Beaujolais... on a strange day... or theTwilight Zone perhaps!

“A man practices the art of adventure when

he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life

through reading new books, traveling to new places,

making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints"
Wilfred Peterson

We are off on our wild new adventure to do a Tour of Beujolais!

First however we must walk to our NEW car...

NEW because the other one kept getting vandelized by the locals...

Now we have to PAY a lot of Euros

every day

to keep it in the parking garage

along the Saone River.

And who is this I see...

One of our Friends..

A little secret...

for now...

as we begin our day...

he is preparing to begin HIS :)

bon jour!

we shall see you later perhaps!

a biento!

yes many of our adventures have some of the same experiences

YOU live through every day!

Traffic,

congestion,

annoying Traffic Lights !

But Still

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

Lao Tzu

let us begin!

woo

isn't that just exciting!

here is the little tour we intend on taking...

We do plan on diverging...

We are just THAT sort of people...

this is just the rough starter...

so to give us nice ideas :)

It looks so promising!

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”

Lao Tzu

Check

Why Tour Beaujolais?

Are we HUGE Wine drinkers

well no..

we are rather NOT big drinkers

but we rather DO like the taste of good wine..

and frankly even if we didn't

this is BEAUTIFUL country, worthy of a trip!

Beaujolais is supposed to be an IDEAL,

like super terrific (catch the enthusiasm)

region for wine tasting,

and

enjoying the glories of God's Creation!

Here the land is still flat.

We are passing through more of the valleys...

This is more of the farm country,

we see lot's of different veggies...

this is SO different than when we travel south..

Here we see NO lavendar fields,

no Olive trees,

nope

the soil is richer in appearance less chalky...It is so green!

"Adventure is not outside a man; it is within"

David Gayson

"The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience.

The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him.

He goes "sight-seeing."
Daniel J. Boorstin

nearly every single little village has a

Cave

are in search of just THAT!

What is a Cave??? It is that wonderful thing called a

Wine Cellar...

And each Village has it's specialties,

because the wine culture,

as you can see from these photos utterly dominates the locals lives!

As far as the eye can see...

every square meter of earth has the vines upon it...

"Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know.”
Daniel J. Boorstin

"Not all those who wander are lost.”

J. R. R. Tolkien

Words can not express the sheer JOY in the Lord

we are experiencing this day...

Things are so hard on our BIG adventure in Lyon right now...

and in the midst of it...

He has given us THIS

"This is the day the Lord Hath made...Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

REJOICING...

just look!

WEEEE these roads are TOO fun!

Our first stop

we think we are in the town of Chiroubles...

it feels VERY much like being in

the TWILIGHT ZONE

....

eeery silence

utterly beautiful

closed shutters

NO people

no children at the park

no one working in the fields

no one anywhere

except the occasional driver,

looking VERY american

and VERY much as creeped out as us!

we do NOT find the

CAVE here...

But ....

do you think???

nah?

too twilight zone-ish

On the way to the next town

I SPYED

this!!!!!

It looked very hobbit-ish...

don't you think?

PINCH ME!!!!!!!!

"great is Thy faithfullness O God My Father...

There is no shadow or turning in thee....

All I have needed

thy hand hath provided...

Great is thy faithfulness Lord unto me"

thank you Lord...for letting me just see this!

and then, to see it with people I LOVE :)

wow...

a stone wall, more vines, and blue blue blue sky
“I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless,

as it extends into the world around us,

it goes an equal distance into the world within.”

Lillian Smith

charming....

simply and wonderfully

delightfully

charming!

I found this little area so interresting...

I am uncertain as to what these mounds are...

Are they grave markers

some sort of prayer walk...

I do not know...

I need to do some research...

If YOU haen to know what these are...

and want to help me out...

please leave your information in the comment box...

as this Utterly intrigues me :)

Right near the mounds, was this...

This is the town well...

Every every town we have come across has one of these in this area...

come and take a look!

They can close it at night I am guessing...

Perhaps so no one out late

drinking ... wine perhaps

might fall into this...

hmm

just my musings...

OH my!

the children are thrilled

yes, so enthusiastically do they rush to see!

Bacchias!!!!!!

The god of Wine!
did you know???

Marc Antony allowed himself to be referred to by this NAME...

so arrogant~

frankly he was hanging out & smooching with Cleopatra

WAY

too much

didn't remember HIS history ..

remember what happened

to Caesar??? OUR first Cave...

The cave of Bacchius..

Oh my...

We're off!

Here is the fine lady

who served us our wine to taste

This is the only place you had to pay

but she gave you a full glass too...It was delicious!

One bottle to bring home!

Merci madame!

Is this an attempt to have a HOLY MAN

a man of God

bless the cave of Bacchias???
I am so laughing

so so so hard right now...

After all that delightful conversation with the Madame in French,

we thought to try to EAT something...
a full glass of wine, at lunch is NOT something

we American's are accustomed to in

OUR little Village...

it isn't what our village Culture is based on you see...

WE need some FOOD

so we are wandering

with our children through another deserted village in search of FOOD!

Isn't this window pretty?

there are good smells coming from HERE,

and the door is open...

We are going IN...

Bonjour!!!

Oh we are excited, we have adventure planning to do,

we have food to order,

and someone has a LOT to say!

Buddy is just hungry...

He is too hungry to talk...

He just wants food...

He is depressed it wasn't on the plate ready for him

like at Oma's house...

didn't the Man KNOW He was walking up the street?

“Down to Gehenna, or up to the Throne,

He travels the fastest who travels alone."

Rudyard Kipling

no rushing here...

Let it be KNOWN

the French do not RUSH

it is why

when coming to America they either settled in the deep south

where rushing goes against

the very way of the peoples

or they live in Canada.....
we are ready to mOsEEE!

&

continue on our
adventure

just feed us!

:)

planning? never!

a view from the window...

on to the very empty streets...

the few peole who ARE in the town, all seem to be in this diner!

"I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.”

Mark Twain

I love this guy pictured above! and Love traveling with him! :)

ah! refreshments...

does this mean food is on the way?

Bon Appetite!

don't ask what that meat is.

it is ???

manna

creepy that the towns are so empty,

closed up,

and quiet...

but we are making the MOST of feeling like

we OWN the joint baby!

Ah... what a full belly can do...

"What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing;

it also depends on what kind of a person you are”
C.S.Lewis

"Not all those who wander are lost.”

J. R. R. Tolkien

“I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless,

as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.”

Lillian Smith

in remembeance of the ONE who really changed me

Saved me

thank You for the cross

Your grace simply amazes me...

cute little homes at the edge of another town...

shut pretty tight...

Great shot

of a great soul!

love it!

what a neat person!

YES, there is an "us"

we have been married this autumn 15 years! :)

together as a "couple" for 18!

and have known each other for nearly 23!

ok, feeling seasoned !

a bit like fine wine!

This is for YOU Maggie!

dear Sister,

I know how you love these fella's!

pretty

time to play

(isn't that in ecclesiastes?)

Look at me!

I am Horatio Hornblower!

I am here to defete the Frogs!!!!

(Buddy does not connect that Frogs ARE infact the French)

good thing the town is empty

I am in the crows nest!!!

I am having a grand adventure!

I can see so much from up here!

Fun!What a blast!

down the walk from the park...

thinking.... Beef Burgandy... THIS is that region...

lovely to be in the country like this...

I like this region a lot!

just down the walk.... I stumble across this pretty little house...

hmmm

yet I could live in that...

do they have one of these in "anglophone" land...

The next "cave" ???

One of the pretty stained glass windows in this beautiful wine cellar

the nice French lady explaining about the french wines...

which one will we like?

Martin has written many wonderful things,

many thought provoking,

theological,

things...

Written songs that tear at your heart

pry at our conscience

and stretch our minds

and lift our souls to sing along,

and still

he had QUITE the sense of humor...
“Who loves not wine, women and song, Remains a fool his whole life long”

Martin Luther

We chose 2 bottles here...

need to figure out how to ship back to the states :)

suggestions welcome!

not ready for harvest yet

tender, and young

like those blessings of mine

“Can you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here,” asked Alice.“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the cat. Lewis Carroll

then next cave?

I don't know anymore if we are at caves,

or at private wineries...

I don't really care,

we are having fun

windy roads,

wonderful people to meet,

great company!

Look at this old press!

See where the wine would once pour out???

That would have filled a lot of wine!

are they really worth their weight?

YES! In Gold!

“The very best of vineyards is the cellar"

Lord Byron

another cool church in another town...

Near Chenas I think!

We are on our way

to something really special!

come walk with us on this path!!!
on our left is this pretty piece of property....

YEP! this is it!

A 17th Centure Windmill

With amazing views of the Saone Valley

Tastings inside!

but first we will receive a lesson in how the windmill worked...

all in French of course!

aren't the dogs cute?

We love this gal,

between our French

and her ancient pocket translation dictionary

we understood her,

and she understood us!

We had a fantastic visit!
We stayed quite a long time,

us drinking a bit of her wine,

and the children drinking a bit of her juice.

she is SO a granny type...

ONE MUST have juice for the children!

Fantastic!

up we go...

a view...Buddy Inside the windmill :):) family inside the windmill

how it works!

yes I wanted to prove I WAS here too! Au Revoir Madame!

you are as lovely as can be!

Mercie!

"Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy."

Benjamin Franklin
Didn't THAT founding father spend a WHOLE lot of time HERE in France...

makes you wonder...

just some views I wanted to share...

the heavens were glorious all the day long...

"the heavens declare the glory of God & the firmament shows His handiwork...."

the view while we ate the worst ice cream EVER

a great shot I got while waiting for them to finish my ice cream

it was too ... wierd

Loved this ancient car, and the motorcycle...

but the guy stepped in the way, so...

it isn't as good a shot as it might have been...

still...

cool mural

that over there is Vieux LYON!

“He travels best that knows when to return."

I forget who said that....

wondering who the guy is...

you saw him in the morning shots...

here he is again in the evening...

future blog post...

pay CLOSE attention!