View from one of our windows in the small two-floor apartment we rented in Joigny:
In fact, it was our best view, and the only one we had 🙂
Flemming and I wanted to visit the other side of Yonne river, where the newer Joigny town was, connected to the old town by the Pont Saint-Nicolas:
The old town looked gorgeous from the bridge:
The “new town” was more lively – there were restaurants (though most of them were pizza and burger), people, lots of cars. It was +37C and we tried to stay in a shadow wherever we could. The buildings were mediocre, but one attracted our attention – it was a hospital, former hospice established in 1330:
After walking around for some time, Flemming and I found a restaurant for lunch. We ordered grilled gambas with salad, and look what a nice way to serve them:
The meal was excellent!
We went back to our charming abandoned old town. First, we got help at the tourist office to order a taxi for next morning – we didn’t really want to go up that hill with our bags. The lady at the tourist office called at least 20 different numbers, and nobody was answering. She gave up, and we had to insist it was absolutely necessary with a taxi. She was a kind person, and eventually a taxi was booked for us.
We spent the rest of the day wandering around the town and admiring its architecture.
In some of the places, there were plates describing the history of one or another house, and we read them with great interest.
Here is one of the stories. The building on the photo below is the former home of the lawyer Davier (1665-1746). He devoted himselv to historic studies and wrote “Memoirs for the history of the City and County of Joigny”. Davier left all his assets to the town of Joigny, including his house:
The house became school between 1759-1848. Its library was available to the pupils for their studies. During the French Revolution, it became the first important collection of the public library.
In 1904, Caisse D’Epargne (the Savings Bank) was established in the building. During the WWII, the building was used by the nazi. And after the war, it resumed its original function.
Flemming and I continued our exploration of Joigny. Many nice houses with fascinating architectural details were on our way, like this balcony:
Or amazing wood carvings – we thought this one was Jeanne d’Arc:
It was strange to see that such a wonderful town was completely empty. Most of the houses were left many years ago… It was very rare, we saw any people at all… In the late evenings, some residents would come out, sit outside and have a chat. There were few tourists, and a couple of cats here and there:
We loved Joigny… And we hope very much that better times lie ahead for that amazing town.
It was our last night in Joigny. Next morning we were going to Dijon.
