My Favorite Photos of France – Part 4

Goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy region.
Goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy region.

In my previous 3 posts, I have shown 48 photos from the first 7 days on the French Waterways vacation that we went on last July. This post will show 23 more photos that were taken over the next 2 ½ days. Because of the large number of photos in this post, I will keep my comments to a minimum.

The opening photo was taken at a goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy wine region in eastern France. This was the first day in nearly a week that we were blessed with a clear, blue sky, and everyone’s spirits seemed to lift because of that.

Goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy region.
Goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy region.

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The goats were very friendly, they loved being petted, and goat cheese was delicious!

Goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy region.
Goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy region.

After we left the goat farm, we stopped for a short while in the very small village of Chapaize.

Chapaize, in the Burgundy region.
Chapaize, in the Burgundy region.

The blue sky was very welcome to us!

Chapaize, in the Burgundy region.
Chapaize, in the Burgundy region.

After Chapaize, we headed to Cluny.

Cluny, in the Burgundy region.
Cluny, in the Burgundy region.

We spent several hours in Cluny, and we started off by going on a fascinating tour of the remains of the Cluny Abbey.

Cluny Abbey was built in 3 sections, from the 10th to the early 12th centuries
Cluny Abbey was built in 3 sections, from the 10th to the early 12th centuries

The Cluny Abbey was built in the Romanesque style of architecture, with three churches built in succession from the 10th (910 AD) to the early 12th centuries.

Cluny Abbey was built in 3 sections, from the 10th to the early 12th centuries
Cluny Abbey was built in 3 sections, from the 10th to the early 12th centuries

In 1790 during the French Revolution the abbey was sacked and mostly destroyed, with only a small part of the Abbey surviving till today.

We then had about an hour to stroll around the small, but very busy town of Cluny. Barb bought a very nice casual dress, and I entertained myself with all sorts of photographic opportunities.

Found these lovely tomatoes while walking along Rue Lamartine in Cluny
Found these lovely tomatoes while walking along Rue Lamartine in Cluny

After a 30 minute bus ride through the beautiful Burgundy region, we stopped for lunch at a wonderful event facility in Chérizet.

Lunch at Chérizet, in the Burgundy region
Lunch at Chérizet, in the Burgundy region

That evening after dinner, several of our travel group went up to the top deck of the boat while we were docked in Mâcon. This was the 2nd time that I used my travel tripod on this trip.

Sunset view from the top of the boat in Mâcon
Sunset view from the top of the boat in Mâcon

The next morning, I poked my head out of the open window to our cabin on the boat, and took this photo while we cruised north up the Saône River.

Early morning cruising, north of Mâcon in the Burgundy region.
Early morning cruising, north of Mâcon in the Burgundy region.

We docked our boat shortly before noon in the town of Chalon-sur-Saône.

Cruising on the Saone, into the town of Chalon-sur-Saône
Cruising on the Saone, into the town of Chalon-sur-Saône

That afternoon we visited a wine cellar in Beaune.

Visiting a wine cellar in Beaune.
Visiting a wine cellar in Beaune.

In Beaune, we toured the Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune, which was a hospital for the poor and was founded in 1443.

Tour of the Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital for the poor in Beaune.
Tour of the Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital for the poor in Beaune.

This building is one of the finest examples of French fifteenth-century architecture, and is very well known for its polychrome roof.

Tour of the Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital for the poor in Beaune.
Tour of the Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital for the poor in Beaune.

Within this fabulous building, I took this photo of one of the many stained glass windows.

Tour of the Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital for the poor in Beaune.
Tour of the Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital for the poor in Beaune.

Here is a photo that I took from our moving bus, while traveling through the beautiful Burgundy wine region.

Bus ride through the Burgundy wine region.
Bus ride through the Burgundy wine region.

The next morning, we said goodbye to our boat, rode on a bus to Dijon, where we had only a little over one hour to walk around the historic part of this old city before we got back onto our bus and head toward the train station.

Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.
Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.

Dijon has a very long history, which includes the Romans. The part of town that we walked through was built in the late middle ages and into the 18th century.

Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.
Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.

We eventually came into a large open area with fountains.

Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.
Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.

We were also directly across the street from the Dijon City Hall.

Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.
Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.

It took us nearly 30 minutes to get to the high speed train station; the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV), which would take us to Paris. At times we were moving at close to 200 mph. Somewhere in the middle of farmland, another train appeared outside of the very thick window, and I was very lucky to get this photo of it while both trains were moving at a very high rate of speed.

Riding the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) from Dijon to Paris.
Riding the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) from Dijon to Paris.

It took us less than 90 minutes to get from Dijon to Paris a distance of 196 miles!

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