Beaune and Lyon

This was the official first day of our Trafalgar tour, the coach leaving right on time at 7:45 a.m.  The traffic leaving Paris was heavy, so it was clear why Bruno had wanted to leave the hotel so early; in one hour’s time, we had only gone 14 miles.  I was struck again by the beautiful, modern architecture on the way out of Paris.  We passed the building that houses Microsoft France and Microsoft Europe and it is a good example:

As I noted in an earlier post, most of the cars on the road were sub-compact.  I never saw a pickup truck the entire time we were in France.  Many of the vehicles were electric, too; we saw an EV Mini Cooper, as well as a full-size city bus.  Cars were lined up at charging stations at the rest areas, which as in the UK are directly on the highways in service areas so that you do not have to exit for a fuel or comfort stop as you do in the US (with the exception of Florida’s Turnpike).

The trucks, interestingly enough, also looked completely different.  They consisted entirely of “cab-over” trucks with flat fronts, the cab located over the engine, rather than in the US where cabs are behind.  I learned that these trucks are lighter and have shorter wheelbases, making them more compact, maneuverable, and easier to handle in urban areas.

As we left Paris, the countryside was quite beautiful, rolling hills, hay waiting to be baled (there was no rain the entire time we were there), and fields of sunflowers.  As in the UK, there were no billboards, junk cars, or dilapidated buildings.  We passed a beautiful chateau on a little knoll, the kind of place I could gladly have explored all morning.  

Bruno told us that we were in the Burgundy region, which is known for its fine food and wine – escargot (which is eaten only on special occasions like Christmas), fondu, beef bourguignon, and Chablis, the well-known white wine named after the town by the same name we passed along the way.  It is also known for “Kir,” a drink made from dry white wine and crème de cassis (a sweet, dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants).  With the addition of champagne, the drink is called “Kir Royale.”

He also told us a little more about the French way of life.  France is the world's largest net exporter of electricity due to its very low cost of generation, relying mostly on nuclear power.  It has the fifth largest GDP in the world, and its citizens enjoy the benefits of a modern welfare state.  Health care and university education are both free, and most workers enjoyed five to seven weeks of vacation each year.  If you lose your job, Bruno said, the government will help you find a new one, and will pay you 80% of your salary as unemployment in the meantime for up to four years.  I wondered how most American workers, fearful of “Socialism,” would feel about benefits like these.

Our first stop was Beaune, a walled town in the center of the Burgundy region.  Surrounded by the Côte d'Or vineyards, the town is known for its cobbled streets and the Hôtel-Dieu (Hospices de Beaune), a 15^th-century former hospital which is now a museum, recognized for its colorful, geometric-patterned tile roof.

We toured the hospital – there was an optional audio tour you could take on your own – and then walked down the cobbled streets for awhile.  One thing we like about Trafalgar tours is that there is ample time to stop and explore on one’s own.  We found a little sidewalk café that offered take-out – healthy food, which we ate at a little bistro table on the pedestrian street outside.  It was a pretty little Town, a good place to spend a longer time than an afternoon - perhaps . .  an entire summer?

We boarded the coach again and arrived in Lyon, the third largest city in France at the junction of the Rhône and Saône rivers.  Its history goes back 2,000 years to the time of the Romans, and there is still a Roman amphitheater there (the Amphithéâtre des Trois Gaules).  We then took an optional tour of the city with an informative guide, Sylvie, who took us through the old part of the city known for its traboules, secret covered passageways between buildings that she said were often used by French Resistance fighters escaping Nazis during World War II.  We passed through gates into dark, twisted passageways and emerged into new streets, and could easily imagine how you could elude a pursuer here.

 

Lyon is also known for its painted walls, and Sylvie took us to some of them, explaining who the famous characters were who were depicted.  

It is a vibrant and beautiful city, filled with history.  At the end of our guided tour, we stopped at L’Espace Carnot and enjoyed some regional food – salade Lyonnaise, risotto, and sorbet for dessert.  The dinner began with (what else?) a glass of Kir.  

Now where can I find crème de cassis in our area?