Reflections in the river

Saturday
Today we drove down to the town of Auxerre, about an hour's drive southeast of Fontainebleau. The weather was cooler with more cloud cover today, but apart from a brief, localized shower in the afternoon, it remained dry until our drive back in the evening. Situated on the River Yonne, Auxerre originally became prosperous as an active port on the wine route. Then the railway superseded river transport and it turned into a trade backwater. Now holiday cruisers and hotel barges have brought the river back to life making it one of the focal points of the town. First stop was the Tourist Office, where we picked up a leaflet to guide us on a walking tour of the town. The town possesses a number of impressive churches, the major one being Saint Etienne Cathedral shown in my picture, towering over the town. Unfortunately, we didn't get to examine it closely or go inside, as it seemed to be non-stop weddings all afternoon, with the inevitable procession of cars, before and after, all honking their horns - French tradition!
We did, however, get to visit The Abbey of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre, with its cloister, and crypt dating back to the 8th and 9th centuries, which contains some ninth-century wall frescoes, discovered in 1927 beneath the 17th-century plaster walls of the crypt, the oldest surviving large-scale paintings in France. The abbey was originally a Benedictine monastery, dedicated to its founder Saint Germain of Auxerre, the bishop of Auxerre, who died in 448. The abbey reached the apex of its cultural importance during the Carolingian era. Unfortunately, during the Revolution, several bays of the nave were demolished and the secularized abbey was used as a hospital, so what you see today is only a portion of its former self.

One year ago: Big Pig Gig: Do Re Wee!