Friday 25th September
Whilst Jude and Graeme did some chores, Ewan and I set of to explore some of the countryside and some special sites.
Ignoring the pessimistic weather forecasts we set off for Saleuil, a small pretty town, using the back roads. Considering that it is the end of summer the countryside is very green and lush, not like the Australian countryside at all.
We traveled through the Parc de Morvan which is a national park which encompasses lots of tiny villages, forests and fields of pasture. There were only Charolain cows in the pastures, and their white hides contrasted well with the almost irridescent green of the grass.
Graeme has a theory that they are very sociable cows as they always seem to be together in clumps in the large fields and I have to say he seems to be right.
The villages are so numerous that frequently just as one ends the next begins, and of course they all have their own Church. All of the houses have steep roofs to cope with the inevitable snow. The stone walls, brightly-coloured doors and windows, and the endless array of flower boxes add color to the scenery.
Saleuil proved to be a fascinating little place with a polar bear trail to follow to see the sights. The choice of animal seemed a bit strange until we realized that the sculptor came from this district. I am sure there is a very similar polar bear sculpture in the Musee d'orsay so I will check that out in a few days.
In line with the bear theme there was a rather odd Museum in a very old 11th Century church which had a beautiful grizzly bear sculpture.
We spent some time in a Fromagerie (cheese shop) trying to decide which of the huge range we should buy. Finally we bought about 7 pieces ranging from a roll of sheep's cheese ( which had a stick down the middle of it!!!) to a very smelly rocqueforte from the elderly shop keeper. His lack of English and our appalling French didn't help but we managed to make our purchases anyway.
After a browse around the village shops admiring some very old buildings we headed for a Chateau at Bazoches. Of course we arrived when it was closed for two hours for lunch. Good idea we thought - let's find some lunch in the local village and return later. Winding through some more country lanes and cow-filled pastures we finally arrived at the only restaurant in the local very tiny village. But alas, it was closed for a private function ie. a bus full of tourists.
Not to be daunted we headed for several other small villages, none of which had either a cafe, or a cafe that was open. As we had lots of cheeses but nothing else to turn it into lunch we decided to head for Vezelay, the main destination for the day.
Desperate for lunch we went into a pub restaurant and a man carefully told us in French that the kitchen was closed and only cold food was available. Ewan used his fabulous Franglais and the guy grinned and spoke to us in a cockney accent, still strong after living in France for 16 years. We had a delicious platter of meat, cheese and crusty bread which fortified us for the sight seeing ahead.
But before we could launch ourselves into this UNESCO heritage site, we had to pay for parking. As we had not paid and didn't have a ticket to display we had been left an envelope which basically said "pay up or you will get a fine" so we did, although neither of us had a pen to write the two number on the enveloped so I went to buy one whilst Ewan found a helpful person with one. It's these little complexities that seem to take all the time when you are traveling!!
Vezelay is a very pretty very old town with a main street which slowly climbs a hill until at the top - you guessed it! - there is a Cathedral. I know. ...what an amazing surprise.
There is a number of reasons that this is an important church. Firstly it is where one of the Camino Santiago Trails starts. There are written prayers in front of statues of Saints for the pilgrims to recite before they leave.
Secondly there is a religious relic - yep it is a part of Mary Magdalene. Which part I hear you ask, as we did! Well we aren't sure, but there it was behind bars and glass, in the tiny ancient crypt, so we had no idea what it was?!! A statue of MM in the main church had clearly been rubbed for luck too.
It was without doubt the least decorated church we have been in so far, so the variegated stone arches and walls created the design.
There seemed to be a few monks and nuns around as we wandered slowly down the hill looking at the handcrafts shops, cafes and restaurants. Because we felt so holy we bought two Sables de Vezelay biscuits and two Jesuites aux almonde pastries. Not bad!!
We also visited a very nice art Museum, Musee Zervos, dedicated to an art critic and a political journalist who were friends and knew many artists who are now displayed there. Picasso, Miro and Kandinsky were included.
We continued to enjoy the winding roads until we ended up on the freeway and headed for home. The only detour was to an Autogrill service station for some coffee to keep Ewan awake. To our surprise there was actually some very nice food available: forget the chips and hamburgers - it was a full scale bakery and cafeteria (but no Olivers green beans to be seen!). But we were on a mission to get back to Beaune for dinner in one of the Caves or wine cellars.
After a quick 'schoozing' we were presentable enough to wander down the street and descend the stairs into the Restaurant Le Monty: a new experience for all of us.
Sitting alongside a wall lined with thousands of bottles of wine was a bit distracting for some of us. It seemed to me that the food menu took considerably less consideration than the book that was the wine list. The food was fabulous, especially the snails cooked in garlic butter - we could smell the garlic well before they arrived. The duck and beef were tender and the creme caramel finished us off completely.
We staggered home replete and fell into bed after a busy day.
Your exhausted correspondent
Dianne
