Today, we left Paris around 8am and drove to Beaune, arriving in Beaune around 1 pm. Beaune is in Burgundy and the area surrounding the city is beautiful and hilly. The town is very small and has some ancient buildings. It's famous for a hospital that was built around 1428 to take care of the elderly and orphans; it's still operational. We had 2 hours in Beaune to eat lunch and wander, of course, most of the stores were closed until 2pm and even then, only a few reopened before we left. We only needed 1/2 hour here, but we are required everyday to stop for 2 hours to give the driver a break. I finally had a croque monsieur, but wasn't all that impressed, mostly because it had been pre-made and then reheated in a microwave. Unfortunately, the center was still cold. I ate my sandwich with two of the gals on the tour, but got separated as we wandered the town.
We then took a drive down to Lyon and arrived around 5pm. We are staying on the outskirts, right on the river and next to the freeway. The room is lovely and large by European standards. They've made it quite modern with light wood and a flat panel TV in a special wall unit. Of course, the only English speaking TV station is BBC. They have all kinds of american TV programs, but they have been dubbed in French. They're even playing 20 yr old programs.
On the way down, I listed to R. C. Sproul talk about Providence, then switched to music. I tell you, it is really hard to listen to good music and not sing. I wonder if I'll be able to make it for another 2 weeks.
There are a lot of lovely folks on the tour, 7 from Australia, 11 from America, 3 from Canada and a couple from Indonesia, 1 from South Africa. Our guide is a man about 30 yrs old that is originally from the U.S. but now lives in Dijon.
This evening, about 16 of us drove through the town, then went to dinner at a small restaurant in Lyon. As part of the tour we went to the Basillica La Fourviere, an amazingly ornate church. Dinner was delightful, I sat next to a couple from the Phillipines now living in San Francisco, a couple from Missouri and Jack, an 85 yr old man originally from Holland, but moved to Canada. We had 3 selections for 3 courses. My first course was duck confit and Fois Gras (delicious), second course was veal with mushrooms and mac and cheese served in a ramekin (no kidding), the final course was floating island, a meringue floating in a creme sauce with carmelized sugar on the top. We returned to the hotel around 9:30. I didn't post this night as internet access is 8euro ($12) for 30 minutes.
Today was actually disappointing as I found out that the optional excursions that sold me on the trip are not available or that we we would not be spending time in places I really wanted to see. There is a difference between "see", "view" and "visit". I signed up for this thinking that I would be able to go to Arles, see the inside of Chambord spend time in Rouen and go to Giverny. Well, surprise, we aren't doing any of those. I don't know how I'm going to see the inside of Chambord (it has a cool double helix staircase), I didn't get to see it the last time I was here as I didn't count on not being able to rent a car on a Sunday and don't want to miss it again. I have figured out how I will be able to do Arles, Rouen and Giverny, but it will require me to leave the tour and take trains and taxis. I'm fine with being independent, but disappointed that I need to spend even more money to get these in. I may have the couple from Missouri join me on the trip in Rouen and Giverny.
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