Lost in France

If you are wondering why it has been so long since I last posted a blog, it is because, the hands of the clock move even if I don't.  My bride and I are lost in France currently while someone rips and polishes our house.  Our goal for nine days was to just unwind and be a couple experiencing some back roads of France together.  We have done that and have new roads yet to discover.  Thanks to our friend, V, we have a Garmin and when she works (ie, we figure out how to properly program her) she does pretty well.  Sometimes her lefts, rights and go for it's are not the easiest to follow and thanks to her, we have found some single lane paths through mustard fields and grain fields, beside cozy rambling brooks and tree-lined tunnels or mini-Arch de Triumph.  We've seen more back roads and no toll-"free-ways" today than most Frenchmen see in their lifetime.  Our goal is to get lost and still find ourselves eating good bread, cheese and a little red wine.

A barn we found that has been out of use for a while

So that is what has happened from Beaune to Ribeauville, France.  We drove over a 1000 meter pass with a bit of snow along the roadside and the chairlifts standing quiet.  We stop in little villages that tourist never venture in and the locals speak NO English.  We have managed to eat the plate de jour a few times, order Pain Chocolates and Pain Raisins for breakfast without damage the international relations between France the the U.S.  We find ourselves in the French culture, ordering cafe au'lait or just cafe straight up for a morning and afternoon hit.  We been waking a fair bit, but I see not balance of the calories consumed and the calories burned, so I have to trust God's grace to burn them off in my sleep.

After driving over the beautiful mountain range and seeing the sleepy houses that line the roads, many standing hundreds of years and often ready for some new roof tiles, we wound down to lower plains.  One of the many villages had a sign for frommage direct and we jumped at the opportunity to get further off the beaten path.  Buy the cheese from the dairy; we bought fresh munster cheese (nothing like munster in America) in Munster at this beautiful dairy farm with a very high standard of cleanlyness.  Next was going in to pet the bull calves ready to be sold off; they were so fun and I'd love to have a half dozen back home.

The fields that we had experienced from the Loire valley to Burgandy were half mustard seed in full bloom of yellow and the other half of wheat in dark green (it was a U of O dream) and we couldn't believe that there was such a need for mustard as we saw thousands and thousands of hectars of blooming mustard.... it was beautiful.


While in Munster, we picked up a loaf of fresh bread, some girkens (little pickles), olives, apples, and some local red wine.  After our three-course "plate de jour", our groceries would serve up as our dinner and an early rest in bed.  OH, the munster was stinky, but once aired, it was very good.  


We have been driving an Opel diesel car and it has done very well.  It fits our needs well, but diesel runs 1.45 euro/liter, so between fuel and toll roads the first couple of days of chateau viewings, we will walk much of tomorrow.  Exploring is on tap and trying to interface with more and more locals.  We have found the Alsatians very friendly, and as a whole everyone in France has been very hospitable even with our lace of language skills.


Yesterday in Beaune, the "capital of Burgandy", we saw a hospital that dates back to the 15th century, it was called the Hospice of Beaune, but better know as the Palace of the Poof.  It ran until 1971 as a hospital that cared for the poor and rich alike, side by side.  It was amazing to see and we didn't even know it was there except we were lead by our hearts to explore the city and see what was in it.  This multi-paneled painting done by Wagner 1399-14something was incredible to see the detail and grasp of  man's choice.

We have seen a number of churches, but unfortunately, they are now memorials to a faith that was once very vibrant.  The buildings lack people and the Spirit of God in them and it isn't improving with the future generations. Past generations knew of the Master and the transformation of lives; those lives willing to care for the poor, tend the sick and comfort the helpless.   I don't know what it will take, but God does.  People can be so blind to how much they are loved by the God that created them.