Trip Report: Walkabout France 2022
Walkabout France is officially in the books. Hallelujah! And what an amazing week we had!
After a world-wide pandemic and many subsequent cancellations, I wondered at times if this business would ever get off the ground. But we made it, and our first trip was, I’d say, a huge success.
Lyon
We started our adventure in Lyon where the women got settled into our hotel, the Hotel Carlton Lyon, and got freshened up after some long flights. The hotel was perfect because, not only did it offer an amazing breakfast each day, everything was walkable from there.
Helpful tip: If you’re traveling to Lyon, fly into Paris and take the TGV train to Lyon. It’s only a 2-hour train ride, and much easier than flying into Lyon, where you’ll have to connect to get there.
That evening we met up and walked to dinner at Carmelo. (Yes, we started our French excursion at an Italian restaurant.) Such a fun atmosphere and great food.
The next day, we met up with Fabio Muniz, a missionary who lives in Lyon and who also gives incredible walking tours. What a day we had, learning about this beautiful city, its history, and the impact of the early church that spread from Lyon throughout Europe. Amazing experience!
You cannot spend any amount of time in Lyon without learning about Paul Bocuse, Lyon’s patron saint of food. Actually, he’s a very famous chef who made Lyon the gastronomic capital of France, if not Europe. So, the next evening we ate at one of the Bocuse restaurants, Brasserie Le Nord. Trés bien!
Burgundy
After two days in Lyon, we took the train to Burgundy, where we settled into a 400 year old barn conversion for a week. Katherine Frelon’s La Ferme de la Lochere was the perfect base for exploring the wonders of Burgundy, and Katherine is the consummate host. We felt at home immediately as we were greeted with a lovely platter of snacks and a champagne toast.
I had stayed at Katherine’s place before and knew it would be absolutely perfect for a group of women—and it was! Everyone felt comfortable and cared for there. And the food she created for us! Oooh la la!
Chablis
Our first full day in Burgundy brought us to Chablis where we explored the Sunday market for a while, picking up treasures and enjoying the festive atmosphere. Later, we met up at the tasting room of a local vineyard, where we were greeted by a delightful vineyard employee who drove us up into the fields overlooking Chablis.
What an incredible experience! And what a perfect way to begin our study of the vine and the branches in John 15.
For about an hour, our guide explained the vine-growing and wine-making processes. She explained the concept of grafting and what vinedressers do. Little did she know, her teaching would become very important to our lessons later in the week.
Fontenay Abbey
The next day we toured Fontenay Abbey, a 900-year-old monastery that was started by Bernard of Clairvaux. This is a beautiful, peaceful spot where we learned about abbey life and the many uses of this historical site. I will always make a point to stop at Fontenay every time I’m in Burgundy—it’s that special.
Vezelay
Driving up to the village of Vezelay is thrilling in itself. As we drove along, hills ahead of us, all of a sudden we caught a glimpse of a huge (and I mean HUGE) cathedral at the very top of a mountain (hill?). Rounding curves, we lost sight of it, but then we’d see it again, closer. It was like Vezelay Abbey was playing hide and seek with us, and we wondered how a structure that big could have been built in the middle of nowhere.
Vezelay was not originally on our itinerary, but Katherine suggested, since we had time, that we stop there. I’m so glad we did! This town is a gem. It’s small, and the main street runs straight up a hill toward the abbey. You have to park at the bottom and hike up the hill to get to there, but the hike is worth it.
Helpful tip: If you visit, be sure to walk around the outside of the abbey, around the back, where you will be rewarded with the most breathtaking views in all of Burgundy. Seriously, I couldn’t stop looking at the hills, valleys, and vineyards beyond the wall of the abbey.
Dijon
One highlight of our trip was taking the train to Dijon with Katherine who showed us the covered market in the center of town. We were treated to a wine and cheese tasting in the market, and we spent some time gathering provisions for a “potluck” dinner that we put together ourselves at the house that night.
Flavigny
I know I keep saying that everything was a highlight, but it’s true. Around every corner in Burgundy is a hidden gem, and Flavigny is no exception. It’s truly one of my favorite places in the world, and on this trip I started dreaming about what it would be like to have a summer home here like many Parisians do.
Flavigny has been a settlement since 52 AD. Just think about that for a second. Entire books of the Bible had not yet been written yet! But 52 AD is a significant date for the area where we were staying because that is the year that Julius Caesar defeated the Gauls just a few miles from Flavigny.
Because of the success of the campaign, Caesar gave the land to his commander, Flavinus, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Today, Flavigny, a very small town, houses a monastery and seminary and a famous candy factory. There are a couple of restaurants and a church and a whole lot of gorgeous homes. And sometime later this year, Katherine (yes, our Katherine!) will be opening a bakery with rooms to rent above it in town. I can’t wait to go back sometime and see it in its finished state. It’s going to be gorgeous!
There was more to our trip—visits to Semur, Chateuneuf-en-Auxois, and Beaune—but these are the highlights, I think.
In another post, I will post what I learned while we were there, but for now, this is a good overview of a very good week.
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