I had thought that we would need to take our cases to the coach, and then to the train in Dijon, and then from the train in Paris onto the coach to the ship. Nope. I just needed to leave them, with their tags indicating that they were going to the new ship in Paris, plus the cabin number, outside of my cabin door by 7:00am. They were picked up and driven in a truck directly to the ship in Paris.
I just put what I would need for the day inside of my camera bag, which I wore across my body along with my travel purse. So, once we disembarked from the Poetry II in St Jean de Losne, we didn’t need to deal with our baggage at all. Our cases would be waiting for us when we arrived at the Tapestry II in Paris. Easy.
That morning at breakfast a family of swans stopped by to say “au revoir”. We thought that was friendly of them. I took a few photos.
There were a total of eleven of us going to Paris – six to hotels, and five of us to the other ship. The others were either flying out of Lyon or taking a train from there to someplace else.
Those of us going to Paris were driven to Beaune, one of the key wine centers of Burgundy. Since the Roman times, the region was known for producing some of the finest wines in France.
Our main reason for visiting Beaune was to see the Hospices de Beaune, which was a medieval hospital that had been in service from 1443 to 1971. It was originally founded by Duke Philip the Good’s chancellor, Nicholas Rolin, as a charitable hospital for the poor. They welcomed the elderly, disabled and sick people, orphans, women about to give birth, and the destitute.
Within the hospital’s courtyard, the buildings had very colorful, tiled roofs. The pattern had been created when the hospital had been founded and then kept up over the centuries. It was very intricate, mainly using red, green and black on a yellow background.
One of the hospital’s main sources of income was wine. They still own the vineyards and still produce wines that continue to provide for the maintenance of the hospital. While we were there, COVID-19 vaccinations were being given in an area of the building. I felt that was quite appropriate.
The original part of the building, which held the hall for the poor patients, including a chapel, was pretty much a large rectangular room. Beds lined both sides, with two patients to a bed. Tables and benches were in the middle of the room for meals. At the far end was the chapel, the ceiling of which was painted and had slender, painted beams.
Later on, another room was created for patients “with means”. It was smaller, but much more elegant (with paintings) and “cozy”. In this room, it was one patient to a bed with more voluminous bedcovers.
We also visited the kitchens and the pharmacy. In another area was a multi-panel painting considered to be a masterpiece – the ‘Polyptych of the Last Judgement’ (also known as the Beaune Altarpiece) by Flemish painter Rogier van der Weyden.
After buying some earrings and a fridge magnet at the gift shop, I ventured out into the town. We had some free time before we left for Dijon. We could get some food for the train ride, peruse antiques shops, and (in my case at least) pick up a few things at a chocolatier.
Next time –the high speed train from Dijon to Paris
