Paris

Monday to Thursday, 25 -  28 August

Flew into a cloudy, crazy Monday morning at Charles de Gaulle Airport after a comfortable flight on lovely  Cathay Pacific overnight from Hong Kong.  The only downside to flying with Cathay is the six hour lay over at Hong Kong airport - rather tedious but never mind.  Luggage collection was a bit slow this morning due to a malfunctioning conveyor belt.  I had somewhat of a trek from Terminal 2A to Terminal 2E but plenty of time before Eleanor and Freya's arrival from London.  Paul's provided the usual good coffee and yummy croissant to help pass the time while I waited at the arrivals hall.  Being Monday morning and with the French holidays coming to an end this week the airport was super busy - crowds of people playing trolley derby in the walkways.  I was thinking how smoothly the process of arriving and meeting the girls was as I saw that their flight had landed when suddenly airport security ordered everyone out of the arrivals area and down the corridors away from the exit.  I had no idea what was going on, but through the glass walls I could see that the baggage claim area was becoming increasingly crowded.   I chatted to a fellow with a sign (meeting some passengers) and he was able to tell me that some abandoned baggage was at the exit of baggage claim and had to be checked.  Managed to phone Eleanor to let her know what was happening and after an hour the army explosives guys arrived, detonated the offending luggage and finally everyone was released.  In the meantime I had found our driver and soon we were on our way to the city. Great to see the girls despite a rather unwelcoming start to their visit.
Our driver made up for the airport delays by taking us on a scenic route through the centre of Paris - around the Arc de Triomphe, down the length of the Champs Elysees, through Place Concorde and along the river bank to our apartment in Rue Pont Neuf.  Very exciting for Eleanor and Freya!  The apartment is delightful, spacious and very well located and we were soon settled in.

Our lovely apartment, Rue Pont Neuf

The first thing we wanted to do was to have lunch so we strolled a short way to Rue Montorgueil and found an outdoor table at one of the many restaurants that line this pedestrianised street.  This is a really vibrant area, busy but authentic - a neighbourhood shopping street with many specialty food shops.  Lunch was lovely - the girls were astounded at the size of their salads and I loved my French style macaroni dish - I will certainly try this again!

Eleanor and Freya enjoying Paris

 Feeling somewhat restored from our overnight and early morning flights we walked to the Pompidou Centre - Eleanor and Freya set off to explore the Marais district and visit the Pompidou and I headed down Rue St Martin to  pick up a few supplies and then returned to the apartment for a long overdue shower and a bit of a rest.    Caroline and Jessica were due from London on the Eurostar around 5 pm so I took the Metro to Gare du Nord station to meet them.  This  afternoon an on-time train and absence of security dramas meant that we were back at the apartment in no time at all.  I managed to twist my ankle on the cobblestones on the way back so after a catch- up with my London girls I sent them out in search of a bandage and some dinner while I rested - bit worried about limping around Paris in the next few days.  We all slept very well - the apartment is quiet although we look directly onto the street and have tall French windows with little balconies in the typical Parisian style.

Caroline, Eleanor, Freya and Jessica hit the streets of Paris

So relieved to wake up on Tuesday morning to find that the bandage has fixed my foot and I won't have to hobble about after all.  First stop this morning , the local shops - fruiterer, boulangerie, supermarket and then breakfast and serious planning for the day.  Freya and Eleanor set off for the Louvre, Tuileries, Napoleon's Tomb and the Eiffel Tower and we all arranged to meet at 4.30 at Laduree, the famous tearoom for a welcome to Paris treat.  Caroline, Jessica and I decided to check out the shops in Rue Rivoli, just around the corner on this showery Paris morning.  Shopping proved very successful with the acquisition of a few bags of winter clothes - so much nicer and cheaper than London, so I am told.  The sun came out, the day became very warm and the shops very crowded so we struggled home with our shopping bags and rustled up some very late lunch.  Then it was onto the Metro to Place Concorde, a short stroll up Rue Royale and a meeting with Eleanor and Freya outside Laduree.

Tea, champagne and macaroons - Laduree, Rue Royale, Paris

  It is such a gorgeous place.  Being 5 of us, there was not room  downstairs so we went to the upper level which is beautiful but not quite so over the top in terms of decorating style.  The girls were quite overwhelmed initially with the choice of goodies and beverages on offer but soon overcame their amazement and set to the task of choosing something delicious from the menu.  We ended up with an assortment between us - white wine, champagne, coconut coffee, Kir Royale and strangely a cup of Kir tea which we hadn't ordered - never mind it was delicious.  Our goodies were just as diverse - ice-cream sundaes, macaroons (for which Laduree is justifiably famous), choux pastry with rose petal cream - mmmmm!

Afternoon tea, Laduree, with Caroline and Jessica

   Just as well we walk so much in Paris!.. We lingered over our food, enjoying the lovely ambience of the place, not forgetting to check out the beautiful bathroom, and then set off to walk to the "grands magasins", the two giant department stores on Boulevard Hausmann - Le Printemps and Galeries Lafayette.  Although it was approaching 7 pm the skies were sunny and the Madeleine church looked especially good with  a bank of flowers in front.  The department stores were as usual crowded and as usual extremely expensive - the only people buying seemed to be Asian tourists.  The magnificent domed roof is quite spectacular at the moment with a giant white balloon suspended from the ceiling.

Galeries Lafayette

  It did not take very long to tire of the crowds in the stores, so we walked a couple of blocks to the Opera with its splendid gold rooftop statues and then jumped on the Metro back to our neighbourhood.  The restaurants of Rue Montorgueil were pretty well packed but we managed to squeeze around a street-side table at one of them and enjoyed a typical brassiere dinner - although I must say that the onion soup was a little strange - very pale and cheesy.  A short walk home and and some badly needed R & R.
Eleanor and Freya continued to enjoy the sights of Paris over the following days, making the most of the Velib system to hire bikes - they even bumped their way up the Champs Elysees!  With good planning they were able to get the most out of their 4 days in the city but of course it would probably take 4 years to see and experience all the sights of Paris.  Mostly the weather was pleasant and the occasional shower was no problem. Jess and Caroline had the opportunity to spend and evening with their Parisian friends (ex Bond Uni) and I was happy to stroll and browse and potter.  On Thursday afternoon I said goodbye to Caroline and Jess at the Gare du Nord and in the evening strolled through the Marais with Eleanor and Freya who treated me to a nice dinner on a perfect balmy Paris evening.
At six thirty on Friday morning our transport to the airport arrived and we said goodbye to our lovely apartment.  Eleanor and Freya flew off to Berlin and I met Gerri at CDG where we collected our Peugeot 308 and started out on our French road trip.  A thoroughly enjoyable stay in Paris with great company!

Amazing rose cream pastry and a nice Burgundy white at Laduree

Life in the Commuter Belt

Moret-sur-Loing, Sunday 6 July to Sunday 13 July

Just a couple of kilometres from the confluence of the Loing and Seine Rivers is the pretty town of Moret-sur-Loing and with a direct and frequent 40 minute rail service into Paris (Gare de Lyon) it is one of the many dormitory communities which lie on the outskirts of the city.  With its ancient town centre, lovely riverside location and proximity to the Forest of Fontainebleau,  Moret was an idyllic spot for our final week in France.   The wonderful Impressionist painter, Alfred Sisley, also thought so and lived in Moret for much of his life - we even had his piano the living room of our old and beautifully renovated house.  What a quirky place - three floors of creaky floorboards, narrow winding staircase, thick stone walls and a little courtyard garden.  Monsieur and Madame  Daime who greeted us on our arrival have certainly poured a lot of love and attention to detail into their restoration of this old building. This week it was lovely to have Cheryl's daughter Heidi and her husband Tim (who live in London ) come to spend some time with us.-

Beautiful Moret-sur-Loing

A Couple of Days in Paris

As Cheryl B. had never visited Paris, apart from a couple of hours at the start of our trip, this was the first visit on the agenda for the week.  We had vague directions to the train station and decided to walk - it was certainly a bit further than we thought, but we were in plenty of time for the train which passed through Fontainebleau and Melun.  From Gare de Lyon we took the metro to Hotel de Ville and began our day of sight seeing by crossing to the Ile de la Cite to visit Notre Dame Cathedral.  It seemed to be the day for school tour groups - many from the US  - so we joined the queue.  Notre Dame is always impressive and worthy of a visit.  Our next stop was on the Left Bank just opposite the cathedral - the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore.  The original store by this name which was frequented by the likes of Hemmingway and F Scott Fitzgerald was in a different location and operated from 1919 to 1940.  In 1951 the bookstore today know by this name was opened by an American named George Whitman and today it is owned by his daughter.  The store sells a huge number of English language books, both new and second-hand and is really funky, very small and very crowded - it is kind of a literary landmark in Paris. An interesting and very cool place to visit and buy a book.

English (American?) bookshop on the Left Bank

After a typical tourist menu breakfast in an outdoor cafe just off Boulevard St Michel we crossed back over the river on the Pont Neuf (which is now sadly also being defaced with locks like the neighbouring bridge, Pont des Arts)) and wandered along the Seine towards the Louvre, browsing the kiosks selling books, posters and souvenirs along the way.

Pont des Arts - hideous locks spoil this view!

We headed up the Rue de Rivoli and into the main courtyard of the Louvre, where Cheryl was keen to check out the glass pyramid entrance but not too interested in queuing to visit the museum.

Photo opportunity - Louvre

After a bit of a stroll through the Tuileries gardens we returned to the Rue de Rivoli, hoping to stop by at Angelina's for tea.  Sadly this iconic tea and chocolate shop was closed for renovations, so we jumped on the metro to check out the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees.  Nothing much to see on the Champs - just crowded and boring so we took the metro back to Chatelet and walked to Rue Montorgueil where we had lunch at one of the brasseries.  With lots of sales on at the moment we decided on some shopping and walked back past the Pompidou Centre to the BHV department store and the surrounding shops.  After a bit of retailing we walked along to St Paul area and had dinner in a restaurant recommended by the information desk lady at BHV.  A nice meal and we were only a few steps from the metro to get us back to Gare de Lyon for a rather late train home (and a bit of a walk in the rain back to the house).
Our second day in Paris, this time with Heidi and Tim, was much the same format.  Off the metro at St Paul,  breakfast overlooking the Place de Voges, a stroll through the Marais, a visit to the Fragonard perfume shop,  a little more shopping on rue St Antoine, then on the metro to Ecole Militaire for a viewing of the Eiffel Tower.
Before the tower we had a lovely lunch in Rue Cler - a very nice pedestrian street with all kinds of interesting food shops and market stalls.  The tower was surrounded by the usual queues so after a bit of a photo shoot we strolled along the Seine, visited a riverside brocante, (where Cheryl B found clip on Paris earrings for her granddaughter)

Riverside stroll

and then across the Place Concorde dodging the crazy traffic to Rue Royale.  After a little window shopping we arrived at a special destination - the famous patisserie, Laduree, home of the macaroon.  We were in for a lovely treat here - champagne coffee, and macaroons in the most exquisite tea room - so beautiful and elegant.  What a pleasant way to rest our weary feet. My concoction with rose flavoured cream was heavenly.  After our refreshments we engaged in some more window shopping as we wandered past all the designer stores in Rue St Honore and finally made our way into the gardens of the Palais Royale which are very secluded and pretty - lots of fountains, trees and flowers.  From here we took a walk through the Galeries Vivienne, a beautiful old arcade with a couple of very interesting book shops as well as some ritzy looking boutiques.  We strolled along Rue Reamur and then turned into Rue Montorgueil where we stocked up on some goodies for our dinner.  It was a bit of a mad dash for the metro and we hurtled through the Gare de Lyon, just making our train back to Moret-sur-Loing where we rewarded ourselves with our tasty purchases.

Fontainebleau
Just 10 km from Moret is the lovely town of Fontainebleau, famous for its magnificent chateau with sits right in the middle of the town.  Its extensive gardens and parklands provide lovely open air spaces for the locals to picnic and walk.  The roads leading into the town give a wonderful view of the chateau and gardens - it is certainly very imposing.

Fontainebleau Chateau

  We made a couple of visits to Fontainebleau, one for some shopping, exploring the town, and a really good Italian restaurant lunch and another for breakfast and a tour of the chateau.  The chateau is certainly a treasure trove of French history and is apparently has a bigger collection of furniture, art and artifacts of any other palace in France.   The first wing we toured was the Napoleon museum - many rooms filled with family, military and state collections from the Napoleonic era - so interesting and such beautiful displays.

Napoleon - military paraphenalia

   The second part of the tour took us through the grand and sometimes over the top rooms that were used by a variety of French monarchs, their wives and entourage.  Perhaps the most stunning room is the magnificent ballroom, although the decoration in some of the state rooms and bed chambers is also pretty amazing.

Slightly overdone bedchamber - did the royals have nightmares?

  Fontainebleau was a royal residence for eight centuries, being developed over that time to become the largest palace in France.  Although its collections were decimated during the French Revolution, Napoleon, when he became Emperor, loved Fontainebleau and made it his home base, carrying out extensive renovations and refurbishment.

Nursery of Napoleon's son - Empire style

  The abdication room remains as it was when Napoleon gave up the throne in 1814. The chateau has 1500 rooms and is set in 130 acres of parklands and gardens.  After visiting the interior we took a ride through the allees which radiate through the forest and circled the formal gardens in a horse drawn wagon. Highly recommended - a wonderful look back into French history.

All aboard for a ride through the park of Fontainebleau Chateau

Barbizon and Milly-la-Foret

Not far from Fontainebleau is the rather gorgeous village of Barbizon, famous not only for its beauty but also as the home of the Barbizon school of painting which favoured  a natural approach to landscape painting in the mid 19th century.  Painters such as Rousseau, Corot, Millet and Daubigny lived and worked in Barbizon.  We arrived late in the afternoon and the village was very quiet, with most of the little museums and cafes closed.  Nevertheless we enjoyed strolling through flower filled the streets and poking into a few cute shops.  The houses are quite grand in some streets, with lovely gardens - it is a stunning place.

War memorial and tourist office, Barbizon

 Many of the grand houses have a distinctly Victorian look and obviously date from the time when Barbizon was a mecca for art.   All around the town are mosaic murals depicting some of the most celebrated paintings from the era of the Barbizon School.

Mosaic of The Gleaners, Jean-Francois Millet 1857

  We found a picture-perfect grocery store with an owner straight out of a storybook and lots of delicious looking local products on sale.  Of course we stocked up on a few delicacies.

Old fashioned grocery store, Barbizon

 With its proximity to Paris I imagine that Barbizon is now a very up-market place to reside.  Did buy a couple of prints from an artist's workshop - lovely scenes of the town and a very charming artist, Erika Gage.
A little further on from Barbizon is the village of Milly-la-Foret, member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association.  We arrived late in the day and discovered that it was market day - well to be fair, the tale end of market day.  There were still some stall holders selling their wares in the stunning market hall which dominates the centre of the village and dates from the 15th Century.  It is amazing that the intricate timber beams have survived so long.

Ancient covered market in Milly-la-Foret - still used by traders today.

  We found some wonderful fruit and had the best crepes made for us - mouthwatering.  Although Milly has some other attractions such as a castle, an old stone bridge and a  very picturesque church, we didn't linger after perusing the market - it had been a long day and the weather was deteriorating a bit.  Time to drive back to Moret and to enjoy a lovely dinner at the riverside restaurant, Auberge de la Terasse with its cosy atmosphere and picture windows overlooking the Loing River.

Auberge de la Terrasse - a lovely spot for dinner, even on a gloomy evening.

A Long Walk

The local tourist office advertised a 9 kilometre walk which follows a route frequented by Alfred Sisley on his painting expeditions.  Along the way are posters depicting various scenes he painted, located on the site where he actually worked on these paintings.

Poster of Sisley work on the site where it was painted, Moret-sur-Loing

  We had a map but the path is not marked in any way - the outcome being that our 9 kilometre walk turned out to be around 20 kilometres.  We took a wrong turning somewhere along the way!

Ready to ramble!  Leaving our house in Moret-sur-Loing

We crossed the river at Moret stopping to check out the old mills that stand mid way across.

Old mill, washhouse and weir beside the Moret-sur-Loing bridge

The route intended us to follow the Loing River to the confluence with the Seine River at Saint Mammes, cross the  Seine and continue along the Seine past Champagne-sur-Seine, recross to Thomery and then follow the two rivers back to Moret-sur-Loing.  It was a pleasant walk - a shady path with countryside, pretty houses, canal locks and barges.

Riverside path between Moret and St Mammes

St Mammes proved to be a very dreary town and the one restaurant where we considered for a lunch stop looked dark, dingy and unsanitary so we decided to pass.  On we plodded, mistakenly taking an uphill route through Champagne-sur-Seine instead of the riverside path.

Crossing the Seine at St Mammes

  This led us through rather uninspiring suburbs all the way to the next bridge.  Once on the other side we spotted a nice restaurant - alas, lunch service ended at 2 pm and we arrived just a couple of minutes before the kitchen closed.  With rumbling tummies we opted to walk up the into the town of Thomery in search of food instead of taking the riverside path back towards Moret.  Unbelievably this town of substantial houses and beautifully manicured gardens had no shops, just another bit of a bar where Kristy managed to buy a packet of crisps.  Now we were once again in suburbia and wandering the streets hoping that we were heading in the right direction.  To add insult to injury it began to rain - fortunately we had all packed umbrellas.  Tim consulted the GPS on his phone and decided to lead us in a generally downhill direction where he reckoned we would locate the riverside path - indeed he was right (eventually).  One thing we did come across by accident were the ancient walled gardens of the area which stretch over several kilometres and are mostly disused today.  Very curious relics of the past.  Dating from around 1730, these long narrow plots surrounded by high stone walls - in fact 350 km of walls - were where the Chasselas grapes were grown.   The vines were trained along the walls and vegetables and fruit trees grew in between.  It is amazing what you come across when wandering in France!

Chasselas grapes growing in old Thomery walled garden

  Well, finally re-regained the river path and then surprisingly came across a riverside camping ground with a cafe that was open.  We trudged inside to find a few locals sheltering from the rain and watching the Tour de France. The very cheerful chap behind the bar soon rustled up steaming pizzas and chips which we washed down with some good strong coffee. Wonderful! 

Now we are fed, we don't mind the rain!  Campsite cafe.

 Although it seemed that we were miles from nowhere we were actually only 20 minutes from home - it was nice to be back although we did enjoy most of the walk.  There are pockets of beautiful scenery interspersed with the signs that these rivers are still workplaces and at times the riverside is semi-industrial.  We rewarded ourselves with a nice dinner at the local Auberge restaurant - great food and a lovely atmosphere.

A Beautiful Ending to our Tour de France

Our last full day in France and lots of sunshine.  This morning Kristy, Cheryl, Heidi, and Tim hired bikes and went for a ride along the Canal de Loing that heads south towards Nemours.  Cheryl B, and I decided to explore Moret on foot and pack up a bit.  I made my way to the river and took the path upstream for a way.  There are some very pretty houses and gardens beside the water and a forest on the opposite bank.-

Riverside walk, Moret-sur-Loing

  Realising that I would soon be on the path we had previously walked I retraced my steps and explored the area around the bridge where the old mills sit amongst the weeping willows and the waters of the river tumble over the weirs.

Old mill and weirs, Moret-sur-Loing

  It is delightful, with an ancient keep on one riverbank and little narrow lanes leading up to the town through holes in the town walls.  The centre of Moret is pretty well medieval and history oozes out of every stone.

Little passageway to the river - town walls, Moret-sur-Loing

  An interesting shop is the barley sugar shop which sells sweets made from a recipe which dates from 1623 - and lots of other goodies besides.  It is housed in a really old building adjacent to a really old church.

Barley sugar shop in one of the oldest buildings in Moret-sur-Loing

The cyclists returned and we made lunch using up as much food as possible (can't take it with us tomorrow) and we enjoyed eating in our little courtyard before setting off to explore the medieval city of Provins, about an hour's drive north east of Moret.

Lunch in our courtyard, Moret-sur-Loing

During the Middle Ages Provins was famed as a trade fair town - fancy that - and today the fortified medieval city sits atop a hill overlooking the more modern section of the town.  We began our visit at the bottom of the hill, at the Rosarie which is a beautiful garden dedicated to French roses, in particular the Rose of Provins.  The garden covers three acres and includes a gift shop and a tea room.  Unfortunately a small part of the garden was inaccessible due to minor flooding (lots of rain recently apparently) and many of the roses were past their best.  Despite this we enjoyed walking through the garden rooms and noted that the trees here are just as spectacular and beautiful as the roses.

Cheryl will be searching for the Rose of Provins for her garden at home

Naturally we had to have tea and cake sitting outside - lovely views across the garden to the old city on the hill (not really a city - more of a village I would say).

Tea-time at the Rosarie

Tim met a Brazilian lady and her son who appeared to be stranded and desperate to make the last train back to Paris so we offered them a lift (no taxis available).  Driving in convoy the trip turned out to be a somewhat nail-biting series of no entry streets, road works and the like.  We flew into the station with a couple of minutes to spare - and a very grateful couple of Brazilians were bundled out of the car.  Our  "streets of Provins" adventures continued with another series of directional blunders while attempting to find our way up to the entrance of the old city.  We tried driving along a cycle path, heading up a one way street the wrong way but managed to avoid pedestrians and finally reached a large, mostly empty car park at the top of the hill.  We could see the city walls across a field so figured we were in the right place.  It was a beautiful sunny evening and we strolled over the moat bridge (a moat on top of a hill?) and through the huge arched entry to the city.  There did seem to be more people leaving than arriving and the long street lined with beautiful old houses behind high stone walls was rather quiet.  Rounding a corner however we encountered a scene of great merriment - a beautiful tree lined town square encircled with restaurants, a very cheesy band playing on a temporary stage in the middle of the square adjacent to a large wooden dance platform and lots of people.

Getting ready for the evening festivities, town square, Provins

  All this with a backdrop of a medieval castle and keep.  Wow!  We were thrilled - what a place to enjoy our final dinner in France.  Provins is a UNESCO protected town and it is certainly very obvious why.  All the buildings are exquisite and the views are pretty awesome too.

Provins Castle

After exploring the pretty streets leading off the square we returned to the business of choosing a restaurant - they all had plenty of outdoor seating with great views over the large square.

Lovely little streets of Provins

  By now there were a large number of people arriving to eat and enjoy the festivities.  We chose a front line table at one of the restaurants and our waiter told us that tonight was the culmination of a week long festival in the town.  The tour buses had all departed by now and it was mostly locals out enjoying this balmy summer's evening.  We had very good food, even better wine and lots of fun joining in with the dancing.

The girls are still dancing - in front of the restaurant, Provins

  The music was of course totally corny and a group of line dancers did tend to hog the platform at times.  However it was a great evening for young and old and with a full moon contributing to the atmosphere later on it was magical.  Driving home well after 10.30 pm we were treated to the sight of fireworks in the night sky all across the farmlands.  Oh yes - Monday is Bastille Day - so what if the celebrations are a couple of days early!  We certainly could not have asked for a better ending to our holiday in France.

Bye the way - I found my perfect French village house for sale in Provins!

Burgundy Pleasures

Sunday 29 June - Sunday 6 July

Gastronomically, Burgundy (Bourgogne if you are French) has three claims to fame, wine, Dijon mustard and beef Bourguignon, and after a week in this lovely part of France we can attest to the following:

Wine -                absolutely fantastic if quite pricey - no wonder it is so highly rated!
Mustard -           (of the Dijon variety) - good and an amazing range of flavours and colours - but of course                              we can readily by Dijon mustard at home. Expensive in the souvenir shops, cheap in the                                supermarket.
Beef Bourguignon - can be delicious - depends on the restaurant (we were lucky in our choice)

Burgundy definitely provided us with our best foodie experiences in France, from the fresh-from-the-oven croissants provided by the boulangerie in the neighbouring village (just a short bike ride away),

Cheryl prepares breakfast (mostly achieved on a bicycle!)

 to the mouth-watering fruit from the Dijon market (think cherries, apricots, peaches, figs), the many delicious meals we enjoyed in lovely regional restaurants when out and about, and of course the wines (with yummy cheese accompaniment).

Tucking into Boeuf Bourguignon,  Restaurant Le Carnot, Beaune

 Despite having a large modern kitchen we didn't cook much - just chopping and pouring for our evening light snack after having a delicious lunch somewhere on our excursions around the local countryside.
The villages of the Cote d'Or department are renowned for high quality wine - Chassagne-Montrachet (the location of our house), Puligny-Montrachet, Mersault, Santenay, Pommard, Saint-Aubin, to name a few - and they are located in a relatively small area that lies on a limestone escarpment overlooking the valley of the Saone River. There is a popular tourist route, Route des Grands Crus, which passes through these villages.

Cote d'Or vineyards near Chassagne-Montrachet

 Each wine domaine has a number of fields spread across the low hills and not always adjacent to each other.  M. Moret, the owner of our house has 28 separate parcels of land where he has vines - no wonder each morning we could see typical little white vans whizzing around the lanes and parked amongst the vines as well as the very strange looking tall skinny tractors with robotic arms and hosepipes which amble around the countryside in search of vines to spray (or so it seems).

Weird and wonderful vineyard machine outside my bedroom window

Obviously this limestone ridge has a great bearing on the quality of the grapes and wine produced in the area but it is not so nice for hair washing - the water is not kind to hair as we discovered.
The rooms in our house are on one level but well elevated so we had lovely views across the vineyards and the village which is home to some very classy domaines and one super expensive restaurant (which we did not patronise).

View to the village from our house at Chassagne-Montrachet

The house is a newcomer to the rental market and is beautifully presented with every home comfort imaginable - lovely to come home to each evening.

Our house in the vineyards - Chassagne-Montrachet

 Burgundy offers much to the visitor apart from wining and dining so we had a lovely week of exploring both by pedal power and by car without having to venture too far.  We were close to three of the bigger towns of the area and took the opportunity to visit them all - Beaune, Dijon and Chalon-sur-Saone.

Beaune
The main centre of the Cote d'Or wine region, Beaune (15 kilometres from our house) is a town of 20 thousand with an old medieval centre, a beautiful old hospital, many shops and restaurants and, of course, wine bars.  Our first visit was on a rather dreary morning and after luckily securing a very central parking spot we visited the town's major showpiece, the Hotel-Dieu, which since the 1400's has housed the Hospices de Beaune, this wonderful facility only being relocated in the late 20th Century.  Although an imposing building from the outside, it is once through the gates that the full splendour of this medieval masterpiece is revealed.  Surrounding a central courtyard are two wings with beautiful gabled dormer windows and the roof is tiled with intricately patterned multi-coloured glazed tiles.  Even under grey skies this is ever such a pretty sight.  Many buildings in this part of Burgundy have these lovely tiles, but the Hotel-Dieu in Beaune is an exceptional example of this work which originated from Central Europe.

Hotel-Dieu with its pretty dormers and amazing roof tiles

The interior is now a museum, still furnished as a working hospital, originally for the poor, but also later for wealthier paying patients.  The hospital was operated by the Sisters of the Hospices of Beaune and their work is still carried on today, although in somewhat more modern buildings.

Hospital ward from times gone by - looks quite cozy!

After our visit to the Hotel-Dieu we enjoyed strolling the pedestrianised streets, poking about in the very interesting and varied shops, inspecting the town walls and of course finding Le Carnot brasserie where we had onion soup and boeuf bourgignon and Kristy's favourite, escargot.  On our last night in Burgundy we returned to this restaurant, (this time it was a beautiful sunny evening) and enjoyed another delicious meal at an outdoors table.  As usual the restaurant was packed and the atmosphere was very jolly - happy waiters and happy diners!

Saturday night in  Beaune - typical street scene

Dijon 

The mustard capital and indeed Dijon is surrounded by not only some very fine vineyards, but also many fields of mustard.  We drove the 45 kilometres to Dijon through the northern part of the Cote d'Or vineyards, passing by the famous domaines that surround the town of Nuits-St George, and managed to located an underground car park near the elaborate covered market that operates daily in the centre of Dijon.  The market sells every kind of food item imaginable as well as an array of clothing, homewares, plants, books - you name it!  Here we bought some of the best fruit of the trip - quite expensive but mouthwatering.

The lovely covered market in Dijon (designed by Gustav Eiffel, no less!)

With our bags full of goodies we wandered the streets of central Dijon for a while, checking out some mustard and pain d'epice (spice bread) shops (quite a few to choose from and certainly an endless choice of mustards), while following the brass owl plaques which indicate the scenic route through the city.  It seems that the owl is the symbol of Dijon - very cute too!

La Chouette, the Dijon owl symbol of good luck guides tourists through the city

We were in search of lunch by this time and settled ourselves outdoors at a nice looking restaurant just off the main square - in  Rue Francois Rude (poor man).

                                                     Shutters, window boxes and typical street sign - Dijon.

Lunch was lovely and we enjoyed sitting in the warm sun for a while, watching the passing parade - a pedestrian street so no noisy traffic.  After lunch we decided to hit the shops (sales still in full swing) and visited some very 21st century stores which were interspersed with lovely old medieval buildings.  Even Galleries Lafayette has a branch here - whoppeee!

Downtown Dijon

Dijon seems like a bustling and vibrant town and I am sure that there are many other places of interest to visit.  Loaded with shopping bags we were happy enough to head back to the car and negotiate our way through the narrow streets and back to the peaceful countryside.

Chalon-sur-Saone

Just 17 kilometres south-east of Chassagne-Montrachet is Chalon-sur-Soane, which as its name suggests, straddles the River Saone.  We planned to visit Chalon for some shopping and were very pleasantly surprised to find a very charming large town with an abundance of restaurants, pretty streets and squares and a market in full swing.  

Pretty streets of Chalon (lunchtime lull!)

I had some business to attend to at the large public library (printing some contracts to be returned to Australia - at the eye-watering cost of 58 euros, express post) so once that and a nice cup of coffee were taken care of we strolled through the streets. Of course it was lunch time so most stores were closed - what else could we do but have lunch.  The weather was lovely so we chose to dine outdoors (on the street really) and Madame, le proprietor, was very chatty and friendly, recommending her best dishes for us.  We were delighted with our meals - fresh, original and oh so tasty, along with ever-so-good local wine.  Madame told us that our ham dish and burgers were made to her own special recipe and they were certainly different from the standard fare.  Yum!

After lunch it was time for some serious shopping so we parted ways with a time and place to meet (at the end of the very long main street)!   Shopping was fun and there are always great bargains to be had during the French "soldes"season.  Out of nowhere, late in the afternoon, a violent storm hit the town, complete with hail and thunder.   Fortunately it didn't last too long and finally we set off for home with the sun shining again - very happy shoppers and a lovely day out in Chalon.  On the way out of town we spotted a Maisons du Monde shop - we will return!

Lunch in the sun - Chalon-sur-Saone

Biking in Burgundy

Burgundy is justifiably famous for its canals which were once part of a thriving trade network and they criss-cross the region , today providing great opportunities for boating, walking and cycling pursuits. The Canal du Centre which links the Saone and Loire Rivers passes through the village of Santenay, just 3 kilometres from our house and with bikes for rent at the  tourist office we were keen to ride the towpath and explore the countryside along the way. 

 Wheatfields, vines and the Santenay windmill - view from the canal tow path-

Cheryl and Kristy hired their bikes for the duration of our stay so we always had a handy means of transport to the boulangerie in Pulighny-Montrachet, but Cheryl B and I just had ours for the day as we had to drive to

the depot at Santenay.   The bikes were ok  and we had a fabulous day out. 

Heading out of Santenay

It was about a kilometre from the tourist office to the canal, which strangely enough was accessed by riding up a hill.  In this area the canal runs along the side of a hill on an embankment.  This means that we had the canal on one side and lovely views over the valley and towards the vine covered hills on the other as we rode towards Chagny - heading upstream.

View from the canal path across the fields to the vineyards near Santenay

  Along the way we came across a few picturesque canalside houses, but mostly it was fields, small shady copses, and stunning views.  Above all it was incredibly peaceful with only birdsong and the occasional putput of a canal boat as we sailed along the path - very easy riding!  The canal boats are limited to a speed of 8 km per hour so we flew past them waving to the holiday makers on board.  Everyone is very friendly with lots of "Bonjours" as we encountered fellow travellers.

Cheryl about to overtake a canal boat near Chagny

We arrived on the edge of Chagny, which is a bit industrial looking, and found the road into the centre of the village - lunch time and several small restaurants around the square looked inviting.  We chose a quasi-Italian place and sat outdoors enjoying a ravishingly good meal - or maybe it was just that we had all worked up very healthy appetites on our ride.  I was thrilled to have a Burgundy version of tartiflette with a crunchy salad - the cheese was reblochon and it was scrumptious!  After a walk around the town, stopping to admire some amazing garden art created out of (possibly) peach trees we cycled back to Santenay in the afternoon sunshine.

Basketweave stems creating tree art - Chagny

The morning cycle ride to Puligny-Montrachet for croissants was lovely - along little back roads through the fields of vines, many of which are bordered in ancient stone walls.  Later in the week Cheryl and Kristy rode along the canal again, this time heading south while Cheryl B and I contented ourselves with pottering at home and a walk around the village.  Cycling is certainly a delightful experience in this part of France.

Bike route back to Chassagne-Montrachet after croissant shopping.

Four Chateaux and and Abbey

Burgundy has a long history, being settled by the Romans in the 4th Century and later during the Middle Ages, the Duchy of Burgundy rivaled the crown of France in splendour and political influence.  As a result there are many stunning chateaux dotting the countryside, and a number of very important monasteries which still remain today, despite the ravages of the French revolution.  It would take months to visit them all so we chose a few that were close by and enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere and beauty of these places.

Chateauneuf-en-Auxois

-Approaching Chateauneuf throught the lovely Auxois countryside

Set on a hill overlooking the Burgundy Canal about 40 km west of Dijon, Chateauneuf-en-Auxois is one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France as well as the site of a towering tweflth century castle which looks rather grim from the outside and dominates the surrounding countryside.  The village is a collection of charming stone houses and cobble stone streets, and once across the grass moat into the castle courtyard it has a much friendlier look with fairy tale turrets and pretty dormers.

Chateauneuf village with its magnificent castle

  We strolled around the village, drank coffee in the little town square and admired the view over the lush countryside.

The Burgundy Canal, viewed from the village of Chateauneuf

  Certainly a very charming village where the brightly blooming flowers contrast beautifully with the stone buildings and the classic and now restored medieval castle looks every bit the medieval fortress.

Stonework and flowers - Chateauneuf

Sercy
We came across the Chateau of Sercy by accident as we travelled south along the D981 route towards Cluny.  This was our second surprise of the day, the first being sunflowers in full bloom near Chagny - our first encounter with fields actually flowering (a bit early in the summer perhaps).

.Sunflower field - symbol of summer in rural France

The small village of Sercy is unremarkable except for its very pretty lakeside chateau which is easily seen from the roadside - well worth a stop for a photo.  It has had a rather chequered history, being derelict and uninhabited for 200 of its 1000 years and somewhat ravaged by fires.  Today it is still privately owned and only open for visits at certain times.  Yet another enchanting castle- in a beautiful setting!

The lovely Chateau de Sercy in the Saone-et-Loire department of Burgundy

Cormartin
About an hour's drive south of our house is the village of Cormatin and the exquisite chateau of the same name.  Cheryl B. discovered this gem on the Internet and we set off on a lovely sunny day to pay a visit.  Although a lesser known chateau and not very large, Cormatin is nevertheless very well preserved and has in addition to some finely furnished rooms, a large and beautiful garden.

One wing of the Chateau Cormatin, viewed from the English garden.

We bought our tickets and were advised that a guided tour would commence fairly soon, just giving us time to firstly inspect the wonderful potager which is laid out behind the old stables.  This is every veggie gardeners dream - a riot of flowers, vegetables, and fruit trees interspersed with grassy walks and topiary hedging.  Part of the stables has been converted to a small cafe so one can sit in the garden  and enjoy the bounty.

Potager and stables at Cormatin Castle

The ringing of a bell summoned us to our guided tour of the chateau - in French - but our guide spoke good English and gave us some explanations on the side.  The furnishings are very elaborate and original to the chateau - some interesting collections and a jumble of colour and textures.

A grand boudoir in the chateau -quite cosy really, for a castle

After inspecting the interior rooms we strolled about the lovely English garden and made our way to the maze, climbing its folly for a great view over the whole property.  It is beautifully maintained, not overcrowded with tourists and a real pleasure to visit.

View over the moat to the English garden and the folly in the maze

We sat on the terrace of  a busy restaurant opposite the entrance to the chateau and enjoyed a tasty lunch and an interesting chat with an American couple who had walked into the village from the famous retreat at Taize, which is visited by thousands of pilgrims during the summer.  From Cormatin we drove a little further south to the abbey town of Cluny.

Cluny
Cluny was the centre of a major Benedictine monastic movement from 910 AD and before St Peter's Basilica in Rome was rebuilt in the 16th Century, its abbey was the largest Christian building in the world.  Sadly much of the abbey has been destroyed and only one transept remains, along with the convent buildings.  The remaining part of the abbey is very large and 3D screens give a very good idea of how substantial this building was.  It is a wonderful building to tour and in the courtyard of the convent we were treated to some beautiful singing  - probably a rehearsal of some event to come.  One can only imagine how imposing the abbey must once have been!

Cluny Abbey - ruins and restoration

After our visit to the abbey we enjoyed exploring the streets of this very pleasant town and also enjoyed delicious ice-cream before driving back to Chassagne-Montrachet with the evening sun casting a lovely golden glow over the countryside.

One of the lovely shopping streets of Cluny

La Rochepot

Only a ten minute drive from our house is another beautifully restored small chateau which also sits high on a hill above the village of La Rochepot. 

La Rochepot village

 We climbed the tower and visited the rooms on display, admired the view of the valley below from the terrace, saw the kitchens and oohed and aaahed over the pretty garden.  The fabulous roof tiles are also a very striking feature of the chateau.

The courtyard of La Rochepot Chateau from the tower

  The thing that really blew us away however was the stunning series of photographs which showed how a group of volunteers worked tirelessly in the early 20th Century to rebuild this almost totally derelict chateau.  What a feat of determination and sheer hard work.  And what a result!  The castle now belongs to Burgundy and it is an absolute gem.  The setting is gorgeous - we walked through a forest from the car park to arrive at the drawbridge.  It is fantastic that these wonderful structures can be saved by a few dedicated people.  These days there is a huge fund administered by  the French government for the restoration of historical buildings - and rightly so. 

La Rochepot is surrounded by gorgeous countryside

And so our week in Burgundy came to an end.  We have been so fortunate to have had a wonderful and comfortable house from which to explore the towns, villages and countryside of one of the loveliest regions of France.  The weather was kind - without the odd shower the fields would not be so green and lush, and of course the abundant sunshine is perfect for grapes, sunflowers, mustard and wheat.  Over the hills from our village the green pastures are home to Charolais cattle and sheep.  An abundant and fertile land!  We have loved every minute here.

Burgundy Flowers!