Travel post #3: Oingt

First, a weather update: the current temperature (July 10, 2014) is 13C (55F). I have to document this, so when it's blazing hot in August I can look back and remind myself that it was actually cold in July.

Now on to sunnier topics. This post is part of my intermittent travel series, and this time we're heading to the Beaujolais town of Oingt (pronounced, very nasally, something like "wahn").

Photo courtesy voyage.michelin.fr

Greg and I first visited Oingt on our first trip to Lyon in December 2011. Oingt is situated about 36 km northeast of Lyon, a pleasant one hour drive through the hilly countryside of the Beaujolais wine district. Even that winter, Oingt was pretty: golden stone glowed warmly from the hilltop village, beckoning us forth.  Summertime makes this quaint town even more beautiful, as dazzlingly bright red, purple, and yellow flowers spill over the confines of their pots and beds. We revisited Oingt just a couple of weeks ago, this time accompanied by our daughters and one of Lori's friends from America.

Strolling through this once-medieval town immediately made me think of the opening scene of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. I couldn't help singing aloud, "there goes the baker with his tray like always..." Yes, the teens were horrified.

We started our day by climbing the winding staircase to the top of the old church. The inside is humble yet beautiful in its simplicity. An artistically mis-shapen golden cross decorates an otherwise plain stone altar. In December, the church boasts a large and very unique wooden creche (nativity scene).

From the church, we wandered throughout the tiny village (population around 600) and found an artist's works on display inside one of the ancient medieval buildings. The artist was very kind, and patient with our "Franglish" as we admired his works and asked questions about his life in Oingt. Eventually he walked us through a narrow, low passageway deeper into the building (which was a little creepy, actually -- I'm glad Greg was with us). More of his paintings and sculptures were on display there, inside a perfectly round, tiny, cold room. It turned out that we were in the center of what used to be the town dungeon! He pointed to a hole in the roof, formerly used to lower food and water to the prisoners. It was fascinating!

Beneath this tower is the dungeon 

We escaped the dungeon without incident and found the only open cafe (it was a Monday, the day when most shops and many restaurants are closed in France). We lounged lazily on the terrace which overlooked picturesque vineyards below as we soaked up the sun and feasted on crepes.

This short visit to Oingt was a day trip we'll remember fondly as the prelude to those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. Now, if the sun would just come out!