Week-end in Beaune in the Burgundy Region

On Saturday morning, January 15, Roger and I left promptly at 6am to head up to Beaune.   It is a beautiful town and wine capital of Burgundy which produces the Côte d'Or wines.  The prosperous town was the residence of the dukes of Burgundy until the 14 century when they moved permanently to Dijon.  The well-preserved ramparts form a walk around the town and the encircling moat now is occupied by gardens.   We arrived at 9am, checked into our hotel and were right on time for the Saturday morning marché set up on the place de la Halle.   After lunch we visited the famous medieval hospital,  Hôtel de Dieu.  In 1443, after the Hundred Years War and the Black Plague had devastated Beaune,  Nicolas Rolin, the chancellor of Burgundy, paid to build the hospital for the people of the town.  The building is perfectly preserved with its medieval decor and was used as a general hospital until 1971!  We also visited the Musée du Vin de Bourgogne( BurgundyWine Museum) and visited the Collégiale Notre Dame before leaving Sunday morning.

La Fête des Rois

La Fête des Rois, Epiphany, is celebrated on January 6 .  All the bake shops are bursting with the famous cake, called la Gallette des Rois, eaten on that day.  A tiny porcelaine figure is hidden in the cake and the person who finds it in their piece becomes the king or queen for the day.

Christmas Vacation (part 2) Beaujolais and Cote de Rhone Regions

After 3 days of skiing in Chamonix, we all drove to the Beaujolais and Cote de Rhone regions for an overnight and wine tasting.  We loved Condrieu; a lovely little town looking over the Rhone River.  The vines have all been pruned and seem to be waiting for the mantle of winter to lift and to burst forth with life!  The next day we drove to Grazac for an overnight to see the area and spend the last day in Lyon.

It was a quick 6 day trip but we all enjoyed it immensely!

Chamonix Mont Blanc-Christmas

Paula, Allison and Chris (Allison's fiancé) arrived Christmas Eve in Lyon, rented an SUV and drove through snow to meet us at our hotel in Les Houches, a village located about a mile from Chamonix.  We all enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the hotel and made preparations for skiing early the next morning.    We met with our guide, Sébastien, to discuss all the details concerning where we would ski, etc.

Christmas morning it snowed and was a complete white-out at many points during the day.  There were very few skiers out , very poor visibility, 2 feet of fresh powder,  and difficult terrain.  It was great that we had Sébastien along to lead the way!  The next two days on our own were great as there was some sun and more packed conditions by then.  We enjoyed the spectacular views of the Alps, delicious lunches on the mountain and great dinners in the town of Chamonix.

Strasbourg--Marché de Noël

After several very busy weeks in school with the first trimester grades, written comments, parent/teacher conferences and the famous 'conseil de classe' I was ready for Christmas vacation!  On Sunday, December 19, Roger and I headed north to the beautiful city of Strasbourg and its Christmas Markets.  We enjoyed listening to a superb children's choir in the Strasbourg Cathedral and shopping at all the various stands that make up the many Christmas Markets in the old part of the city center.  Scattered around were many hot-spiced wine stands--perfect on a snowy, cold evening!  We really enjoyed seeing the half-timber architecture in the district called La Petite France along the canal and dining in several of its many great  Alsatian restaurants.  Our third day was spent exploring the delightful, small village of Eguisheim on our way back to the region of Auvergne.

Festival of Lights in Lyon

On December 11 we Fulbright teachers, families and friends all met in Lyon for the annual Festival of Lights.   A group of creative lighting designers enhance the city's monuments, public buildings and contours of two rivers with a dazzling display during four days in December.  Lyon now is one of the world's leading cities in its use of public lighting, so much so that Phillips set up its European head office for exterior lighting in 1996 near the city of Lyon.  The photos represent a colorful fountain and a church seeming to grow green vines all over the facade.   

Thanksgiving in France!

What fun it was to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for my French neighbors!  Stuffed Turkey Breast Roulade was the main course on the menu as whole turkeys are impossible to buy in France until Christmas time!   Sweet potatoes, cranberries, mashed potatoes,  brussels sprouts  and  pumpkin pie  rounded out the meal.  They had never tasted some of our new world foods and even loved the dessert!  My explanation of the story of Thanksgiving (the same one I had told earlier to my students) added to complete the cultural exchange!