To the highest heavens

This morning after breakfast in the wine bar (that's where they serve it), we met with our guide Sherry, who is someone known to Joan Currey and has lived in France 35 years, but was born and raised in Delaware. She has been certified by the state to be a tour guide; they undergo rigorous study and exams before being licensed. She is a wonderful guide, as you will hear.

She took us to her church, St. Benigne's Cathedral for a tour. We viewed the exterior doors and entry and the knave, and then she and Sebastien (who works in the church) led us 177 winding stone steps up to the bells! They are numerous, and each bell has been "baptised" and named as it was installed. The carillon was played for us by Sebastien, but of course, we had to cover our ears because we were inside the bell tower! It was magnificent. (I'm going to be using a lot of superlatives today.)

And then....

he took us a few more steps up and we walked across the "attic" above the vaulted ceiling of the knave, across the ancient beams, and out onto the roof of the cathedral! This is a tour that almost no one gets; he was doing it as a special favor to our guide since he knows her. We stepped out and could see Dijon and its environs for miles and miles. Some of us, myself included, DO NOT LIKE HEIGHTS. But we went anyway. How could we not? We stepped out onto the edge of the beautifully tiled roof, right along the gutter, above and below the spires and gargoyles!

It was an exhilirating experience, to put it mildly. To take the long shot of the steeple, I crouched down in a corner of the parapet we were on and aimed my camera straight up. There is a rooster on the top, and I have a more distant photo that shows it. Lots of roosters on churches here, in fact!

Bobby spotted a bird's nest with 4 eggs, which I also got a photo of.

The roof is shiny ceramic tiles in multicolors - beautiful. The gutters which we walked (inched) alongside were copper. The stone spires were quite eroded from ages of weathering.

We re-entered the attic from another opening, and walked back across the wooden beams and down a few stairs to the organ. It has 7000 pipes, and is one of the largest in France. Beautifully made of oak.

Once back downstairs, we descended into the crypt, which is actually the original church. St. Benigne is interred here, and his chapel is not accesible, but we could view it. Directly in front of it is a circular vaulted area in which we stood and sang three Taize pieces. Amazing acoustics, as you can imagine. When we were done, John said, "We should make a cd!"

The morning was capped off with lunch at La Dame de Aquitane. The food was a little challenging for me, but everyone else loved it:

Appetizer: a trio of jellied ham, escargot in a sauce that looked like warm pistachio pudding, and poached eggs in wine sauce. (I ate the tomato slice on top of the ham.) Great bread and wine, though!

Entree: Lapin (rabbit) and vegetables. I was a good girl and ate my veggies. Not Thumper, though.

Dessert: Apricot, Peach and Nectarine Cobbler, ala mode. This I devoured gladly.

Naptime, then visited another cathedral and Sherry gave us a tour of various architectural building styles in the area.

Dinner on our own. Now we are off to bed! (Look at the Taize entry again because I added photos today.)