DAY 18 20 June Mâcon

Mâcon apparently is surrounded by picturesque farming land, acclaimed for its five wine appellations and gastronomy (sounds more like a surgical operation). Cluny has the remains of a great Benedictine Abbey.  Only 9% of the abbey remains. They hoped to restore it under Napoleon III but too much had already been destroyed. One of the popes is buried there, but not one of the important ones.

 Our tour guide sang for us and she was wonderful, the acoustics were marvellous.

Here is the Great Barn that originally housed wine barrels underneath (and it went a long way down!) and food above, It currently houses an exhibition of how different cultures represent death.

After lunch we went for a walk along the river and took shots of the bridge across the Soane. The Germans only destroyed one span during their retreat in 1944, perhaps they knew the significance of the bridge or perhaps they didn't have time or enough explosives. Elizabeth noted that the bridge spans of the bridge were not of equal width.

Macon is the home town of Alphonse de Lamartine, a poet and writer who helped write the constitution of the Second Republic.

Here is the oldest building in Macon dating from the early 16th Century.

The timber work has carved monkeys and bonneted ladies, which I can only imagine was the fashion at the time.