Best of Burgundy Day 5
Best of Burgundy
DAY 5 - Friday - 9-23-05 - Chagny/Autun/Chalon sur Saone/French Lesson
Our standard routine is now to wake up at 7:15 with breakfast at 8 AM. Today we ate with George and Linda from Michigan. Linda taught 1st grade so she and Gennie had lots to talk about. As we were eating, the engine stated and the crew stowed the lines and we started our navigation of the canal. Immediately, we entered lock #26 and dropped another 12 feet. This lock was very old, one of the original in the system. At 9 Michel gave us a "picture of the day" talk. One more lock later we met our bus driver, Jean Paul and began our drive through the beautiful green vineyards that extended as far as the eye can see. The picking crews were just coming to start working the terraced hillsides. As we drove through this area we saw pheasants in the grain fields as well as a few hawks riding the thermals.
We made a brief photo stop overlooking the Chateau Rochefort, a family owned castle of one of the dukes of Burgundy. We passed through a small town of Nolay. Each little town has a city square with a statue of a past king or president and always there is a memorial to the soldiers of previous wars. The French flag was flying briskly today with the Blue for Paris, White for the King, and Red for the sacrifices of the Revolution. We made a brief stop at the Chateau of Sully, originally built in 1573.
After about an hour's drive we stopped at the Roman/Medieval city of Autun where we met our city guide Walter Barry who is an American architectural archaeologist living in the city doing historical restoration. Autun was the former Roman capital of Burgundy. Today this is a town of 20,000 people, but it was estimated to be four times as large when it was the main Roman city of the area. Walter showed me where I could find the only internet in town so I was able to send the Journal of the last two days of this trip while to others was using the restrooms. We were able to take in the fantastic marvel of Cathedrale St. Lazare. Set on the highest point in Autun, it was built in 1120 to house the relics of St. Lazarus.
Walter gave us an educational tour of the archaeological finds dating back to the 300s when the first Christian cathedral was built. This main cathedral was destroyed in the 1790's revolution and another church was built close by used by many pilgrims who came to visit the tomb of Lazarus, the patron saint of lepers or any other skin diseases. On the outside of the church Walter showed us the test patches that had been done to clean the hundreds of years of pollution from the limestone. It will take three years to complete the cleaning process.
We said goodbye to Walter at 12:30 and found a little sidewalk crepery/pizza café for lunch. Max and Irene, our new friends from California joined us. After lunch we walked to the internet spot where I finished my mail and Gennie posted her attendance and grades. We had about half an hour to explore this upscale and progressive university town and at 3 PM we met the bus at the main city square.
Our first stop just outside of town was the Temple of Janus, a three story stone and mortal structure built during the Gaul period. We left the city through the ancient Roman gate, Porte Arroux, saying goodbye to this charming city. About a mile outside of the city we stopped at the ruins of the Roman amphitheater that could seat as many 40,000 people and now overlooks a soccer field. On our way to Chalon sur Saone we passed over the bridge and through the town of St. Leger where we began our trip two days ago.
After another 30 minute drive we met the barge, now moored on the River Soane, in downtown Chalon. We took a few minutes to put our things away and we were off to explore this large urban center. We had to be back at 7 PM for dinner that we shared with Elaine from Chicago and Michel, our tour guide. After dinner we had a French lesson to help enhance our ability to communicate with the local people. Unfortunately, we all had had too much wine which made the lesson turn into more fun and great discussion. Tomorrow morning no one will remember the phrases we learned tonight!
Accommodations: Lafayette - - - Meals: B, D
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