October 7 – dates prior to this seem to be off. Today is karen's birthday and so I know I got it right. Spent day in Beaune, at the hospice de Beaune, a charitable home for poor and sick founded in 1432 or there abouts. They have beautiful buildings now on display and retirement homes adjacent. Then to the house of the Ducs de Borgogne which is now the wine museum. Then the call to MN then the Musee de Beaux Arts then an internet cafe. Back at LRP and the stove will not deliver gas – I am turning it back off and giving up. Electric kettle and microwave from here on....
TMI ALERT! Oct. 8. Another painful and bowel-troubled night despite OTC stimulant taken at 9 last night and 7 this a.m.. Pain when I got up at 7 a.m. Decided to pack up, leave a note, search for a medic and take it from there.
I had seen the “on-call Dr.” info on the Beaune map and went there about 9 a.m.. Its near the hospital in a rundown bldg and seems to be open only outside of normal business hours. So, to Tourist Office to get a referral. Secured appt. with a GP at noon a few blocks away so I used an hour on internet there, walked around town more, read more Moby Dick. Pain had disappeared, of course.
I had to wait 30-40 minutes at the GP office. Communicated mainly in French. He asked questions, and ordered radio/ultrasound exam to make sure there was no underlying problem and gave scripts to get things working again. His secretary turned out the lights to tell him he was working into his lunch hour. 25 E.
Walked to radiology office and found them closed at 1 p.m.. For how long?
Went back to centre ville for pharmacy. They all close 12:30 til 1:45, so I went for a salad lunch. Then got a bag of meds (4 kinds) 18.60 E.
Decided I'd check the radiology office on my way out of town and come back another day if they were closed. They were open but at first said that next appt. was Wednesday – when I am on place to US. Then she looked and saw this was a “urgence” because of accident and started things moving. I went to head of line and had 2 Xrays and an ultrasound exam. I told the examiner that the last time I had seen the ultrasound was when my wife was pregnant with our kids. She said, don't worry, there's no baby. Both turned out normal and I was out in 45 minutes. 106.14 E. total: ~150 E or ~ $200 total. You may have read some of my other writing about the French and US medical care systems. More proof..... 5.5 hours from the time I contacted the Tourist info office I was on my way with a better feeling about this situation and the bank is not broken.
I decided to drive to Tournus, south of Beaune as there is an interesting Abbey there. And 9 hours after the 2nd dose of OTC meds, the bowels started working and I got off the road to use facilities. Ahhhhh!
The rain was really heavy during much of the drive but only a few drops when I got to Tournus, on the Saone River, a tributary of the Rhone. The abbey and church there are different from most I've seen with lots of pink limestone and some other architectural features. Some of the place is 11th C. but most is later into Gothic, I think. A number of the carvings and the remains of a zodiac mosaic on the floor adds to my view that the Christianity revealed by Romanesque decoration is highly mixed with older “pagan” spiritual beliefs. Not all the monsters are seen in hell. The zodiac is an important theme seen in many of these churches. My stars realigned today. Now if the weather would make a break before Monday, as forecasted....
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