France
We were in Milan in November and planned to attend the European Triode Festival in Brittany one week later so spent the time between in France. We took the train from Milan to Lyon enjoying the mountain views.
Lyon's beautiful cathedral is omnipresent.The weather was volatile so its appearance changed continually with the light.
Lyon Notre Dame is beautiful inside and out.
So beautiful it's the backdrop for our Christmas photo this year.
I enjoyed the architecture throughout the city.
And the farmers market.
With the drop in temperature the foliage turned red.
Per met us for a few days and arranged a stay and dinner at Lameloise, in Chagny; the highlight of the trip.
When we got to Chagne the sun came out so we enjoyed an outdoor lunch before going wine tasting.
Pommard is a beautiful vineyard and their wines were fabulous.
The next tasting and tour was Meursault with more great wines.
And then the incredible dinner at Lameloise. Only one photo. I was occupied enjoying the meal.
The next day we visited the Hospices-de-Beaune, a former charitable almshouse founded in the 1400. They were just preparing for the annual charity auction which has taken place yearly since 1859. It is the event of the region and all the great wineries of Burgundy donate wines to auction.
The weather was autumnal and the splashes of natural color were so cheerful.
Our last stop before heading north was Dijon, while Per returned to Switzerland and Zoë headed to Paris. Dijon is of course famous for its mustard.
It was raining while we were there, but lovely anyway.
A few items that caught my eye.
The European Triode Festival was held in Bellême this year. It's a beautiful and historic town centering on the Church of Saint-Sauveur, largely a 17th century reconstruction of a 15th century church.
There were many lovely buildings. The region is known for rain and whenever the skies cleared I walked the streets photographing.
The town is in the countryside and the walk from our apartment into town was lovely.
There were some great sound systems to be heard at ETF.
But the photos I took were of the details that caught my eyes outside.
We flew home from Paris. It was raining so we went to the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine, a museum of architecture and monumental sculpture.
The collection includes casts made from some of the great sculpture in France. It was incredible. I could do an entire blog post on the contents.
This was my favorite. The hand positioning made me think of selfies, while ironically being a reminder of the impermanence of it all.
The museum is located in the Palais de Chaillot, right next to the Eiffel Tower so I took a few photos at odd angles.
A visit to Notre Dame was a must.
But my favorite photo was of the Eiffel Tower, the icon of France.
