From Beaune to Paris

Saturday we visited Beaune, one of the principal cities of a middle ages dukedom. It was one of the capitals used by the Duke of Burgundy who, for a time, was more powerful than the king of France. One of he more impressive places we visited was the hospital created for poor people in the 15th century, the Hospices de Beaune Hospital. It was built by Nicolas Rolin (Chancellor to the Duke of Burgundy) and its construction was largely financed by the Duke. The hospital was run by an order of nuns and its continuing operation was paid for with the proceeds from a salt works and vineyard that were given to the Hospice by Nicolas Rolin. The Hospice was decorated both outside and inside in the most pleasant ways with the purpose of making you forget your were ill. The medical tools that were used, however, were not very pleasant. In fact, they looked down right painful! After all, this was still the time that bleeding the patient was a common treatment. After visiting the hospital, we had some time to wander through the Saturday market in the town square. The breads, cheeses and produce were very impressive. We enjoyed walking around and made a couple of small purchases.

Saturday afternoon took us to the Chateau Rully where we were escorted through the castle by the Countess de Ternay. The family of Rully has been continuously living in the castle since the 12th century. The castle started with a “Keep”, which is a prison. They then added the house part. Currently, the Countess, her sister-in-law, and her son and his family live in the castle. They produce wines and give tours to maintain ownership. The castle needs a little work, a true fixer-upper, but would be wonderful place to live and work. We also visited another chateau, the Chateau de Chamirey, where we didn’t get to tour the castle, but got to sample their wine. Not bad. We did the wine tasting in a 17th century wine cave.

The views of the French countryside are breathtaking. Where ever you look, you see vineyards. It’s interesting. The government controls the wine industry all the way down to providing permission to plant a new vine, directing when to prune, when to harvest, and which grapes can be blended in the wine. Some vineyards use machines to pick the grapes and others pick by hand. This is also regulated by the government. The tight controls, including the requirements for labeling the bottles, guarantee that you will know many details about every bottle of French wine.

Sunday morning we had to vacate our cabin by 8:00 a.m. Our train to Dijon and then to Paris was scheduled for 12:45p.m. We were able to relax in the boat’s lounge until it was time to leave for the train station. That’s when we realized that we brought too much stuff and our suitcases weighed a ton, especially when we had to lug them up and down stairs to get to the train platforms. We made it to Paris around 4:30 p.m. and then to our hotel on the left bank in the Saint Germaine section of the city by a bit after 5:00.

Monday we took the day off – we slept in late and took care of a few odds and ends. We did take a night tour of the Paris monuments and a cruise on the Seine. Right now the president of France is also the head of the European Union. Because of this, the Eiffel Tower is all decked out with lights that form the circle of yellow stars against as blue background. At the top of the hour, the Eiffel Tower becomes a sparkling display of lights that lasts for about 10 minutes. It is an incredible sight to see.

Today, Tuesday, we did the historic walk of Paris. Paris started as a pre-Roman town. Just in front of Notre Dame Cathedral is the Crypt of Parvis, Paris’s original name. Here are the remains of what was once Paris, beginning approximately 2100 years ago. As with so many cities, they are built on the remains of previous cities, even using the same foundation stones. It was a fascinating visit to the past and they are still discovering more. We visited the grandest cathedral – Notre Dame. It’s amazing all the wealth housed in that church! The windows are so beautiful – no wonder it took two hundred years to build! We then proceeded to walk down the outside of the building to the back to view the flying buttresses. Behind the cathedral is a monument to the 200,000 people of France (76,000 Jews) who were deported to concentration camps during World War II. It was a very moving monument; each of the 200,000 deported is represented by a small light on two walls. Poetry was written on the walls as well as the names of the concentration camps.

We decided to visit the French Jewish Museum of Art and History. Unfortunately, we ran out of time – it closes at 6:00 p.m. and we were only half way through the museum at 6:00. The museum displayed the life of Jews in France and other European countries starting in medieval times. It is a wonderful display of Jewish artifacts and a description of Jewish life.

A short ride on the Paris metro during the crush of rush hour brought us back to our hotel. It has been a long day…. Happy 30th Anniversary to us!