April 28, 2022 Living in Burgundy

 Today is a market day - we need food for dinners. There's a market in Arnay-le-Duc this morning, about 20 minutes away, so we're heading over with a plan to be back for lunch. My scooter is still screaming when turned on, so if need be, I'll wait in the car. 

map - Commarin to Arnay-le-Duc

Finding the market was a little tricky - we found the middle of town and parked by the church, but no market. Janis, Dave, and Clark followed people with shopping bags and found the market. Dave came back and we moved the car to the Post Office parking lot across from the market. But it took 3 tries to find the right windy, one-way streets that would take us there.

Arnay-le-Duc

The market in Arnay-le-Duc was small - one vendor for each - eggs, produce, cheese, and meat. We bought some cheese, produce for ratatouille, and meat for the next couple of days - sausages and steak, both for grilling.

But best of all, there was a bicycle repair man .... AND he spoke English. Clark and Dave asked if he could fix scooters. He said he'd look at it, so the boys brought it over. A few screws later, he had disconnected the wire to the horn, put it all back together, and charged 5 Euros for the repair. AMAZING! 

Dave & the bicycle repairman at Arnay-le-Duc

sign on the bicycle repairman's truck

Our shopping finished, we headed home for our usual sandwiches and chips for lunch. Dave went for a hike to Châteauneuf  and back using a hiking app he had downloaded to his phone. Three and a half hours later, he returned, so the app must work. 

cows, buttercups, and hedgerows of boxwood

house built in 1588 (according to carving above door) in Châteauneuf

most of the hike was on trails, sometimes through the woods

Lac du Panthier with boxwood hedgerows dividing fields

Le Hameau de Solle - this is the whole hamlet

I did laundry, worked on blog posts and photos, and even got a short nap before making our first bread pudding. French bread does not keep overnight. You have to eat it fresh. So, at the end of the day, we put any leftover bread into the freezer. Eventually we have enough to make bread pudding with brandy sauce. It's a favorite of Clark's.

It's staying light now till after 8:30, so dinner has been moving more and more to a French schedule.  We were just getting to dessert at 8:30, after a dinner of grilled steak, French green beans, roasted potatoes and salad. 

April 27, 2022 - Touring around Côte Chalonnaise

 The boys (that would be Dave and Clark) have cooked up a driving tour in the wine region called Côte Chalonnaise to the south of us. The plan is to use the Michelin Green Guide as a point of inspiration that would allow us to end our day wine tasting at a wine coop in the town of Buxy (boo-ksy). So this is really the Dosch-Hunsinger-Michelin driving tour. And as usual, we completed only the first loop as suggested in Michelin and it took us all day. It's not that we putz, but we do have adventures. Sandwiches packed into the lunch backpack, we headed out shortly after 10.

our trip through the Côte Chalonnaise. Our house is north of this map

The first stop is the town of Rully. Michelin says that there is a medieval castle with a 12th century keep. We parked in the town center in front of the "Mairie" (town hall). Here I found some prime examples of pollarded plane trees. Since medieval times, the French have been pollarding trees especially in public areas. The idea is to keep the trees short and create umbrellas of shade as the new growth can grow long and horizontal. Trees are pollarded every 3-5 years and are really ugly when first cut back. But by late spring, new branches and leaves will provide shade against the heat of summer. 

pollarded plane trees

We could see the steeple of the church above us, so we headed up the hill, thinking the castle would also be up on the highest peak in town. Along the way we found a community lavoir (laundry) at the source of the Thalie river and decided we would not like to wash our clothes in this water. 

the communal laundry is in the back, fed by the stream that now flows through this channel

Around the corner and up the hill a bit farther, we arrived at the church which seemed to be at the highest point, but while there were manor houses, there was no medieval castle. 

Eglise St. Laurent, 14th century

After exploring the church square, we followed a sign for the Château Rully that led us on a road along the ridge (and away from the center of town. huh.) The day was beautiful and the views of vineyards as we walked along the ridge from church to castle were stuning. 

Clark

We do love views of vineyards

Janis

We passed a lovely spot with picnic table and privacy hedge for toileting en pleine aire (outside, you know behind a tree...). We continued another block or two and finally came to the château which is only open to visits in July and August, whose living quarters, tower and grounds were safely ensconced behind tall brick walls. Oh, well.

Château de Rully

Dave and Janis walked back to where we had parked the car and met Clark and I at the picnic table with view. After a lovely lunch, we headed out to our next destination, Mercurey. 

just a pretty picture somewhere along the road

Charolais cows

getting a new tile roof - looks complicated

In Mercurey, we visited the 12th century church, Notre Dame de l'Assomption. Part Romanesque, part Gothic, this church is typical of churches in small communities. The stained glass appeals to me with bright colors in an otherwise somber church setting. 

Eglise Notre Dame de l'Assomption

interior of church

inscription reads "Here is the heart which has loved man so much"

Outside the church is a monument to those lost in WWI and WWII. There is a similar monument to be found in every village, town and city in France. It is said the French lost an entire generation in WWI and the list of men who died is much longer for WWI than WWII. 

war memorial

We continued our drive toward Germolles, the location of a castle which Michelin describes as having a "staggering history from the 13th century and some incredibly rare murals from the period." But we have hit a glitch. When Dave put my scooter together and turned on the key, a high pitched squeal hurt our ears. We couldn't figure it out, so I stayed behind in a lovely park while the others walked the block or so to the castle entry. I was sitting at the Place 5 Septembre, 1944. The monument in the center of this little park, describes this as the day the Allies liberated Germolles from the Germans. 

memorial to liberation of Germolles in WWII

Dave, Janis, and Clark were back in minutes. It seems you have to pay to even get into the castle grounds and tours (in French) are guided and on a schedule. We don't have any time for such organized sightseeing, we've got wine to taste. A quick stop in Givry to look at the church in the center of town. This church has an unusual architecture - domes! But no good place to get a picture as there are buildings all around the church. Oh, well. On to wine tasting.

So it's on to Buxy to the wine cooperative Clark has found. We have high hopes of good wine at reasonable prices and we're not disappointed. Wine coops are owned by groups of growers who pool their grapes together. The cooperative has its own winemaker who creates wines following the AOC rules (in this case, wines are only Chardonnay (white) or Pinot Noir (red). But the character of the wines is changed by oaking or not, by how long they are aged, and by which fields are blended together. Our server explains that their cooperative, called Millebuis (mill-boowe) means 1000 boxwoods. And here as elsewhere, the fields are indeed separated by boxwood hedges. The town Buxy is likewise an old French word for boxwood. So it all fits together. 

The wines are delicious and we left with 2 cases and one BIB (bag in box). Time to get back home to get ready for dinner at L'Auberge de Guillaume in Vandenesse. (described in a previous post.) A great day enjoying the sun and soil of Burgundy. 

Tomorrow we're searching for a market and buying groceries.

April 27, 2022 Fine Dining in our Neighborhood

 Today we took a Michelin guided tour of the Côte Chalonnaise but before I post about that, I need to tell you about our dinner at the end of our tour. I mentioned the town of Vandenesse before. Just 5 km (about 3 miles) from here, this little town sits right on the Burgundy Canal and has a great view of "our" château, Châteauneuf, from the canal. It's also where we got our pizza the other night.

taken from the Burgundy Canal in Vandenesse looking toward Châteauneuf

It also has a brand new restaurant called "L'Auberge de Guillaume". It has only been open for 2 weeks. The chef and owner of this restaurant is Guillaume Royer who has moved back to his home town of Vandenesse to open his own restaurant. He is a well-known chef who won the "Meilleur ouvrier de France" (MOF - best worker in France) award in 2015. 

I had never heard of the MOF. It's a contest open to anyone. Started in 1924 to recognize artisans and professionals across many occupations, including architecture, building trades, textiles, leather, carpentry, fashion, jewelry, printing, media, music, agriculture, food, and others. Within each category are many subcategories. It's only done every 3 or 4 years and I can see why now that I understand what a huge undertaking it is. 

The contest for MOF in the area called "cuisine-gastronomie" (occupations having to do with preparing food) had 440 contestants for the first "exam." The second exam, a couple months later had 220 contestants. Then, another contest cut the number to 32 who had to cook several dishes over a 2-day period. Finally, eight chefs were  chosen as MOF 2015 which entitles them to wear a special blue-white-red collar on their chef's jacket. 2015 was the last year the contest took place. 

We reserved for 7 pm which is when the restaurant opens. We were also the first people there. Americans eat much earlier than the French. But by the time we left, there were 4  other groups who had arrived for dinner. The atmosphere in "L'Auberge de Guillaume" was relaxed and comfortable. This location had previously been a restaurant so we assume its old character was maintained. The staff were friendly and professional, helping us interpret the menu and even taking a photo of the 4 of us. 

Lynn, Janis, Clark, Dave at L'Auberge de Guillaume

You could order a 3-, 4-, or 5-course meal from the fixed price menu. Each plate was a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. Dishes offered depend on local foods that are in season. 

We ordered the 3-course meal and a bottle of wine. A really yummy wine.

We think this family (Parigot) are related by marriage to the Jeanson family in Pommard.

First we were served two courses of  "amuse-bouche" (amuse the mouth). Little servings to wake the palate. The first tidbits came on a dish normally used for serving snails, to be shared for two. My favorite was the crab ball on a tiny cracker. 

amuse-bouche number 1

The second was a small serving of mussels in some sort of frothy sublime broth that was creamy and garlicky. We all agreed we would love to have more of that! 

amuse-buche number 2 - moules (mussels) in a creamy, melt in your mouth sauce

Then came our appetizer course: jambon persilée - parsleyed (cold) ham with pickles and pickled mushrooms. 

jambon-persilée (parsleyed hame) and pickled mushrooms

The main course was a cut of steak served with seasonal vegetables and tiny roast potatoes.

steak with garden vegetables

The final course, dessert, centered "chantilly" (whipped cream) in the middle of the plate with two
spoons of sorbet - one strawberry, one "crème fraiche" (half-way between sour cream and cream). Dots of pistachio and dots of pureed cassis supported the perfectly ripe strawberries. 

dessert

Luckily, each course was just enough food to satisfy. Were the portions any larger, we would have been too stuffed. As is usual in French restaurants, we could remain as long as we liked. To get the bill, you must get the eye of your server and request "l'addition." We didn't stay long as we were tired from our day's adventures and eager to get to the comforts of our home. 

April 26, 2022 - Autun

 We're heading south again today, this time to Autun.

Autun is an ancient Roman city, founded by Emperor Augustus. It was a large and prosperous city, somewhere between 30,000 and 100,000 people at its largest. Remains of city walls and 3 of the 4 entry gates still exist. There are also remains of the largest known Roman theatre and a temple to the Roman god Janus. 

It was also an important medieval city whose center still has many of its medieval buildings. Smack dab in the center and on the highest point in the town is the Cathedral of St. Lazare. (Lazarus). In the 12th century, vast numbers of pilgrims followed the holy routes to St. Jacques de Compestelle in Spain. Nearby Vezelay was one stop on this route and the bishop wanted to lure pilgrims to Autun to venerate the relics of St. Lazare. Pilgrims would increase the reputation of Autun, but also the revenue. 

Clark Hunsinger photo

Clark Hunsinger photo

Construction began in 1120 and was mostly completed by 1146, an amazingly short period of time for such an endeavor. The cathedral is known today as an example of Cluny-inspired Romanesque architecture. While the exterior has had later renovations, the interior maintains its Romanesque architecture and decoration. The relics of St. Lazarus have been removed - they were destroyed in the French Revolution. 

entrance to the nave of St. Lazare

the tympanum above the entrance to the cathedral

Equally important are the 12th century carvings on the tops of the pillars and on the tympanum (a half circular space above the door). The tympanum was saved from ruin in the French Revolution because in the early 18th century, the canons had the tympanum covered over with plaster, believing the sculpture was childish and ugly. The tympanum is signed "made by Giselbertus" about whom not much is known. His work in this cathedral, however, is considered a masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture. 

carvings on top of a column

Dave wanted to follow the walking tour of the old town from the Michelin guide. 

The Rolin museum is closed on Tuesdays

Joann shopping at a "brocante" - 2nd hand store

Clark on one of  the streets in Autun

However, the guide doesn't show all the streets and street names and there are a tangle of streets heading away from the cathedral. We started down the wrong street, which led us to the bishop's house and a small park with 3 benches where we stopped to eat our picnic lunch. 

eating lunch by the bishop's palace

where I parked the scooter for lunch

We crashed around other streets, some in the guide, some not, and finally headed back to where we'd parked our car. 

This area of France has many patterned tile roofs

Wisteria

house covered in wisteria

the parking area. Notice how the trees are sculpted to be square. Not sure why, but we see if often

Of utmost importance was finding a public toilet. The ones we had seen in the old town were closed today because they were on museum grounds and the museums are closed on Tuesdays. (Janis kept asking, does that mean people don't need to use the bathroom on Tuesdays?)

There were public toilets back at the parking lot, a little building with two doors each leading into a bathroom stall. This toilet is one that self-cleans between users, only I forgot to pay attention. There's no need to push the green and red buttons - they are simply indicators of whether the toilet is in use or being cleaned. You open the door, which turns on a light, then push the lock button from inside, do your business, wash hands and leave. Once the door closes behind you, the lock and red button engage and the toilet goes through a cleaning phase - which I can describe to you as I foolishly went in as Janis was leaving and so the door didn't close until I was inside. It then locked (and there's no way to unlock it) and began to spray water over the toilet and sink (stainless steal). The spray also hit me standing in a far corner. Then a giant fan blows air over the sink and toilet and finally, the door unlocks for the next person. Everything is dampish, including the floor (and now my pants). There's plenty of toilet paper, so I wiped off the seat and all was good. Sigh. I should have remembered how this works. This isn't my first rodeo.

We were now looking for the Roman ruins by car as they are spread out mostly on the edges of the city. We found the theater first. Rows of stone seats line the hillside of the bowl shaped depression. Fencing ringed the outside at the top of the bowl, so we could only look down into the theater. 

Next we found two of the entrance portals to the old Roman city. Impressive. 

Porte St. André 

Finally, we drove to the Temple of Janus, which Janis claimed as her own. 

ruins of the Temple of Janus (or Janis)

Time to head home for appetizers and leftovers of beef burgundy and shepherd's pie. And lots of fun reminiscences of the day and stories from long ago. Tomorrow Joann and Larry have to leave and we're going to have to find a way to entertain ourselves.  But Clark and Dave are already scheming something about wine tasting.