Best of Burgundy Day 10
Best of Burgundy
DAY 10 - Wednesday - 9-28-05 - Disembark Barge/Transfer to Lyon via Cluny and the Beaujolais Region - Lyon
We had taken time last night to pack so we just had a little to do this morning. At 8 AM we went to the dining room for breakfast after leaving our suitcases in the hallway. Our bus was waiting for us and before we said our last goodbyes, the driver, Patrick, took a group picture of us in front of the Lafayette. The crew has only until 5:30 PM to clean and polish the barge when the next group boards at Dijon.
At 8:40 we headed south on our way to Lyon on route A-311, the autobahn. We made our first stop at Tournus, a historical stop for Saone River traffic. It was also an early center for religion in the 9th century. We visited the small village square and the austere church. In addition to the famous church, the town is noted for its beautiful tapestries and cobalt blue pottery - for Gennie it was very hard to resist, but she did manage to walk away without any packages.
From Tournus we traveled on a narrow, very winding road, through picturesque hamlets that have not changed much since medieval times. We stopped at the Château de Brancion where we were able to spend about 30 minutes. What a wonderful opportunity to see the old stone work and experience this 15th century atmosphere.
Just up the road we stopped Cormatin, the site of the famous Château de Cormatin Winery. There was an opportunity to taste these fine wines but we decided to walk around the town instead. We took another little detour to see the communal village of Taize where they have many conferences and meetings concerning religious tolerance and freedom.
We stopped at Cluny, formerly the capital of the Christian world studies. The city is noted for its fine ruined Benedictine Abbey and Roman buildings. It would be hard to underestimate the importance of Cluny to history. It was founded in 910 and became the motherhouse of an order whose more than 1,400 monasteries stretched from Poland to Portugal, and kept alive classical learning during the medieval period. Immensely powerful, Cluny's worldly wealth would eventually encourage the foundation in Burgundy of the Cistercian order, of great importance in the medieval world.
We walked with Michel to the tourist office as he pointed out the highlights of the city. He gave us all maps and then challenged the group to climb the Tour des Formages (Tower of Cheeses), the highest vantage point in the town. Derk, Gennie, and I climbed to the top with him to see the beautiful panoramic view of the city below. After our decent we were on our own for lunch so we walked to the upper town in search of an internet and finding it and other stores closed, we retraced our path to the city center where several cafes were still open, even if the tourist season has ended. We opted for a Turkish café that served kebabs - they were excellent and the service was quick and the manager was very personable wanting to know where we were from and what we thought of France. We took our time wandering through the narrow streets and found our way back to the bus at 2:15.
Everyone was on time, we have been so lucky on this trip because not only is the group very congenial but they have also been very punctual. Michel is not one to allow dawdling or excessive stops for shopping, which is just fine with us!
After another hour's drive through the Beaujolais countryside we arrived in Lyon, at 3:30, the oldest city in France on the Saone and Rhone Rivers. We immediately climbed to the Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere where we had an opportunity to see the view of the city and then to enter this magnificent church. The art and decorative work within the basilica was the most ornate we have seen in France. Once back on the bus we crossed the rivers and proceeded to our hotel. We were given our keys and were asked to attend a short orientation talk at 5 PM by the main lobby.
Gennie and I then went to a laundry where we dropped off some clothes to be washed and pressed and then went to a book store to use their internet facility. We checked our mail, uploaded yesterday's journal and then returned to our room to work on the pictures and get ready for dinner. At 7:30 we left our hotel and walked a few blocks to a Thai restaurant we had previously seen. They had a buffet dinner and it was very good and a pleasant change of pace from the good French meals we had been eating. After dinner we walked around the city center seeing some of the night life of Lyon and then returned to our room to work on the journal and see an European championship soccer game on TV between Lyon Olympique (the best team in France) against Rosenborg BK (from Norway).
Accommodations: Hotel Boscolo - - - Meals: B
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