Pérouges

Hi, all:

Just a quick post, tonight.  We returned from a trip to Barcelona, yesterday, and there will be an extensive post on that one coming sooner or later.

Valentine's Day Breakfast, French-Style

Right before we headed south to Spain, we spent a really wonderful afternoon with some new friends just east of Lyon.  We met them through a terrific organization called Lyon International (http://www.lyon-international.org/?lang=en).  You might remember that Lyon International sponsored our trip to the Beaujolais region back in October.

Map of the Medieval Town of Pérouges

Walking the streets of Pérouges

Lyon International also offers a unique opportunity: an afternoon or evening spent with a French family to get better acquainted with the area, share a meal, or just practice some French.  It's a lovely thing to do, and after our trip with them in October, I signed us up.

Shortly after, we were contacted by our new friends, who offered to have us to their place for afternoon crêpes and waffles (gaufres) for goûter, and also for a trip to the famous medieval walled town of Pérouges.

The walls of the church are part of the original defense of the city

"Another medieval village, Dad?"

Pérouges is still inhabited by around 40 people year-round, and even boasts a few small businesses and a school (!).  We approached it by car, which is nice because even in the distance, one can see it perched up on top of a hill, overlooking the Ain river valley.

The French Alps from the town of Pérouges

One of the doors of the city wall

Leo wants this car

Pérouges dates back beyond the 11th century, and is today a tourist destination, but was for centuries inhabited by craftsmen.  The town is in beautiful condition and under constant preservation by the society which bears its name.

The light inside of the Pérouges chapel

The kids loved running through the streets (February is a great time to visit, because there are so few people there) and finding medieval nooks and crannies to hide inside and jump out of.  They are really into the "Merlin" T.V. series right now, and they had an up-close experience of a town in which Merlin would have been right at home.

We sampled the famous Galettes de Pérouges, which are decedent but simple treats with caramelized sugar and butter covering the top of a galette.

Galette de Pérouges

The streets are all made of small stones from the Ain river bed.  Still today, they are replaced out of the Ain.  Amazing.

A day-trip to Pérouges is a must when visiting Lyon, but bring your tennis shoes.  High heels are not a good idea in a medieval city...

Daphne and Leo maintaining balance on the street stones...

After our wanderings through the village, we headed back for our afternoon of goodies and conversation.  The French are experts in goodies and conversation.  We were plied with crêpes, gaufres, coffee, homemade preserves of every kind and some hard cider from Normandy.

Crêpe Lessons

The long wait...

The afternoon hard cider is a blessing and a curse.  It gets the French language flowing, but the grammar goes out the window...

We have been so lucky to meet such wonderful, welcoming people here in France.  As I type this, Kat and the kids are out with these friends again, this time at the movies.

À votre santé,

Aaron