept saying “wow”. On one side there were four levels of arched galleries, between each arch there were round carved Roman faces. They weren’t destroyed during the revolution because they were pagan representations, not religious. There was a stone basin, now planted with flowers, with a carved gargoyle pipe over it and a larger one on the corner of the 2nd story. This was Renaissance architecture following the Roman plan. The house was built in the 15th century. And we think Bellefonte has old houses!

We also went into one of the many, many wine degustation stores and he showed me a Roman wall. The stones are placed in a zig zag pattern. We went to a wine museum where they have huge wooden presses from the olden days.

Philippe showed me the building where his family had a grocery store, he had an old photo of his grandfather standing in the doorway. He died in 1941, his daughter took it over, but there was no food to keep it supplied. He also stopped at the building where his mother died which was in another beautiful courtyard.

On the way back to my B&B where his car was parked, he showed me a small canal where there is a gallery on the side. He remembers when women used the gallery to wash their clothes.

What a great experience.

I went back to the apartment where I had some bread and cheese that I had bought at the local minimart. Philippe had contacted a taxi driver he knew to pick me up at 1:45. I had reserved an electric bike and a vineyard tour. Unfortunately when I got there, they determined that the bike they had wasn’t going to work for me. My hip prevented me from getting on properly and the “electric” part of the bike wasn’t so electric. What a disappointment. I will email the owner but I think the chances of getting my money back are slim to none.

So I called the driver back, he was so nice, and he left me by the tourist office where I arranged a van tour of several vineyards for tomorrow. Philippe had shown me his choice for the best patisserie in town so I wended my way there. You go in to look at what pastry you might want, then it is brought to your table out on the sidewalk. I got very confused by all the choices and ended up with a mille feuille.

I also ordered a grand cafe au lait. It came in a regular size coffee cup with a jug of steamed milk on the side. The pastry was really as good as it gets.

I went back to the apartment to rest my poor feet for a bit. After looking at dinner choices, I decided to try to go to a pizza restaurant that was well reviewed.

As soon as I walked in, the owner. started speaking with me in Italian. He let me sit at a table which was great since all of them were reserved and he was turning people away. He really is quite a character. I ordered a Quattro formaggio, and when he put it down in front of me, it was made in the shape of a heart. I told him “Je t’aime.”

And those are my adventures today.

Love,
Lynn