Travels in France

One of the feelings I have never escaped after nearly 10 years living in France is that of being on holiday.  Whether I'm at home in Lunel, looking out at our lovely sunny garden as I am now, or visiting places near or farther away, my privileged state of retirement always leaves me with that feeling.

Our visit to Burgundy last week was no exception.  It was an area we travelled through frequently en route for Die during our twinning years from 1992 onwards, and stopped to visit often over all those years.  A lot of our experiences there are related in my wine blog, but of course there is much else to admire.

In my 70th year we are visiting and revisiting lots of lovely places, and one we went back to this summer was the Côte d'Or, and particularly the area north-west of Beaune.  We were there in Echevronne last week, with friends Gaynor and Edward and spending time in Beaune.

Click the picture for a slideshow of our walk around Beaune and its ramparts







We also travelled to nearby historic sites, particularly the cathedral towns of Autun and Vézelay.  For me, it is the stone carvings in these places particuarly in Autun which attract me, and the slide shows below give some impression of the beauty and detail we saw, both of mediaeval carvings in the cathedral and of Roman artefacts in the museum nearby.

Click the picture for pictures of carvings and scenes in and around Autun cathedral