snapshots abroad: France: Beaune and Burgundy

This morning we had to be up early for breakfast as our suitcases were loaded onto today's bus. We said a reluctant "au revoir" to the MS Provence and her outstanding crew.

Our drive took us through Burgundy wine country. We drove through fields of rapeseed and flax on the way to Puligny Montrachet and Volnay. Right outside Volnay the road we were on was suddenly closed and the detour signs very cruelly directed us right into the town, which turned out to be very bus-unfriendly. For ten terrifying minutes the driver had to reverse down a very narrow and curving road with parked cars on either side and buildings that loomed close enough for the passengers to kiss the walls.

In Beaune we saw the beautiful Flamboyant Gothic building known as Hotel Dieu (residents of God) that I'd been eagerly waiting to see during the whole trip so far.

Hotel Dieu was built in 1443 by the wealthy chancellor of Burgundy, Nicholas Rolin, who probably wanted to guarantee his good place in the afterlife. It served as a hospital until 1971. Now there are newer facilities next door that serve as a nursing home and the new major hospital is just outside town.

The outside of the building is intentionally solemn and intimidating to keep brigands away but the inner courtyard is a masterwork of ornate triple-fired colored roof tiles (which last 300 years give or take) and the most weather vanes on one roof in the country.

The Pauper's Ward is richly decorated with carved wooden beams that are being "swallowed" by protective dragons on each side. Between the beams are carved busts of famous townspeople of the middle ages, each accompanied by an animal bust that represents each person's foible. For instance, a woman with a silly expression is next to the head of a cow.

The Hugue Ward was for wealthy people and because there were less people packed into this room, they were more likely to survive (in the earlier days you were probably better off left in a ditch than brought to a hospital...maybe that's not so different now...). In the surgery room there still exists an underground stream. It's covered with glass now but there's a long trough in the floor that was used for emptying chamberpots, dish-washing liquid, and for dumping blood and amputated body parts.

In the pharmacie the nuns' most valuable medicine was a mixture of dozens of types of herbs and opium. They had distillation equipment for making essential oils of different plants for medicine preparation.

Besides the excellent courtyard roof, the hospital's greatest treasure is the former altarpiece, commissioned by Rolin in 1450. Painted by the leading Flemish artist of his time, Roger van der Weyden, the large depiction of The Last Judgment is a thing to behold. The amount of detail is kind of mind-blowing, aside the harsh depictions of heaven versus hell. A tapestry depicting the story of St. Eligius dating to the 15th century was also impressive.

We had a little free time in Beaune before the 3-hour drive to Paris, so I thought where else should I try some Burgundy wine than Burgundy? Well, the one place that had reasonable prices had closed for lunch-time and the one place that was open wanted 15 Euros for a tasting of 3 wines. No, merci. Instead, I went to a cafe for some lunch and had a glass of wine for cheaper than the stupid tasting would have been. Oh well.

One long bus ride later, we were in Paris! We can even see the tippy-top of the Eiffel tower from our room!

Edit:
I forgot to mention that we ate dinner at Creperie Contemporaine. Their savory crepes were soooo good! Maury and I shared a carafe of hard cider. Yum yum.