image-in-ing

Metz Cathedral, a gothic masterpiece known as "The Lantern of God"

Continuing our tour of France, we travelled to Metz, a beautiful city in northeastern France. It was the home of Caroline Carre de Malberg, the foundress of the Daughters of Saint Francis de Sales.

Chateau de Thorens, a de Sales family home

One of the sites we visited in France is a chateau which is still owned by the family of Saint Francis de Sales in Thorens, France. Francis came from a family of means and his father dreamed of him becoming a lawyer. Although he finished his education in both civil and canon law, he followed his dream of becoming a priest.

Yep. A moat and a drawbridge.

We were met by the regional directress of the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales. She is pictured
her with our tour guide, Maria, who served as translator when language barriers impeded
communication. Maria speaks six languages and was a marvelous guide for our tour.

A portion of the kitchen...

...and the "dishwasher".

These are two portraits of St. Francis de Sales. The one on the left may be familiar to you.
The one on the right shows him toward the end of his life.

The beautiful XVI church "Eglise Saint Michel" in Dijon, France

Wishing you much joy at Christmas!

Beaune: in the heart of the Burgundy region of France

The old city of Beaune is surrounded by a wall built for defense in medieval times. It's a key wine center and the location of the most important wine auction held annually in France.

A portion of the wall which surrounds the old city since medieval times.

The wall itself is less than 2 miles in length.

The Hostel-Dieu was built in the 15th century and used as a hospital for indigent people. It was in
continuous use as a hospital until the 1970's, at which point it was converted to a museum. It is
considered to be a fine example of Renaissance architecture.

The narrow streets are a great place for browsing, visiting, and outdoor dining.

The spire of the Hostel-Dieu

The market and Hostel-Dieu at twilight

This beautiful canal which runs through Beaune was a place where women met to do
laundry in days past

A living Nativity at a nearby church

A special Advent moment...

Wine country - aaaahhh!

For the next few weeks I will be sharing some images from our trip to France. See the post from 11/27/23 for information about the purpose of our trip.

The grape harvest had just begun. The grape vines are tightly packed, and it's hard to imagine being able to drive a tractor through the narrow rows without severely damaging the crops! These fields of grapes extend for mile upon mile.

We had the opportunity to tour the winery at Chateau de Marsannay

The bright red spots on this map are the grape vines belonging to this winery. When someone
inherits grapevines, they are faced with steep inheritance taxes and often must sell sections of the vines
they inherit. This results in scattered holdings that must present a challenge come harvest time!

This was just one of the cellars where the wine is stored until the proper time for bottling.

Here our guide showed how the soil, rock, pH, and drainage impact the quality of the wine.

Of course we had to try the wares - and the wine was quite delicious.

A view from the chateau to the lush fields of grape vines.

A few sights from Brussels

As a Daughter of St. Francis de Sales, I was privileged to have the opportunity to go on a pilgrimage to some of the sites in France which were important to St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal, who was a close spiritual friend. The two of them founded the Visitation Order, which still exists today. Francis de Sales wrote extensively. His most famous book, Introduction to the Devout Life, is still considered to be a spiritual classic. In it, St. Francis proposes that holiness is possible for all people, not just those who are professed priests and nuns. In his day, this was quite a novel idea.

Before embarking on our pilgrimage, we landed in Brussels, where we spent a day prior to heading to France. Over the next few weeks, I'll share some photos of the rest of our trip. It was beautiful!

Charming narrow streets with lots of outdoor dining opportunities.

The Atomium, originally constructed for the 1958 Worlds Fair

Statue of a former mayor of Brussels and his beloved dog.

A peculiar name for a restaurant, IMHO!

Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries, a fantastic shopping arcade opened between 1846-1847

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