We caught the train around 8am and after catching a connecting bus we arrived around 9am. The bus stop was essentially a roadside drop off and we immediately saw a horse-drawn garbage truck - yes you read that correctly. I'm not kidding, see the photo below to believe it. We strolled into town to find ourselves a little breakfast settling on some warm croissants (heaven!) before stumbling across a market with fresh and local delights. We bought some small goat's cheese niblets (not the technical name but I can't recall what they were called), some freshly-made fromage blanc and I also bought some ginger-pear jam. It was bitterly cold so we needed to locate some warm beverages immediately and settled on a cafe that was so categorically French it was amazing. I went for my standard chocolat chaud and Candice got a coffee - which in France means an espresso. We snacked on our fromage blanc and listened to the cacophony of old, French men speaking at loud volumes to each other ripe with humour in the cafe. A thoroughly French experience that I love.
And then it was time for the abbey itself. We were there just after it opened so it felt like we had the place to ourselves which was pretty amazing. The first thing you see is the foundation charter from the year 910 followed by a timeline along the walls of the entrance room. Next up was a 3D partly-animated video on what it would have looked like in all of its forms throughout the years. Once the movie finished we walked into a courtyard and were just stunned by the height of the building in front of us. The grand transept (and last remaining one) is a whopping 30 metres high; the true height of which you begin to grasp once you enter the building itself. Again being the only people in there was a fortunate moment to have to ourselves and you could really take in the history of the immense space in silence.
Adjacent to the transept are a couple of chapels to the one side and to the other is the cloister from which you can see the tower of the transept. We walked around the grounds as well and checked out a building nearby which was housing a photo exhibition in the vaulted ceiling cellar and displays artifacts from the abbey on the upper floor.
It is certainly a site worth visiting if you're near there. I'm glad Candice suggested it because I might have never gone otherwise. Since most detailed information on the abbey online is in French, here's a link with a bit of history for the keeners out there (Dad) that's in English: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/cluny-abbey.
After a very cold two hours of walking around the abbey it was time for lunch and we had arranged to meet up with my and James' friend Antonio who we know through UofT alumni, and who conveniently lives not too far away from Cluny. He suggested an Italian restaurant he knows called Le Forum which makes the best pizza (and as he is half Italian I believe him). We strolled over a few blocks and crossed a little river before coming upon the restaurant at the same time as Antonio. It was like eating in someone's old house with low, vaulted wood ceilings and was nice and cozy. The pizza also lived up to its reputation and was mouth-wateringly delicious! Feeling satiated we hopped into Antonio's car and he took us on a tour of the area making sure to stop at an old French castle with panoramic views. The castle is privately owned so you can only go so far as the gate, where we were met by the "guard" dog. Surrounded with the fall colours and this massive stone structure allowed for an excellent series of photos.
We drove on through the countryside until we came to Antonio's town of Fuissé. The area is covered in vineyards, and that includes the land surrounding the back of his house shown in the photo below of Candice. A well-known wine made in this area is called Pouilly-Fuissé which comes from the aforementioned town and the name of the hill on which the vines grow. So being an adventurous trio we went for a hike up the hill (though it felt like a small mountain) through umpteen vineyards and passing some chestnut trees. 45 minutes later we got to the top of Pouilly to be rewarded by the breathtaking view of la roche de Solutré, the limestone escarpment captured in a picture below.
The walk down was much quicker but even though we'd warmed ourselves up by hiking we were ready for some hot tea and snacks. Antonio's garden is impressive so he makes his own verbena tea which we got to enjoy, and Candice and I both got great big paper bags full of fresh rosemary, thyme and sage (though the evil US customs took Candice's from her sadly). We enjoyed some tartines with a variety of toppings including Antonio's homemade jams and chestnut spread as well as some local honey. You can always count on interesting conversation with Antonio and we discussed lots of different things from music and movies to living in Toronto to food and languages. After a glass of locally-made Pouilly-Fuissé he took us to the train station and we headed back to Lyon. It was one of those days where you get to see and do so much that you are exhausted mentally and physically but we had a solid little séjour and were super lucky to have Antonio take us around. Merci!
