Here for the Bread: Beaujolais has made our day

The Beauty of Beaujolais

Hi, Everyone:

The kids finished their last day of school today, and the French two-week October vacation begins on Monday. They are so excited, and Katherine and I are très fier (rockin’ proud) of all three of them. They are now comfortable in the school here, but their days have been long and they deserve a break.

A Viking for Halloween?

Or a cowboy????

Or this?

As a result, Katherine and I will have to suspend our own daily French classes while the kids are out of school. This is fine, but we have grown really fond of our class and our daily grammar ‘boot camp’, so we’re planning to watch lots of movies in French over the next two weeks to stay fresh.

Last weekend, my cousin joined us for a whirlwind, but excellent visit with her husband. They flew in for one night between their stays in Amsterdam and Venice, and we were delighted to spend time with them, and show them our new surroundings. Corks were popped. Food was devoured. Night-time river strolls were enjoyed. This awaits all of you if you visit us:)

They had to depart our apartment at 4:30am the next morning to catch an early morning flight so we sent them off with coffee, heavy eyelids and sleepy smiles.

My cousin and her husband enjoying Lyon

The hill that prays- Fourvière

The hill that works- La Croix-Rousse

This is what you get when you order a chicken from a French Butcher.

That same morning (though a few hours later) we embarked on our first excursion outside of Lyon since we arrived here in late August. Our language school offers weekly cultural programs, and we signed up for last Sunday’s trip: a day-long journey through the region of Beaujolais, an area famous for its wine and its landscape. Beaujolais lies about 45 minutes north of Lyon, just on the southern edge of the Burgundy region. We could hardly wait.

The flowers at the market on the way to the bus almost made me stay in Lyon for the day.

So that morning, we woke up the kids at 7:30am (they were furious, because it was a Sunday and they seriously made our morning utterly miserable. “Honestly?” our eldest child inquired, “you woke us up at 7:30am on a Sunday so we can go to wine country???” “Yes,” I replied. “And just think how lucky you are that you have parents like us.”

The face that wakes up my children. "We're off to Beaujolais, kids!!!!"

So off we went.

We hopped onto a bus only 10 minutes from our apartment and enjoyed a nice ride north to the beautiful 17th century Château de Fléchèrs, a home originally owned by a French nobleman who was (gasp!) a protestant. Luckily for this naughty non-catholic, the then-ruler of France happened to be Protestant-tolerant, and even allowed the nobleman to build a chapel on the third floor of his château. While he was not given permission to overtly advertise his chapel, the owner designed a little structural code, which coyly revealed his religious identity: three false windows on the third floor façade, representing the Holy Trinity. (Those 17th century French noblemen were so clever.)

On the bus to the Château

Note the Trinity windows, highest level, center.

Cora asked to have this bed for her birthday present.

We had a wonderful tour of the home, which is decorated in rich baroque style. A highlight for the kids was the basement kitchen and wine cellar, which was as dungeon-like as anything they have ever seen.

Leo told me that this painting looks like me.

Future Aristocrats.

Daphne is glad I dragged her out of bed, now.

From there, we were on to the highlight of the trip: an afternoon spent in the vineyard of Domain Croifolie: ( http://www.domaine-croifolie.com ), owned and operated by the Crozet family. They served as our hosts for the afternoon. We arrived to find white tents and tables lined with their lovely wines and lots and lots of regional delicacies ranging from local cheeses and sausages to their own delicious beaujolais grape juice. This was a major hit with the kids and they drank lots of it. The only problem was that the kids drank the grape juice from the same stemmed glasses that we were all drinking wine from. But, nobody else seemed to be bothered by it, so I let it go.

That is GRAPE JUICE in Daphne's glass.

We were also treated to a (strenuous) hike through the countryside. The beaujolais region is famous for the colors of its grape leaves. They turn vivid red and orange in the autumn, and we were there just as the tips were beginning to change. It was beautiful and really interesting to feel how quickly the weather changes on the hillsides.

The kids were allowed total liberty to munch grapes.

It ended up being a very long day for everyone, but a great experience and one which made me pledge to never again roll my eyes at the ‘Beaujolais Nouveau’ signs which pop up around the world, each November. Aside from the mass marketing of the ‘Nouveau,’ Beaujolais is home to some lovely wines, and even lovelier people. I can’t wait to return.