Gray. A welcoming town.

We departed Dole and headed down the Rhone au Rhin canal towards the Saone river. We had an appointment with Catherine for some more canvas work for Matilda. We have had insulation panels on the coach house roof covered with an old blue plastic cover. The insulation has proved its worth in stabilising the temperature in the coach house so we need to have it installed and covered correctly. New insulation and a canvas cover neatly cut and sewn to fit the roof. Our appointment with Catherine gave us a few days spare and we decided to go upstream and visit Gray.

We have passed Gray in a few occasions but never stopped. We were lucky to meet Claudine from the Office de Tourism – Val de Gray. She invited us to join a group of visitors and be taken on a tour of the town. Under the direction of a wonderfully knowledgeable English speaking guide, we were introduced to some of the town’s fascinating history.  We were shown some delightful buildings including the chapel and apothecary wing of an old hospital, a hide-away spiral staircase where a famous citizen hid and the town’s lovely opera house.

The chapel was an eight sided room at the centre of the four wings of the old hospital. Each wing had a door opening to it which were opened during services so the ill in bed could partake in the service.

The chapel ceiling was adorned with paintings and what looked like bullet holes.

The walls of the apothecary were  lined completely with  wonderful cabinetry and collections of pots, jars and equipment. All original.

Another building had this very wide spiral staircase. Used to bring donkeys loaded with bags of grain to an upper mill.

The attic rooms in the house at the end of this garden were the hideaway for Pierre Fourier who was famous for his advanced ideas. He was outspoken about general education and the relief of social hardship for the workers. He took refuge here in1636 from the persecution he was suffering.

When he wished to shut himself off from the outside world, he caused the “cylinder staircase” to be swivelled.

The Gray Theatre was originally built as an opera house. It is delightfully small and intimate. When being built, budget restrictions meant that the inside columns were cast iron rather than traditional timber and the wonderful ceiling is painted fabric on a timber frame.

Our tour finished with a degustation luncheon composed of local produce and wines which was put together by Claudine, her staff and her faithful band of volunteers. Our little group of 10, all English speakers were most impressed. We were amongst a group totalling around 60 people who were entertained in the same way. We have not come across this style of promotion by the  Office du Tourismes before in France.

But, we had an appointment with Catherine, so next day we are off to Saint Jean de Losne. There will be more to tell, so we will keep in touch.