France 5 - Beaune / The hotel dieu, paragliders and patterned roofs

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Holidays are here again and it’s France this time. We had booked a rather strange one – 1 week in a chalet in Annecy and the other week would be spent in Brittany visiting friends who ran a bed and breakfast just outside Dinan.


Our half way stop along the way was going to be Beaune a beautiful Burgundian town with the famous Hotel Dieu and the multi coloured roofs of red, brown, yellow and green. Our journey was uneventful as the car swallowed up the French motorway miles. Just like the M6 when it was first opened. We arrived later in the afternoon and were staying in a Campanile just outside of the town. By the time we arrived the visitors had thinned out and we found a peaceful oasis of calm.




How can you describe the Hotel Dieu? Well it’s not a hospital for a start nor is it the local town hall the Mairie. It is actually a medieval hospital with a fabulous roof of multicoloured tiles. Herringbone and diamond patterns are everywhere and I wonder if the medieval roof tiler needed a plan to work from to produce such intricate patterns. Inside is a museum of medicine as well as the ward which is jam packed full of beds covered in rich red thick material to keep out the wind and the cold. In order to cater for the spiritual wellbeing of the patients an altar with cross and candles stands at the end. The patients could pray to God for divine help to overcome their sickness or make their peace before God before they “moved on”. An highly unusual building. One of a kind but worth the detour if in the area.




We arrived in Annecy too early to turn up at our home for the week so we descended on a MacDonalds for lunch. You can always rely on a MacDonalds to give you the same food to the same standard wherever you are in the world. We stocked up with a few days groceries at Mr Le Clercs. Afterwards we went out to the lake to spend a bit of timewasting. On its banks were to be found football players, boys and girls swimming or bathing in the lake. Others sunbathing on the sandy but pebbly lakeside. Paragliders were leaping off the hills catching the thermals.




We eventually set out for the last few minutes drive of our trip to Doussard a small relatively modern town/large village which looked distinctly Swiss with its wooden chalets. There was the usual immaculate graveyard and impressive church , a boulangerie, La Poste, a small but perfectly serviceable supermarket and a chemist. Our flat was above the pharmacy so if we were ill we were in the right place.




We entered the underground garage via a steep ramp and wondered how they managed in the snow. The answer came when we opened the communal garage door to reveal Wellington boots, bikes and snow shovels. The stairwell proved uninviting with walls of cream and stone echoing steps. It felt rather clinical and did not prepare us for the lovely flat we were about to enter. One wall was completely covered with wall units, the cooker, microwave, dishwasher and washing machine. A veritable home for home. A small breakfast table sat in the middle of the room and from it you could see out of the velux window to the distant mountains and the buzzards flying overhead. Two strategically placed comfortable seats were in front of the French window which overlooked the balcony. Finally there was a comfy sofa, a t.v with loads of DVD’s and a shelf full of books. Enough to keep anyone happy for two weeks let alone one. A cheerful navy blue bathroom was inviting and I found myself soaking away the cares of the day pondering tea and what to eat. The bedroom was downstairs with a French window leading to the balcony. We used this until the middle of the week when I go the mother of all colds.




Sunday – We slept well the weather excellent and the bells from the local church ringing. The small supermarket and the boulangerie was open until lunchtime. The local French children laughed at my feeble attempt at the language. I did however get the right croissants, bread and cakes. Before lunch we went lizard hunting in the graveyard and sat for a while in the nearby field listening to the grasshoppers and watching the paragliders. After lunch we walked to the next village. How polite the older French are – we were greeted by almost everyone with Bonjour Madame et Monsieur.




Tomorrow off to Switzerland for two days and leaving Annecy behind.

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Photos

Beaune
The Hotel Dieu