Sunday, 6 January

Fine

Avignon to Auxerre

I woke up at half past seven. We did not leave Avignon until a quarter past nine. We reached Orange at 9.40 a.m., and visited an open-air theatre which was built during the reign of the Roman Empire. It was quite intact. Probably it was built during the second century. Its height was 121 feet, while its length 338 feet, and thickness (width) 13 feet. The theatre could seat seven thousand people and had been restored in 1894. There would be performances every August. We stayed there for a while, and left the town via the Triumphal Arch (which was built in A.D.25).

We reached Lyon via Valence and arrived there at one in the afternoon. We ate lunch at a small restaurant outside the town. The restaurant was owned by a couple. The husband was the cook, while his wife was in charge of the money. Their daughter was quite pretty and she was the waitress. She chatted happily with her customers. The food was pretty good and it was the cheapest meal that we had eaten on the journey. We had salad, steak, cheese, and fruit, and it cost only 350 francs per person. Therefore, the business of the restaurant was extremely good.

At 2.00 p.m., we left Lyon, and at 4.00 p.m., we reached Chalon-sur-Saône. As the weather was so fine and it was still early, I decided to rush a little to the Royal Hotel, at 8 rue Port Villiers, where we had decided to meet. I left a note for Sun Fo, Baoqiao and others, and had afternoon tea at the coffee shop opposite to the hotel. Then we continued to drive. At 8.15 p.m., we reached Auxerre and stayed at the Hotel Fontaine, 12 Place Ch. Lepere. This hotel is also owned by a couple and their daughter. It is quite big, and the restaurant well known, therefore its business was also thriving. I stayed in Room 40, while Zhongxiong stayed in Room 43. The room has a bathtub, and it was only 3000 francs. I rested in my room for a while and then we went to the hotel restaurant to eat dinner. The hotel’s famous chicken dish was really very good. The food only cost us 800 francs for each person. We took an early night after dinner.