Besançon

There is one problem with the place where I am staying: it is in the middle of nowhere. Well, not in the middle of nowhere, but far enough away from the well-known places to seem a little isolated. Conveniently, however, there is a train that goes from Seurre (the grand town in the area --- 2500 people) that goes to Dijon. Liking to be prepared, I had looked on the Internet of a place where I could go and see something extraordinary, so I thought I was just one step away from discovering for myself what the Internet had exposed. Soon enough, when I went to buy my ticket, I realized I had been mistaken, and there was no train going to the city I had planned. I stepped back away from the line with a sorry and a confused look on my face (those are so commonly ingrained in my face now, that maybe even when I do know what I am doing, people think otherwise) and looked at the map. It was like closing one’s eyes and pinning the tail on the donkey. I had no idea what to do. I went up to the ticket window and was faced with somewhat of a predicament. Like any good tourist, I said that I wanted to go to a pretty town; however, it just so happens that there is a French town called pretty city (Belleville). I was not getting my point across, but a few more convoluted phrases later, I was assured that Besancon, the train for which was leaving at the perfect time, was a wonderful place to visit and I should go. With no idea where I was going, I hopped the train.

With a pleasant surprise, I was greeted with an incredible sight. The town was situated, almost hugged, by wooded hills, and although the sky was gray, it could not hide the beauty of the town. Wow! And crowning it all, there was a citadel that rested on top of the city, guarding it with a terrifying beauty, reminiscent of the reason for its existence- the constant war and power struggle that was waged during the reign of Louis XIV.

I realized that I have established a fine formula for traveling in France: three things…1) Find the tourist office --- even if you have to ask everyone you see on the street --- something I often do; 2) After getting maps and information about the city, find a café where you can have a drink and eat something sweet --- that’s always my preference, but really whatever perks up the mind! 3) Formulate a route, decide on what you want to see, and start wandering. It has really been a good formula for me, and I will likely continue to operate under its generous auspices.

There are two things that one cannot miss in Besancon: the citadel and the astrological clock. Both sites made the whole trip worthwhile, but of course, the whole center of the city is a sight to see. Walking up to the citadel, I was confronted by many things: history, why ruins are so special, the beauty of nature, the unbelievable ingenuity that these historical sights reveal, and I could go on…I mean, I am a lone traveler, all I can do is think and imagine. It does weird things to you. As a side note, I love the French. I asked a woman who was behind me if she would take a picture of me, so I didn’t have to do it myself and have it look like the other 1000 I continue to take of my head and some vague landscape behind me. Instead of saying yes or no (I have never had that happen to me…what an experience though. You would have to be a very mean person or in an awful rush to refuse to take someone’s picture) she said in an almost stupefied manner, “If you want,” as if saying, “Why does this girl want a picture of herself? I do understand, but okay.” I just love it. I mean, I wouldn’t have been asking her had I not wanted a picture taken of myself, but what a nice way to respond. I laughed to myself and had a little conversation, imaging me asking someone to take my picture, them responding with…if you want…and then me replying…not really, but thanks, like it had been their idea. Anyway, I thought it was comical.

The Citadel is a UNESCO world heritage site, which is a pretty big deal. Not every piece of history gets deemed a heritage site, which is to say that the world’s history would not be complete without it. It is one of the many wonders that Vauban, one the most revered engineers of Louis XIV, who created battlements all over France during a period of something like 30 or 40 years. Really flabbergasting. I walked around the outer walls of the citadel, and climbed all the stairs I could find (I have a love affair with stairs…there is something so mysterious about them, plus they are good for the heart and gluteus maximus J The city is surrounded by a river, so not only do the trees embrace the city, but the river encloses it like a thick rope. Breathtaking.
On the other hand, in a more mechanical sense, the astrology clock was something to see. It has over 30,000 mechanisms and whatever other wonderful things are included in that. Oh, my goodness, the man who gave me the tour or the explanation was something else. I have to give him a lot of credit. I mean, his job is to explain five times a day how the clock works, field stupid questions, and throw around dates like it was a game. Truly incomprehensible, this clock, because you see, it had everything one could ever connect to time and the sense of where we are in this universe present and interwoven throughout its composition. It has a clock for the location of the planets, for the rising and the setting of the sun, for a prediction of eclipses, for full and new moons, for the date --- year and day included, for the times of places all around the world (including New York and San Francisco), plus the resurrection of Jesus that happened at midday, which was something to behold. At the change of every hour, these figures on the top of the clock move and make the motion of clanging bells, the sound for which is actually made by the clock. All that is to say that this was built in the mid-1800’s, and it only has to be wound once a day and runs on weights. I could not even imagine the intelligence those people who designed the clock possessed. Mind-boggling.