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Graham & Jane
Yesterday started as a very restful day mainly because we were both "stuffed" from lots of early mornings, late nights and being on the go non stop for a few weeks. Also of course because we were looking forward to one of the biggest highlights of the whole trip yesterday evening and wanted to ensure we both appreciated every second of it.
Last night was the night at the Moulin Rouge, would have loved to be able to share some pictures with you all but, they are very VERY VERY strict on not having any cameras inside the building and anyone trying with their phone was told they would be ejected if seen and caught. I did not even take the camera or phone with me. To say it was fantastic, excellent, amazing etc. would be an absolute understatement, we had seen the documentaries on the Moulin Rouge and they just do not do it justice. The show consists of 4 sets of dancing with 3 "other" acts in between, the last one of which had been the winner of Britain's got talent in 2014, so no mean act on his own. The costumes (what there was of them for some dances) were amazing, the choreography etc. and of course the setting were just brilliant.
Today was back up early and off the ship ready for another big day, yes more trains, we took the TGV from Paris to Dijon, where we transferred to a bus to Beaune where we had a choice of 3 activities, wine tasting, tour of a Hospital for the poor, or free time to do as we wished. Now I am sure you are all thinking we did the wine tasting, but no we did the Hospital tour.
We visited the Hotel Dieu which is a work of charity perfectly preserved from the Middle Ages and in use to the early 20th century hospital for the poor. It was set up in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin who was chancellor to the then Duke of Burgundy. The chancellor and his wife decided to set up the hospital and endowed it with an annual income (a saltworks) and its own resources (vines).
The hospital continues today, with most of its income coming now from the vines, every year the harvest is auctioned off. This function is now undertaken by Christie's auction house, and last year raised E$25M. This of course only pays for the wine in the barrels the lucky winners of the auction then have to have the wine bottled and labeled after a few years before it can be drunk or sold. We were told this activity alone can double the price of your purchase.
From there it was back onto the bus to join our new ship Poetry II, and meet an almost whole new cast of people as there were only 8 of us continuing from the first cruise to this.
Last night was the night at the Moulin Rouge, would have loved to be able to share some pictures with you all but, they are very VERY VERY strict on not having any cameras inside the building and anyone trying with their phone was told they would be ejected if seen and caught. I did not even take the camera or phone with me. To say it was fantastic, excellent, amazing etc. would be an absolute understatement, we had seen the documentaries on the Moulin Rouge and they just do not do it justice. The show consists of 4 sets of dancing with 3 "other" acts in between, the last one of which had been the winner of Britain's got talent in 2014, so no mean act on his own. The costumes (what there was of them for some dances) were amazing, the choreography etc. and of course the setting were just brilliant.
Today was back up early and off the ship ready for another big day, yes more trains, we took the TGV from Paris to Dijon, where we transferred to a bus to Beaune where we had a choice of 3 activities, wine tasting, tour of a Hospital for the poor, or free time to do as we wished. Now I am sure you are all thinking we did the wine tasting, but no we did the Hospital tour.
We visited the Hotel Dieu which is a work of charity perfectly preserved from the Middle Ages and in use to the early 20th century hospital for the poor. It was set up in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin who was chancellor to the then Duke of Burgundy. The chancellor and his wife decided to set up the hospital and endowed it with an annual income (a saltworks) and its own resources (vines).
The hospital continues today, with most of its income coming now from the vines, every year the harvest is auctioned off. This function is now undertaken by Christie's auction house, and last year raised E$25M. This of course only pays for the wine in the barrels the lucky winners of the auction then have to have the wine bottled and labeled after a few years before it can be drunk or sold. We were told this activity alone can double the price of your purchase.
From there it was back onto the bus to join our new ship Poetry II, and meet an almost whole new cast of people as there were only 8 of us continuing from the first cruise to this.
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