Sunday, 4 November 2018
Photos of Oxford 4/11
London Sun. 4/11
Yesterday our train trip from Lyon to London went very smoothly. We caught our booked TVG to Lille and as we walked up onto the concorse of the station the queue to board the Eurostar was just forming. We arrived in St Pancras station just after 5pm and walked down to the underground for the Picardilly line tube out to Heathrow. We were surprised to find that it was dark in England by five o'clock. Winter is definately on it's way.
Our hotel close to Heathrow is accessed by a shuttle called the Hotel Hopper. It's timetable is a bit erratic and Bob says it should be called the Crawler.
We caught the crawler ( it was 30 mins late) back to Heathrow this morning to catch the Oxford coach from the Central Bus Station there. This took us the 40 miles in just on an hour and delivered us to the centre of Oxford.
We oriented ourselves a bit and then booked a 2 hour walking tour for 1 pm. There are some interesting shops all up and down the main street selling clothing promoting the various colleges of the University. There are thirty something different colleges that make up the "federation" that is Oxford. We shopped a little and had lunch before setting of with 7 others on our introduction to the town and "gown" as the saying goes. The only other Aussie was a young woman from Sydney. We chatted as we walked between sites and eventually discovered that she is applying for a Post Doctural (PhD) research position and had flown in for about 10 days for a mutual inspection process. Her research area is in medical science specialising in viruses. If successful she will have a two year funding contract. I explained my noseiness by telling her abour Ingrid's role.
Now to the walk. This is a beautiful old town and we walked around places I had heard of including the Sheldonian Theatre, the Bodlian Library, the Radcliffe Camera and the St Mary the Virgin Church. The latter is 700 years old. The others were a bit younger. The Theatre was designed by Christopher Wren but named for Mr Sheldon because he supplied the capital. This also applied to to Mr Bodlian and Mr Radcliffe. The Camera was just another name for a library. We went into the library building which predated the Bodlian. Christopher Wren was involved here as well because the building had been stripped of all it's books during the time when Henry the 8th was having his tantrum with the Catholic Church. Before this time all the colleges had been Catholic and students had to be fluent in Latin to earn their degrees or Fellowships ie Professor status. Christopher restored the original library and donated many of his books.
From there we had a look at All Souls College from outside the walls. This was endowed by a Bishop who was worried by the loss of lawyers and priests during the civil war between the Catholcs and Protestants. It is magnificent even from only having a view of the bits showing above the walls. There were no students as such because it was/ is only for those who already had Fellowship status. Entry was rigorous but once "in" they were able to work on research of their choosing for as long as they liked. The bishop's architect liked towers and the building has about four that I could see. This led to the label "living in an ivory tower" for those divorced from the real world.
The main event of the tour was then to go into "New College". This was new in 1379 but the name stuck. It was endowed by a wealthy somebody who was granted the land just within the city wall of Oxford on condition that funds be allocated for the upkeep of the wall. The college is one of the largest in Oxford and now sprawls both sides of the wall but the Mayor still conducts an inspection of the wall's condition every three years. As a result it has the most significant remnant of the mediaeval wall remaining. We went into the chapel foyer to look into the chapel where they were rehersing for a Bach concert later in the afternoon. The foyer is interesting for having the only known painted windows as well as some stained glass. The painting is very effective but wasn't particularly well received so wasn't repeated. We then went into the dining room where students and fellows have their meals. There are 700 students in this college so meals are usually informal and flowing to accommodate all who want to dine. Tonight there is a formal dinner being held catering to those who obtain tickets since there is limited seating. We had a look at the menu and I didn't fancy a few things there but no doubt I would have found enough to eat. We also had a look at the courtyard and the 200 year old oak/holly tree which appears in the Harry Potter movies. Yes the tree is grafted so is both.
We caught our bus back by 4pm and it was very different to the outward trip. The bus filled as we progressed through the Oxford bus stops and some peple had to wait for the next bus. Then there was an accident ahead of us on the M40 and we just sat for about 20minutes. Even when the problem was resolved the traffic was heavy by then and the total time was two hours instead of 1- 1 1/2. Then we went to a different terminal to catch the Hopper and had trouble finding it. Fortunately our room has tea and coffee facilities so a cuppa sorted us out before we went down to dinner.
8-30 am departure for the airport tomorrow so Goodnight. End of this diary.
Our hotel close to Heathrow is accessed by a shuttle called the Hotel Hopper. It's timetable is a bit erratic and Bob says it should be called the Crawler.
We caught the crawler ( it was 30 mins late) back to Heathrow this morning to catch the Oxford coach from the Central Bus Station there. This took us the 40 miles in just on an hour and delivered us to the centre of Oxford.
We oriented ourselves a bit and then booked a 2 hour walking tour for 1 pm. There are some interesting shops all up and down the main street selling clothing promoting the various colleges of the University. There are thirty something different colleges that make up the "federation" that is Oxford. We shopped a little and had lunch before setting of with 7 others on our introduction to the town and "gown" as the saying goes. The only other Aussie was a young woman from Sydney. We chatted as we walked between sites and eventually discovered that she is applying for a Post Doctural (PhD) research position and had flown in for about 10 days for a mutual inspection process. Her research area is in medical science specialising in viruses. If successful she will have a two year funding contract. I explained my noseiness by telling her abour Ingrid's role.
Now to the walk. This is a beautiful old town and we walked around places I had heard of including the Sheldonian Theatre, the Bodlian Library, the Radcliffe Camera and the St Mary the Virgin Church. The latter is 700 years old. The others were a bit younger. The Theatre was designed by Christopher Wren but named for Mr Sheldon because he supplied the capital. This also applied to to Mr Bodlian and Mr Radcliffe. The Camera was just another name for a library. We went into the library building which predated the Bodlian. Christopher Wren was involved here as well because the building had been stripped of all it's books during the time when Henry the 8th was having his tantrum with the Catholic Church. Before this time all the colleges had been Catholic and students had to be fluent in Latin to earn their degrees or Fellowships ie Professor status. Christopher restored the original library and donated many of his books.
From there we had a look at All Souls College from outside the walls. This was endowed by a Bishop who was worried by the loss of lawyers and priests during the civil war between the Catholcs and Protestants. It is magnificent even from only having a view of the bits showing above the walls. There were no students as such because it was/ is only for those who already had Fellowship status. Entry was rigorous but once "in" they were able to work on research of their choosing for as long as they liked. The bishop's architect liked towers and the building has about four that I could see. This led to the label "living in an ivory tower" for those divorced from the real world.
The main event of the tour was then to go into "New College". This was new in 1379 but the name stuck. It was endowed by a wealthy somebody who was granted the land just within the city wall of Oxford on condition that funds be allocated for the upkeep of the wall. The college is one of the largest in Oxford and now sprawls both sides of the wall but the Mayor still conducts an inspection of the wall's condition every three years. As a result it has the most significant remnant of the mediaeval wall remaining. We went into the chapel foyer to look into the chapel where they were rehersing for a Bach concert later in the afternoon. The foyer is interesting for having the only known painted windows as well as some stained glass. The painting is very effective but wasn't particularly well received so wasn't repeated. We then went into the dining room where students and fellows have their meals. There are 700 students in this college so meals are usually informal and flowing to accommodate all who want to dine. Tonight there is a formal dinner being held catering to those who obtain tickets since there is limited seating. We had a look at the menu and I didn't fancy a few things there but no doubt I would have found enough to eat. We also had a look at the courtyard and the 200 year old oak/holly tree which appears in the Harry Potter movies. Yes the tree is grafted so is both.
We caught our bus back by 4pm and it was very different to the outward trip. The bus filled as we progressed through the Oxford bus stops and some peple had to wait for the next bus. Then there was an accident ahead of us on the M40 and we just sat for about 20minutes. Even when the problem was resolved the traffic was heavy by then and the total time was two hours instead of 1- 1 1/2. Then we went to a different terminal to catch the Hopper and had trouble finding it. Fortunately our room has tea and coffee facilities so a cuppa sorted us out before we went down to dinner.
8-30 am departure for the airport tomorrow so Goodnight. End of this diary.
Saturday, 3 November 2018
Photos from Lyon Historical Tour
Friday, 2 November 2018
France: Lyon 2/11
Our walking tour guide certainly gave value for money. There were only three of us and we walked for three and a quarter hours. The third person was a young woman from Andorra the tiny country in the mountains between France and Spain. She was quite impressd that we had been there although we didn't tell her it was just a brief stop to walk up the main street. Jerome, the guide said his maximum number is 10 and he had nine in the group that afternoon. He said the cold months used to be quiet but now they seem to have tourists all year round. It was certainly busy over in the ancient part of the town when we went there with large groups everywhere.
We began in the Jacobite Square where a church and monastery had once been. The Jacobites were defenders of the Holy Right of Kings and lost the struggle and power when there was the separation of King and State. Jerome showed us where parts of the monastery had been retained as a building entry and small courtyard when the the Square had been created in a redevelopment phase of the city. He also took us along a street which led from the square which began wide and then abruptly narrowed where the developers lost to the conservatinists and 17th C buildings were retained.
From there we went to a huge hospital building fronting the river which was built in the 15C and operated until 1990. It has been retored and converted into offices, shops and an Intercontinental Hotel. The conversion isn't quite complete so the hotel doesn't open till next year. A Benedictine Order of Nuns operated the hospital and the best preserved area was their cloistered garden which was beautiful. It also included a sculpture by Rodan which was impressive. It was called "Adam's Shadow" (in French) and had been a present to a benefactors mistress. It had not had the figure's hands and feet completed but was powerful regardless.
From there we wound in and out of trabouls, down past 15C , 16thC and 17thC houses having their features pointed out. We went into a street in the old town that was almost untouched since the 17th C and quietly walked into the foyer of a 5 star hotel which was a restored building and had created the lounge area by adding a glass roof. Because we were a small group we mostly avoided the body jam of colliding with the large groups. Jerome was proud of being able to take us where the larger groups couldn't go. He concluded by taking us to his 17C apartment for snacks of local produce. Cheese, sausage, bread, wine and chocolates. It was beautifully restored and afterwards we wished we had had the cheek to ask if we could take photos.
We did a bit of last day shopping and then in the evening went to a very nice restaurant which Jerome recommended and then booked for us. It was above our usual price range but we treated ourselves for the last night in France. We also had a soup just so we could have French onion soup. This was almost a meal in itself and by the time we had our mains we were very replete. Another day ends.
We began in the Jacobite Square where a church and monastery had once been. The Jacobites were defenders of the Holy Right of Kings and lost the struggle and power when there was the separation of King and State. Jerome showed us where parts of the monastery had been retained as a building entry and small courtyard when the the Square had been created in a redevelopment phase of the city. He also took us along a street which led from the square which began wide and then abruptly narrowed where the developers lost to the conservatinists and 17th C buildings were retained.
From there we went to a huge hospital building fronting the river which was built in the 15C and operated until 1990. It has been retored and converted into offices, shops and an Intercontinental Hotel. The conversion isn't quite complete so the hotel doesn't open till next year. A Benedictine Order of Nuns operated the hospital and the best preserved area was their cloistered garden which was beautiful. It also included a sculpture by Rodan which was impressive. It was called "Adam's Shadow" (in French) and had been a present to a benefactors mistress. It had not had the figure's hands and feet completed but was powerful regardless.
From there we wound in and out of trabouls, down past 15C , 16thC and 17thC houses having their features pointed out. We went into a street in the old town that was almost untouched since the 17th C and quietly walked into the foyer of a 5 star hotel which was a restored building and had created the lounge area by adding a glass roof. Because we were a small group we mostly avoided the body jam of colliding with the large groups. Jerome was proud of being able to take us where the larger groups couldn't go. He concluded by taking us to his 17C apartment for snacks of local produce. Cheese, sausage, bread, wine and chocolates. It was beautifully restored and afterwards we wished we had had the cheek to ask if we could take photos.
We did a bit of last day shopping and then in the evening went to a very nice restaurant which Jerome recommended and then booked for us. It was above our usual price range but we treated ourselves for the last night in France. We also had a soup just so we could have French onion soup. This was almost a meal in itself and by the time we had our mains we were very replete. Another day ends.
Thursday, 1 November 2018
Photos of our Lyon Apartmennt 1/11
France: Lyon 1/ 11
This was a very domestic day. We slept in for what was for us an unheard of hour of 9am. Then did our washing in the machine in the apartment. It was just a short walk around the corner to the laundromat for the driers. They have installed huge driers to take 14kg which could handle double our load so everything was ready to take home quite quickly.. We then caught the bus up to the old centre of the city to buy lunch and checkout restaurants. We found a few up around the Hotel de Ville ( town hall). This is an easy commute by bus so dinner was solved. We also tracked down one recommended in Lonely Planet but as we were studying the menu a friendly staff member came out and informed us they were booked out till next Tuesday, apparrently by tour groups.
We ambled around that quarter going down streets we hadn't explored before and took some wicked almond croissants home for afternoon tea. Dinner at our selected resaurant was an entetaining people watching exercise as it was a combined bar and bistro. The menu was definately tourist focused but with enough local dishes of raw meat an unmentionable sausage to suit the locals. Since I had fish last night and Bob had the chicken we both settled on steak. This was tender and came with an interseting pat of Roqufort blue cheese to have with the meat. Other than that it was a pile of fries and heap of lettuce with a good dressing.
For our last day we are going on a walking History tour so more tomorrow.
We ambled around that quarter going down streets we hadn't explored before and took some wicked almond croissants home for afternoon tea. Dinner at our selected resaurant was an entetaining people watching exercise as it was a combined bar and bistro. The menu was definately tourist focused but with enough local dishes of raw meat an unmentionable sausage to suit the locals. Since I had fish last night and Bob had the chicken we both settled on steak. This was tender and came with an interseting pat of Roqufort blue cheese to have with the meat. Other than that it was a pile of fries and heap of lettuce with a good dressing.
For our last day we are going on a walking History tour so more tomorrow.
Photos from the Zoo.
France: Lyon 31/10
Yes I know I have two 31/10. This is because I usually write the blog the morning after and yesterday I put the actual date. Yesterday we decided that we needed some greenery and caught the bus and tram up to Parc de la Tete d' Or or in English the Golden Park. It is France's largest park of the developed variety. It has a huge lake created by closing up a curve of the Rhone. There are walk trails, cycle paths, aboritum, a botanic garden and a Zoo. We walked to the lake first and then circled back to the Zoo. This is relatively small and seems to specialise in threatened species in conjunction with a European wide progamme. The animals were well set up with vegetation appropriate to their natural environment and cozy dens to keep warm in winter. Depite the cold weather ( it was raining but not heavily) many of them were out and about. The only ones we didn't see were the bears. Maybe they are thinking about hibernating. Most fun was that all the animals had big yellow pumpkins in their enclosures for Halloween and most of them seemed to be enjoying them. We learnt that the zebras have stripes on their backsides of different widths depending on whether they come from the riverlands, the plains or the hills areas. The ones we saw were from the hill country. The panther was a most magnificent creature and even he was eating pumpkin. The lion was unusual in that he was an Asian one from India. Very vulnerable status as you can imagine.
From there we walked through the Botanic Gardens. In the greenhouse they had lots of pitcher plants and sundews including examples that we find on our property and acknowledged as SW of WA.
By then we had been about three hours and it was time for lunch and a rest. Last night we adopted a different strategy to look for dinner and were successful in finding a decent restaurant with a waiter who was prepared to translate the menu for us. The French don't seem to believe in green veges except in their spinach quiches. Last night we opted for mashed potato as it was the first time we had seen it as an alternative to fries. We also agreed to pay a Euro each extra to have vegetables as well and were served half a small yellow squash and a piece of what I think was chinese radish. Have the broccoli and beans ready for when we get home girls. Despite that the food was good and we went home replete.
From there we walked through the Botanic Gardens. In the greenhouse they had lots of pitcher plants and sundews including examples that we find on our property and acknowledged as SW of WA.
By then we had been about three hours and it was time for lunch and a rest. Last night we adopted a different strategy to look for dinner and were successful in finding a decent restaurant with a waiter who was prepared to translate the menu for us. The French don't seem to believe in green veges except in their spinach quiches. Last night we opted for mashed potato as it was the first time we had seen it as an alternative to fries. We also agreed to pay a Euro each extra to have vegetables as well and were served half a small yellow squash and a piece of what I think was chinese radish. Have the broccoli and beans ready for when we get home girls. Despite that the food was good and we went home replete.
Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Photos of the Museum displays.
Confluence Photos, Lyon
France: Lyon Tues 30/10
The rain had stopped by the time we walked out but it was still very cold. The plan for the morning was to visit the Confluence Natural History Museum. As it didn't open till 11am we caught the bus over to Republic to take a walk. This has UNESCO World Heritage listing as a streetscape. We had seen parts of it in our travels but now walked the length. There is a very ornate building we couldn't identify, the Theatre and the Town Hall. We didn't take photos because it was very cold and we have lots of photos of buildings. We then walked the short distance across the Peninsular to the Saone River Landing for the Vaporretto or ferry as we know it. Our timing was very lucky because it was just starting to dock as we reached the bridge. It only runs down river hourly so if we had missed it we would have been using some other transport. It was an enclosed ferry thank goodness because the wind was bitter but the scenery was worthwhile. There are lots of retired river boats moored along the river banks used as houses, restaurants and offices which we are told are very expensive accommodation.
When we arrived at the last landing stage we found we still had quite a walk to the Confluence and the Museum entry but there is some exotic architechture in this new area and it was along the river so we took some photos as we went.
Unfortunately there was a half hour queue standing in the cold to just get into the building because it is school holidays. If it had not been so highly recommended I think Bob would have walked away. Once inside we found the shorter credit card queue for tickets and headed for the display rooms. The building itself is a bit like the Sydney Opera House in that it is a lot of building for a relatively small purpose dedicated space. Never the less it is architecturally interesting. The display rooms are dedicated to displaying the evolution of Earth's life forms and cultures. This has been achieved by thoughtful selection of facets rather than the whole overwhelming story. There was quite a representation of Australian animals including a Tasmanian Tiger and lots of Aboriginal Art detailing dreamtime stories. We spent an hour and a half taking it in and then squeezed ourselves into a small space in the cafe to have baguettes for a late lunch. Afterwards we went up to make use of the outside viewing platforms because the SUN was shining. From there we took the steps and walkway down through the building and decided not to visit the temporary exhibition. We took our first tram ride back to the area around the Gallery Lafayette shopping complex and scoped out the nearby train station that we leave from on Saturday. It was a short walk home from there and time for a rest.
In the evening we walked the streets around our apartment searching for a restaurant that was not Asian. French restaurants are all closed for the season or seem to only operate for the traditional hot midday meal. We have been told by our guides that the French are work shy and it is only immigrants who really put in the hours. We have decided to take the bus into the central square in future where there is a concentration of restaurants which stay open for tourists. Our walking guide pointed out a side street where the meals are not over the top expensive. We did eventually find a Bar/ Brasserie near the Station and had an edible meal.
When we arrived at the last landing stage we found we still had quite a walk to the Confluence and the Museum entry but there is some exotic architechture in this new area and it was along the river so we took some photos as we went.
Unfortunately there was a half hour queue standing in the cold to just get into the building because it is school holidays. If it had not been so highly recommended I think Bob would have walked away. Once inside we found the shorter credit card queue for tickets and headed for the display rooms. The building itself is a bit like the Sydney Opera House in that it is a lot of building for a relatively small purpose dedicated space. Never the less it is architecturally interesting. The display rooms are dedicated to displaying the evolution of Earth's life forms and cultures. This has been achieved by thoughtful selection of facets rather than the whole overwhelming story. There was quite a representation of Australian animals including a Tasmanian Tiger and lots of Aboriginal Art detailing dreamtime stories. We spent an hour and a half taking it in and then squeezed ourselves into a small space in the cafe to have baguettes for a late lunch. Afterwards we went up to make use of the outside viewing platforms because the SUN was shining. From there we took the steps and walkway down through the building and decided not to visit the temporary exhibition. We took our first tram ride back to the area around the Gallery Lafayette shopping complex and scoped out the nearby train station that we leave from on Saturday. It was a short walk home from there and time for a rest.
In the evening we walked the streets around our apartment searching for a restaurant that was not Asian. French restaurants are all closed for the season or seem to only operate for the traditional hot midday meal. We have been told by our guides that the French are work shy and it is only immigrants who really put in the hours. We have decided to take the bus into the central square in future where there is a concentration of restaurants which stay open for tourists. Our walking guide pointed out a side street where the meals are not over the top expensive. We did eventually find a Bar/ Brasserie near the Station and had an edible meal.
Monday, 29 October 2018
Photo Lyon
Frabce: Lyon Sun 28 and Mon 29/10
We have just had two moving days. Physical not emotional. Yesterday we had docked back in Lyon which was the end of the journey. We were required to vacate our "staterooms" by 8-30am but we did not have to vacate the ship until after lunch. The crew were busy preparing for the new passengers so along with the other laggards we went up to the lounge and emailed, read and chatted to other like bodies. The day was cold but the rain held off until just about when we were leaving the ship. Google has just told me that at 9 degrees C maximum today is four degrees warmer than yesterday. We were pleased to have a taxi ordered to tranfer us to the hotel we had booked for one night. This was a necessary decision we had made because the Air B&B we wanted wasn't available until this morning. The hotel Lyon Oeste (West) was further up the Saone than we realised so it was a good thing we weren't trying to go by public transport. The area has been an industrial area which has been revamped and is now quite trendy. The hotel is only six years old and still looks new. It was very comfortable and even had tea and coffee making facilities. We went for a walk after settling in and found the train/bus station and purchased public transport tickets. We scoped out a restaurant for dinner and found a square with a beautiful display of maple trees all with Autumn colours. I didn't have my camera and intended to go back this morning.
Unfortunately in was raining heavily this morning but we had to find a bank to withdraw cash and had a light breakfast at a boulangerie. By the time we arrived back our feet were soaked but the hotel had a heated towel rack which dried tights and socks quite quickly. We opted for a taxi to transfer to our B&B and arrived without any difficulty. We are here for 5 nights and the weather is supposed to ease tomorrow and be warmer from Wednesday onwards. We are a short bus ride from a major shopping area and the end of the route is in the Old Town if we want to go back there. We explored an undercover market which had the most amazing and expensive food imaginable. We enjoyed looking and then went down the road to have bagettes and panini's.
Our new apartment is on three levels though we won't use the second bedroom on the top floor. Bob has already hit his head twice coming down the spiral staircase and once on a projecting shelf. He has just returned from buying milk and other supplies and is about to make a cuppa.
I only took one photo this morning but will post it anyway. Till tomorrow.
Unfortunately in was raining heavily this morning but we had to find a bank to withdraw cash and had a light breakfast at a boulangerie. By the time we arrived back our feet were soaked but the hotel had a heated towel rack which dried tights and socks quite quickly. We opted for a taxi to transfer to our B&B and arrived without any difficulty. We are here for 5 nights and the weather is supposed to ease tomorrow and be warmer from Wednesday onwards. We are a short bus ride from a major shopping area and the end of the route is in the Old Town if we want to go back there. We explored an undercover market which had the most amazing and expensive food imaginable. We enjoyed looking and then went down the road to have bagettes and panini's.
Our new apartment is on three levels though we won't use the second bedroom on the top floor. Bob has already hit his head twice coming down the spiral staircase and once on a projecting shelf. He has just returned from buying milk and other supplies and is about to make a cuppa.
I only took one photo this morning but will post it anyway. Till tomorrow.
Sunday, 28 October 2018
Photos from Beaume
France: Beaune 27/10
We had traveled upriver on the Saone to Macon overnight. This town was merely an access point for the excursion as it seemed to be fairly industrial. It used to be noted as the European base of Kodak but the plant closed in 2009. The day started with a coach ride for an hour and a half into the vineyards of Burgundy. Beaune is the capital for this wine area. It is a really pretty town and our guide Sophie who spoke excellent slightly accented English took us on a short orientation tour. We then had two hours free to spend in the town centre where there was a Saturday producers market and to buy our own lunch.
Fortunately Bob and I found a Boulangerie which had indoor seating as the day was very cold. The tights, new warm jumper, jacket and gloves in my collection came into use. Bob had a jumper and jacket on but wished he had worn both his jumpers as he felt cold all day.
After lunch we visited the Hotel Dieu, a hospice which was built in 1453 by a rich man in his 60's to provide care for the poor. The theory is that he was trying to ensure admission to heaven when he died. It is known that he and his wife were genuinely committed to the project and introduced some very innovative strategies. His wife was only in her 20's when she married this much older man because she was wife number three.
I was very disappointed as we walked into the Hotel because it was built of pale stone with a slate roof and very austere profile. I had seen photos of a marvellous verandahed brightly tiled building and thought my expectations had been misguided. However as I queried our guide and we walked through the administration area I was delighted to find the colourful building behind. This was a deliberate decision by the creaters to provide an inviting and bright environment for their patients. In those days you only went to hospital when all else failed and you expected to die. The interior was similarly draped with red curtains and the ceiling beams were dectorated to give the patients a bright environment. Small gargoyIes of local notables and a companion animal for each were mounted around the ceiling to entertain the patients as they reclined in their beds. I said there were innovative ideas and some were that all linens were burnt three times per year to dispose of disease. There were comode chairs behind screens where the waste dropped into flowing water under the floor to be carried away. This had to be discontinued when after some considerable years it was realised that this kept the hospice cleaner but spread disease down stream. The nuns did all the work including the cooking and cleaning and they eventually had their own dispensary. There were 31 beds but 62 patients. Yes , two to a bed, positioned sitting up facing the alter so they could participate in the mass. Men and women were in the same ward until about 100 years later when a new ward was created. There were a few private rooms for paying patients. 25 nuns at any one time cared for the patients and when the powers that be in the Order wanted to rotate the nuns steps were taken to prevent this. The owners believed that they needed continuity to ensure that their care methods could be maintained. They appealed to Rome and in an unprecedented move the Hospice had it's own Order of nuns created. This was only discontinued when the hospice (by then a hospital) was closed in the 1990's and restored as a museum. When the husband died his wife became a nun and worked in the hospice for the rest of her life. She lived to be 64. The Hotel was endowed with it's own Burgundy vineyards which still support the Hotel Museum but also three new hospitals and other good works.
We were back at the ship by 4pm and contrived another load of laundry. It was very social down there as others did the same. Dinner was the usual excellent standard and we has a lively conversation with a couple from Yorkshire about favourite authors. Early departure from our cabin on Sunday but we can stay on board for lunch before taking a taxi to our hotel.
Fortunately Bob and I found a Boulangerie which had indoor seating as the day was very cold. The tights, new warm jumper, jacket and gloves in my collection came into use. Bob had a jumper and jacket on but wished he had worn both his jumpers as he felt cold all day.
After lunch we visited the Hotel Dieu, a hospice which was built in 1453 by a rich man in his 60's to provide care for the poor. The theory is that he was trying to ensure admission to heaven when he died. It is known that he and his wife were genuinely committed to the project and introduced some very innovative strategies. His wife was only in her 20's when she married this much older man because she was wife number three.
I was very disappointed as we walked into the Hotel because it was built of pale stone with a slate roof and very austere profile. I had seen photos of a marvellous verandahed brightly tiled building and thought my expectations had been misguided. However as I queried our guide and we walked through the administration area I was delighted to find the colourful building behind. This was a deliberate decision by the creaters to provide an inviting and bright environment for their patients. In those days you only went to hospital when all else failed and you expected to die. The interior was similarly draped with red curtains and the ceiling beams were dectorated to give the patients a bright environment. Small gargoyIes of local notables and a companion animal for each were mounted around the ceiling to entertain the patients as they reclined in their beds. I said there were innovative ideas and some were that all linens were burnt three times per year to dispose of disease. There were comode chairs behind screens where the waste dropped into flowing water under the floor to be carried away. This had to be discontinued when after some considerable years it was realised that this kept the hospice cleaner but spread disease down stream. The nuns did all the work including the cooking and cleaning and they eventually had their own dispensary. There were 31 beds but 62 patients. Yes , two to a bed, positioned sitting up facing the alter so they could participate in the mass. Men and women were in the same ward until about 100 years later when a new ward was created. There were a few private rooms for paying patients. 25 nuns at any one time cared for the patients and when the powers that be in the Order wanted to rotate the nuns steps were taken to prevent this. The owners believed that they needed continuity to ensure that their care methods could be maintained. They appealed to Rome and in an unprecedented move the Hospice had it's own Order of nuns created. This was only discontinued when the hospice (by then a hospital) was closed in the 1990's and restored as a museum. When the husband died his wife became a nun and worked in the hospice for the rest of her life. She lived to be 64. The Hotel was endowed with it's own Burgundy vineyards which still support the Hotel Museum but also three new hospitals and other good works.
We were back at the ship by 4pm and contrived another load of laundry. It was very social down there as others did the same. Dinner was the usual excellent standard and we has a lively conversation with a couple from Yorkshire about favourite authors. Early departure from our cabin on Sunday but we can stay on board for lunch before taking a taxi to our hotel.
More photos from Baume
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