Busy Days!!

Wednesday, as scheduled, was a cycling day but it was short and fairly close to Villers as it rained again in the afternoon. Lovely ride regardless of distance as the area is so well-suited to cycling with very little traffic. Drivers do not seem to slow for cyclists here so one must be careful, particularly as there are no shoulders on the roads and some of the edges are pretty torn up which may cause some problems. But we do not complain!!! We are cycling in France! We took a car trip in the afternoon to find a recommended lunch spot in Ville Fontaine and in the bargain found a new cycle route from Villers-la-Faye which would take us through Meuilly to Nuits St George. We could also cycle up to Ville Fontaine for lunch someday -- it is only 2km in the other direction at the turn-off. Thursday: A GREAT DAY!!! We found a book in the house on the most beautiful villages in Burgundy so we set off to find two of them -- Chateauneuf and Flavigny. Richard downloaded a map of France onto our GPS before we came here and it has been absolutely invaluable!! He set the trip to avoid highways and we were presented with an amazingly beautiful drive through a pristine and pastoral countryside. We were very surprised how quickly out of Villers-la-Faye the vineyards disappeared and the farms and cattle grazing began. Beautiful rolling green, green hills with Charolais cattle grazing on the hillsides. We passed through many small villages along the way as well as the canal de Bourgogne with its Voie Verte running alongside it for cyclists and walkers. There was a boat on the canal which can be hired for canal tours which would be a fun outing as well. We just cannot say enough about the countryside in this part of Burgundy, the Cote D'Or. Simply stunning! The vineyards here are equally as beautiful but the contrast is so unexpected between the two areas. COUNTRYSIDE PHOTOS:

CHATEAUNEUF: A beautiful hillside medieval village with an imposing Chateau perched on top, Chateauneuf has been rated as one of France's most beautiful villages. It did not disappoint! First of all, the view of the Chateau as you climb up to the village is spectacular and then, upon entering the village, everywhere you turn medieval architecture is evident. Photos, photos, photos. We walked around the village in total awe of the amazing architecture which is beautifully complemented by the residents' care to their flower and garden displays. Simply stunning!! We were there too early for lunch but plan to return for that purpose next week. We took a photo of a lovely dog that resembled our friends' dog, Bear. But his name was Eros and we had a little chat in halting French with his owner who came out to tell us the dog was friendly and could be approached! Lovely man, and dog. CHATEAUNEUF VILLAGE PHOTOS:

The Chateau itself, built in the 13th century and said to be one of the masterpieces of Burgundian military architecture, is flanked by five circular towers. The book we read indicates that when the "15th century chatelaine, Catherine de Chateauneuf, was found guilty of poisoning her husband, Philippe le Bon, the Duke of Burgundy seized her chateau in 1457 and gave it to his courtier Philippe Pot, to whom we owe the 15th century transformation." Philippe Pot built the 15th century living quarters, the Gothic chapel. There is an amazing replica of his tomb in the Chapel -- the original now being housed at the Louvre in Paris. As a fan of stories placed in Medieval times, the tour of the Chateau was a great treat!! Particularly the privies -- I recall reading so many historical novels of the period which mentioned the Queen or King sitting on the privy!! Now we know what they were like -- and the bathing tub and master sleeping quarters. This was truly an amazing self-guided tour (and only cost 5 Euros - what a bargain). We are so happy we ventured out this way. During the tour we met a lovely couple from Melbourne, Australia who were on their first trip abroad (as their children are now grown and completed university). Very nice people -- we had some good conversation. She (whose name I neglected to get!!) took a photo of me kneeling in the Lady's Quarters (sitting room) in a spot with a window that overlooked the Chapel. (Yes, I know, all my friends who really know me will find the humour in this!). She also recounted a story of her wedding 30 some years ago in the High Anglican Church. Her husband is Catholic and she is Anglican but she was not aware that in a High Anglican service you would be required to kneel at the alter during the ceremony. She said she had on a huge skirted wedding gown and was not sure IF she was supposed to kneel and HOW she was going to kneel or get up again in all that dress!! As well, she said all of her "heathen" bridesmaids (her words !! lol) were also looking around at her to see if they should be kneeling. Cute story - appropo of the moment. Hope you are reading my blog now, Aussie friend!! Leave a comment!! I told you I would recount your story and I hope I did it justice. CHATEAU PHOTOS:

FLAVIGNY-SUR-OZERAIN: We then headed cross-country through more beautiful landscape to Flavigny. Another medieval village perched above the valley of the Ozerain, it dates back to Gallo-Roman times. There was a Benedictine Abbey founded there in 719. By the time of the Revolution the monks' ranks had declined to 30 and the Abbey was sold to the villagers who used the stones for building. Today the little anis candies are manufactured in the old Abbey. We visited the little shop selling these sweets and upon entering the scent is so wonderful (if you like anise)!! Outside the shop a woman was sitting on a bench surrounded by her menagerie of terrier dogs -- we had seen her earlier walking them around the village! Houses of the village are in Gothic, Renaissance styles dating back to the 13th century. There are beautiful medieval structures and towers as well as half-timbered houses. We had lunch at a wonderful restaurant which had a sign outside stating "We are farmers and only serve produce which we have grown!" Seemed like a no-brainer to us. Richard had a wonderful omelet and I a slice of quiche -- we shared a fresh, delicious salad and un verre de vin blanc. Cos: 12 Euros!! It will also be on interest to our movie-buff friends and family that "Chocolat" with Juliette Binoche was filmed in Flavigny. The house they used for the facade in the movie is right next door to the restaurant where we had lunch so photos were in order, of course. Unfortunately for us we arrived at the village during the French "lunch break" and any galleries or little art shops there were closed. A beautiful village which is approached along a road canopied by huge trees. FLAVIGNY PHOTOS: