I had not realized how many trips or how many photos I had taken until I started to select a few photos to recap our trips. We have truly been blessed. Having cousins to visit makes trips special. JF and Nicole live in Dijon, they have really shown us some us some interesting places. Therese lived in Lyon for years and she too gave us a great tour of the city. Today she lives in San Rafael on the Med, so what an excuse to make that trip and explore a new area. In the meantime please enjoy some photos of Dijon and its area plus Lyon. As always we stop in Paris for a few days when traveling. Guess I did not explain but most trains (TGV) run to Paris, then depending on the direction, one chooses the correct station, Gare de Lyon, Nord. Este, Montparnasse, etc.
I did not realize the importance of this Town, or the Basilica. The Town is Vezelay located near Dijon. Dating back to the 5thC AD this area has an extreme amount of religious importance. The area has seen constant military conflicts with many of the convents, and other churches being destroyed in battle. A certain monk, Badillon was sent to Saint Maximin to gather the relics of Mary Magdalene which had been venerated there. In 878AD, Pope John VIII venerated dedicated the first of the churches on this site, venerating the relics. 1037 saw the relics being displayed and several miracles occurred, thus the beginning of many pilgrimages to the site. So this basilica was enlarged, Pope Innocent II presided.. From this site many of the crusades were launched including Richard the Lion Hearted. Thomas Becket excommunicated King Henry II of England from this place, , etc. etc. During the 100 Years war, the town became Protestant and the Basilica was heavily damaged, in fact it was used in part as a barn. 1840 saw the beginning of the restoration that was completed in 1861. The Basilica is part of the current pilgrimage route of Compostela. with several thousand people a year passing thru the town..
From Dijon we traveled by train to Lyon to visit Cousine Therese. She lives just outside of the main town, and overlooks the valley from her place. Once again she was a great tour guide and we enjoyed a few days learning about Lyon. I think the most impressive part was the visit to the Basilica Saint Mary. The World Cup was being played in Lyon so had to get in the mood.
