Beginning in Cremieu

 My last post from last year's trip was titled "Finishing Up in Cremieu." Now we're back in Cremieu, having flown in to Lyon yesterday and driven right to Cremieu.  When we left home the weather had been not-so-springlike, with temperatures in the 40's. When we arrived in Cremieu, it was sunny, in the mid-70's, and flowers were blooming everywhere.

    During last year's visit we spent our time in the center of town, and took some pictures of the medieval structures in the hills above town, including this photo of the 12th Century Priory of St. Hippolyte.


  Yesterday, since the weather was so beautiful, we took a walk up to the abandoned priory, which is in the process of being restored. We had some great views of the town below and the chateau and convent.

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  After walking back down from Saint Hippolyte, we stopped at Les Ursulines, a brewery outside the Ursuline Convent that we had visited last year. We sat and had a beer in their courtyard, then headed back to the place we were staying and had dinner at a table in the garden.

  Friday morning we made a couple of stops in Cremieu to pick up some pastries and cheese, and then headed to Gueugnon in Burgundy, where we were going to spend 5 nights with a friend. On the way, we stopped at 2 wineries in the Maconnais and picked up a dozen bottles of wine. We're now in Gueugnon at our friend's place, having gone out for a long walk with her and her dog and having dinner at her house. And if anyone still thinks that the French don't like Americans (probably not anyone reading this blog), they should know that we're staying at 2 Impasse (dead end) John Kennedy, which is off Rue John Kennedy.