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Paris Opera House close up
A close up of one of those top golden statues.I had some internet connection issues and so this is all being summarized very late. But better late than never!! It also takes a long time to sort through the hundreds of pictures I end up taking. I have to say a netbook is nice because it is small and lightweight but it can be a real hassle to do any decent work on one.
The high speed train (TGV) took me to Paris. My reception in Paris was pretty good - this taxi driver was super friendly, even teaching me how to speak some French on the way to hotel (and offered his services as a personal tour guide but lets not get in to that…) First night in Paris - well, there really isn’t that much to comment on except that it is a big city, reminded me of many others with the buildings, people, etc - and it’s EXPENSIVE. I walked over to the Opera House which is pretty impressive and down to Place Vendome where there is a large column engraved with scenes in the square outside the Ritz. I tried to pick a low-key place for dinner close to the hotel and was rewarded with
Eiffel Tower of course
Another one I had to include - my first view! a simple but very tasty dinner and house wine (but expensive!!). On the way out of Paris the next day, I went by the Eiffel Tower so that was my first view and I smiled. I’ll be back at the end of the trip.
It is going to be difficult to summarize things. I traveled with a group of people on this leg of my journey and this was a surprisingly refreshing change. With all the stress of traveling solo, booking things as I go, trying to drive and follow directions, etc, it was actually a bit of a relief to have the next 2 weeks pre-booked and knowing someone was going to wonder if I wasn’t around. I admit I was more than nervous about this idea - but I also knew that I could do what I want. I thought of this as arranged transportation and accommodations. I will say now, all my fears of this were unfounded as the next two weeks I will chronicle here turned out to be just super fantastic. I attribute this partly to the group being a small one and the people I met just happened to all be wonderful people,
Place Vendome Column
A close up of the column engravings. France is a gorgeous country that I am now firmly in love with and it all just came together in the best way.
We drove to the champagne region for a stop in Troyes, a very nice little town - capital of the Champagne region and this was the first view of many quaint and historic towns. A lot are rebuilt to maintain their historic importance in the same style as hundreds of years ago - usually close to whatever time had the most historical importance or at least that is how it seemed. We walked through the village and you can see how these buildings were maintained and cared for. It’s really fascinating. A lot had the same architecture as what I saw in Alsace - the half-timbered houses. When we had our free time, me and my new friends went for some champagne (of course) and it was very pleasant. In this same little town, we went to a food market that was really great - such a large selection of fresh foods. We grabbed some food to eat for lunch and tasted another champagne and off we went. We did not spend nearly enough time here.
Velezay cathedral
In this cathedral are the remains of Mary Magdalene. Next stop: Chablis. Yes this is the place where Chablis wine is made which is 100% chardonnay grape. No exceptions. The town was again a small town with old houses and cobble stone roads. We went to a wine cellar to taste the wines (Grand Cru and Premier Cru) and that was great fun. We tried several and some of us made purchases (it was very good of course) and off we went again. At this point I was beginning to worry if we were not going to be able to spend enough time in places. I guess to get that whole question out of the way, it was both good and not so good but I guess they can’t exactly plan too much and still do the full circular route. Something has to go. The places we only stopped for a few hours - sometimes we wanted more, sometimes less. Again, it depended on everyone’s preference of course. If I were traveling on my own, I would have been moving through these villages probably at a similar place and I would have been driving which is not good. I will be coming back to some of these places.
Velezay Cathedral close up
Close up of the Velezay cathedral details. Next stop was Vezelay. Tradition has it that Mary Magdalene was buried here and Richard the Lionheart set off for the Crusades from the famous basilica. This is also a stop (and sometimes the beginning) on the Way of St. James - the Christian pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in Northwestern Spain. (I think this is also known as the Road to Santiago). The Way of St. James is marked with the Scallop shell - a symbol used all along the way. The origins for this are not known for certain but there are a few theories. Rather than take up too much blog space, if you are interested it is easily googled! The town was relatively small, an uphill cobblestone road that someone said pilgrims would crawl up on their knees. We passed by some scallop symbols embedded in the road. The basilica at the top looks smaller from the outside and it is not all original, it has had portions rebuilt. The inside is as impressive and spacious as cathedrals are and we walked by the resting place of what is supposed to be Mary Magdalene. It was an interesting experience
Hospices de Beaune
Look at that roof!!! Amazing place. and a stormy day - all in all a good place.
Burgundy
We are now in Burgundy and will stay in Dijon for two nights. Ah, Burgundy. One of the places I most looked forward to!! I don’t know if I can say I have a favorite wine but Burgundy (and the Pinot Noir grape in general) is definitely near the top. It was essential to me to be able to spend no less than a full day in Burgundy. I wish I had more time to spend in Dijon. We had dinner in the wine cave at the hotel and this was once again a wonderful dinner. I ordered a glass of champagne and they poured me a Dom Perignon. I was spoiled. I had two.
We had at least one good walk around town but it was a Sunday and most things were closed. The good thing about this is that it was very quiet. The buildings here are beautiful and this town would be a lot of fun to check out. An owl is a good luck figure from here. What I remember of the story is that there was the figurine of a
Rapeseed fields
Green and yellow quilt! The yellow rapeseed was amazing - from this they make canola oil. little owl on the corner of a cathedral and the locals would come up and rub the owl for luck. I don’t remember why. The poor little owl was basically rubbed right off the church but the image persists throughout the town. I also have a picture of a fountain in a town square featuring Bacchus! the God of wine for those not familiar. Of course I needed a picture!!
I move on to my wonderful day in Burgundy with a drive through the countryside, amongst all the burgundy vines - ahhh… what a beautiful place!! Passing by the vineyards bearing those famous names was a great experience. Today’s journey is to Beaune - and the famous Hospices de Beaune. The hospices was a hospital (of course) dating back to around the 1450s. This was a place that accepted all people - the poor and wealthy. The poor ended up in teeny tiny little beds, sometimes 3 or 4 to a bed!! And near the chapel so they could pray at the end of their lives. Those with money could have rooms. Note the tile roof here - this has become a mark of the architecture of Burgundy and
is impressive. Those tile roofs took a long time to make!! The Hospice is now a museum and also where a famous wine auction takes place every year. I did not finish the entire tour here. Instead I went out to taste wine. Of course.
On the route back to the hotel, we stopped in another teeny tiny small village to see another stunning example of architecture.
This evening was off for a Grand Cru Burgundy wine tasting at a vineyard and a typical local dinner (with wine of course) at a beautiful place. The wine tasting was informative and wonderful - for a wine lover and enthusiast such as myself, being able to stand in a Burgundy vineyard, touch the soil, the vines, taste the wines - it was really great!! Wines were fantastic and dinner was simply phenomenal! What a really great day!! I only wish it was possible to ship these wines back home. But Alas - the cost of shipping would far exceed the costs of the wine and since I can buy Grand Cru Burgundies at home, it was obviously not worth the hassle on this trip. What a pity. I did, however, buy
Bacchus- God of Wine
Of course I needed a close up of Bacchus! some wines that I planned to share with my new friends.
Some additional notes: the countryside looked like a big patchwork quilt with green and bright yellow patches. The yellow flowers are from the rapeseed plant from which is made canola oil. Seeing these huge rolling fields of bright yellow was so nice!! Spring was a great time to be here. I have lots of flower pictures!
It was also really SUPER cool to drive by so many grape vines! I loved it!!
From here - the French Alps! Oooohhh... Aaaaahhhhh..... my neck hurt from trying to look at it all. (yup, that's a teaser).
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