Day Three in Besançon

My friend and his kids slept late today. I did too but woke up earlier than them, 10:0 am, while the others woke up at 12:00 pm. After having coffee with everyone with the best croissants France has to offer, my friend and I were off for an afternoon stroll through downtown Besancon. Our first mission however was the train station to see if I could change my return ticket from Lyon to Paris to a ticket from Besancon to Paris instead.... After meandering through some streets of Besancon, we arrived at the Viotte station. At the ticket counter, a lady told us that there were no seats on any train both Sunday and Monday due to the ongoing strike!!! I was very upset, so I turned to begging the lady for help telling her that I was an American tourist and that I needed to return to Paris and then the U.S. She kept looking on her computer and then told us that a seat jet opened up in the 6:38 am TGV train to Paris from Besancon the next day. I told her to hold it immediately, though my friend wanted me to stay a little longer but I decided not to take any risks and be stuck in Besancon. The lady at the ticket counter even handed me 10 € back because my Lyon-Paris ticket was more expensive so an in all it was a win-win! We then headed to downtown happy that the train problem was solved....

Besancon is a city built from stone! Most buildings are old and are built from stone.. After walking for a while, we decided to sit outside in a city square and enjoy a drink! We chatted about lots of things from the past and present.. We then decided to go for a light lunch at a kabob place, it was delicious. After that, we continued our walk through some steep streets until we arrived at the top of another hill with a huge fort. From there we could see on the opposite side the fort where we were the day before with the Doubs river down in the valley. My friend decided to go down some steep steps with places that were  impassable to get to the river! That was a rather nerve racking walk. Once by the river, we walked back home through some beautiful parks! By 8:00 pm we headed to a Belgian clam restaurant driving through small towns with my friend showing me where he lived before and where the kids grew up.. Very peaceful but really tiny villages I have to say..... We enjoyed a nice clam dinner and returned home to pack and go to bed!! Besancon is another must see city if traveling through this part of France!!!

A statue in downtown Besancon showing a poor black person sheltering a kid

Another impressive church in Besancon

Downtown Besancon

Roman ruins in Besancon 

More beautiful stone buildings in Besancon 

Details of a stone building in downtown

Beautiful streets along the Doubs river

Another stunningly beautiful stone building