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After our brief stop in the rain at Vézelay. We continued on to the big town of Avallon, population 6,500. We were in hurry by then, because the appointed hour for our gîte check-in was rapidly approaching. We mainly spent a few minutes walking around the 11th- and 12th-century église Saint-Lazare. Right next to it stands what remains of a much older chapel that was dedicated to Saint-Pierre, a statue of whom you see below. Both the big church and the little chapel have suffered greatly over the years from damage inflicted by lightning and wind storms. We didn't get to go inside either building because we had the dog to look after.
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I don't know what this sculpture of a frog on the street near the church was all about. The yellow house next to it is a museum owned by the town of Avallon. The house was badly damaged when the bell tower of the chuch next to it was blown over by high winds in a storm in 1633. Both the house and church had to be re-built. I feel like we didn't do Avallon justice and I'd like to go back there one day, as well as to another big town, Autun, which is not far south. It was time to continue our drive toward Môlay, Chablis, and Tonnerre.
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I probably mentioned this before, but Avallon is the town where my au pair family had their vacation / weekend house (which was a big farmhouse with a nice-sized side yard, that they co-owned with other family members,and where Madame Lacombe's parents lived, most of the year). We spent Christmas holidays and many weekends there. It was pretty rustic, but with modernized amenities. We didn't go into the town proper much, but I walked in once or twice. My memory isn't of it being a big town! LOL Autun, though... I loved Autun! Because I love the Romanesque church there, and the little museum next to it.
ReplyDeleteAn impressive looking small town.
ReplyDeleteThe église Saint-Lazare is quite pretty. That looks like a Banksy graffiti in the last photo - the man hanging out the window.
ReplyDeleteO/T My house is sold. Now, I’m homeless!
ReplyDeleteHi chm, thinking of you, I think we all are. Hope you got a great price for it.
DeleteCHM- yes we are all thinking about you and always glad to see you here. Take care.
DeleteWow. I'm stunned. You had owned that house for more than 40 years, I believe.
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