I have grown up with the signs on the perimeter of St Helens, welcoming visitors and informing of our links with Stuttgart and Chalon-Sur-Saône.
I visited Stuttgard several years ago, but despite holidaying in France lots of times, have never been to Chalon-Sur-Saône before today.
Chalon-Sur-Saône contacted St Helens almost 60 years ago, as being a 'glass' town itself, it was keen to twin with another.
We saw little of that shared glass heritage today, drawing few parallels between the northern working town of St Helens and the pretty medieval centre of Chalon-Sur-Saône.
Parking just outside the historical centre, we walked down pretty streets through the Sunday Market, enjoying the delicious smells of street food and admiring the colourful fruit and veg stalls.
The cathedral square was bustling with locals buying and selling, as well as visitors enjoying the spectacle. Down by the river, a river cruise boat was preparing to leave and people were enjoying strolling along the tree lined promenade, protected from the sun, which by 2pm had reached 34C.
We enjoyed a wander around the Photographic Museum (apparently, the first ever photograph was developed in Chalon-Sur-Saône in the early 19th century.
After sitting in the shade to eat our picnic, we returned to the car and continued our cultural journey, this time to visit the Château de Germolles, the best preserved home of the Dukes of Burgundy dating back to the 13th century. We were privileged to be given a tour of the chateau, and told the story of its long history, from the current guardian, whose knowledge was amazing and whose enthusiasm was contagious. What remains of the 13th century château (and plenty remains) has been lovingly preserved and restored, and really brings the ancestry of its inhabitants over the last 700 years to life.
With minds full of colourful images and information, we closed the day with a meditative bike ride through Rimogny to Chagny, and back along the canal tow path, to Santenay.
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