A fun afternoon in Beune

After a leisurely start to our day, we took an afternoon train trip to a small town about 20 minutes away.  Its population is close in size to Lexington, so it was neat for the kids to see what a comparably-sized town in France would look like.  We walked from the train station to the town center and discovered a very cute carousel.  Hadley chose a horse to ride, Sidney and Lyndon chose the "teacup" (their favorite at Hanes Mall) and Jack chose...a chicken.  It still makes me laugh to picture him riding that chicken around and around.

After the carousel, we wandered around the streets (thanks to my terrible navigation) and finally found the Hotel-Dieu des Hospices Civils de Beaune. In French, "hotel" is the word for hospital.  This hospital was founded  in 1443 (yes, 1443 -- that isn't a typo) in order to provide hospital care for the poor.  It continued to operate in the same capacity until 1971.  It is a beautiful building that was established by a husband and wife.  They used the finest materials available and the highest standards and practices of the day to give medical services to the poor of their town.  Here is a picture of the beautiful courtyard.

We were all given audio guides, with the kids receiving their own age-appropriate explanations for the building, its operations and the medical devices and practices of the day.  We were able to view old medical equipment and hear about its uses, some of which were not very pleasant.  We all learned so much.  I am including a picture of the Great Hall, where the poor patients were served, and a picture of the pharmacy.

We enjoyed some ice cream while we further explored the streets of Beune.  It was really a lovely little town.   There are numerous wineries in the town that produce Burgundy wines that are enjoyed all over the world.  We didn't tour any, as we didn't think that would interest the kids.  We will save it for another trip...