A Weekend in Burgundy

[French Mystique Tours]

It has been a typically gray and damp winter in Paris so far but I noticed for the upcoming weekend of January 15th and 16th that the weather forecast was looking pretty good with warm temps around 12°C to 15°C. Especially good weather was predicted for the Burgundy region so that was all the motivation the Mrs. and I needed to take a weekend trip to Burgundy. Heading south from Paris on the A6 somewhere near the Orly airport it looked like this at about 8:20-8:30AM.





Like most trips I take and true to my travel style I did very little planning before I left and really only had a couple of specific places I wanted to see. The rest of the time I just wanted to wander around and see what might happen. Being that I was a geography major in college and owing to the fact that I have no drivers licence Mrs. FMT assumed the drivers seat while I handled the navigational duties with the map. I am an excellent map reader and she is an excellent driver, which is why neither of us assumes responsibility for making the wrong turn and getting lost. Truth is, it's always her fault but since she doesn't know I'm writing this I can get away with saying that....for now. I'm going to be in the doghouse when she discovers I've posted this report on travel forums. But I know how to calm her down by simply doing some of my outstanding mime impersonations, like peeling a banana, or being stuck inside an invisible box but especially when I do the choo-choo train. She laughs really hard at the choo-choo train.

Entering the Burgundy region I was looking over the map deciding where I wanted to go and as we approached exit 21 I noticed the town of Noyers-sur-Serein. I knew it was supposed to be a pretty little medieval town so I told the Mrs. to turn here. Normally I think she likes to be warned more than 25 meters before an exit that we're about to turn but this is just part of my impulsive, throw caution to the wind travel style. Besides, there was nobody in front of us or behind us who was bothered by our fishtailing highway exit maneuver. Did I mention that she is an excellent driver?

Noyers is designated one of the most beautiful villages in France. Its origins go back to Roman times but it next reappears in history when a powerful family, Miles de Noyer, arises in the town in the 12th century. One of its members, Gui de Noyers would become the Bishop of Sens and was later crowned Philippe Auguste in 1180. Hugues de Noyers, Bishop of Auxerre, built a powerful castle on a hill above town in Noyers at the end of the 12th century that was known as ''one of the proudest castes in France''. He also built a defensive wall around the town at this time, which protected the town from the seige of Blanche of Castille in 1217. The Miles dynasty ended in 1419, as their was no heir, and the town came into the possession of the Dukes of Burgundy. The prince of Condé became count of Noyers. He made a Huguenot place of the city and took refuge in it during the wars of religion but Catherine de Médicis dislodged him. Later the castle was dismantled by Henry IV in 1599. After this time the town slowly retreated from history.

Today the town still retains a good portion of its medieval remparts and a few entry gateways as well as numerous half-timbered buildings and other wobbly looking structures. It's a very pleasant place.












We took a stroll along the river outside the remparts and headed for a hill behind the town where the remains of the old castle stood.






There's not much that remains but they are trying to restore a portion of what is left standing.




A little masonry workshop had been set-up where stonecutters were crafting various decorative pieces.

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Being up on a hill, there were a few places offering scenic view points.




Finishing up our visit of the ruins we headed back down the hill into town to check out the village.


















After our visit we decided to do a country drive to give oursleves a little nature break from all the urban scenery around Paris.

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Being that it was around lunch time and we were hungry we had to choose a town to visit for some lunch. In rural areas like this your chances of finding a half decent restaurant, or any restaurant for that matter, in any of the small towns and villages are pretty slim unless you are lucky or know where you're going. Even slimmer when you visit them in January, out of tourist season. And since lunch is usually only served from noon to 2:00 your best option when in our situation is to look on the map for the largest town near you, where you have a better chance of at least finding food of some form. The large town nearest to us was Montbard so that's where we went. Arriving in Montbard we followed the signs for parking and ended up in the parking lot at the train station and right next to the tourist office. The first things you usually notice when you pull up to a train station in France is that next to it there is always a ''Hôtel de la Gare'' and a ''Restaurant de la Gare''. If you've ever been to one of these fine establishments (as I have on many occasions) you know that they are usually the crummiest restaurant and hotel in town and are best avoided unless you are desperate and/or budget conscious, or perhaps just seeking adventure. Crummy though they may be, it is not uncommon to leave one of these places with a memorable experience. Whether one considers it a positive experience (Wow, I ate that without barfing!) or a negative experience (Are you smelling what I'm smelling?) depends on your interpretation, and sense of humor.

Not knowing what we might find in town we perused the menu of the Restaurant de la Gare just to give us a comparison to what may await us. Very typical looking food with very typical prices. We noticed a waitress inside casting a wise and knowing glance in our direction while we considered our options. A smile crept across her face as we turned and walked away towards town (''They'll be back'' she must have thought ''They always come back'').








We didn't walk every street in town but stuck mostly to the ones that seemed to have stores and commerce, where food establishments would most likely be located. Being off season some places were closed and the only places we saw open were less than appetizing looking pizza and kebab joints so we resigned ourselves to the inevitable, lunch at Restaurant de la Gare. Heads hung low in defeat we entered the restaurant to discover what sort of memorable experience may lay in wait for us. Our waitress, who must surely be satisfied with the victory of prognosticating the return of yet another customer who was seeking to eat elsewhere, had two menus ready for us (Damn! She knows she won.).

We ordered a couple of vegetable and cheese bruschetta which were acceptable, albeit somewhat devoid of flavor and the ability to satiate ones appetite. During our walk around town we noticed a few other tourists and while we dined, slowly, group by group, they all made their way into the restaurant, heads hung in a similar manner of defeat as ours. Well, nothing truly memorable happened this time and meal finished, we returned to the car to continue our journey.

The next town on our agenda was Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, like Noyers it is a medieval town classified as one of the most beautiful villages in France and sits on the edge of a plateau perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley below. Before arriving in the village the Mrs. told me that the movie ''Chocolat'', starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp, was filmed in Flavigny. I've never seen this film and the reason I was attracted here is because a few years ago I was visiting the Roman ruins at nearby Alise Sainte-Reine en route to Dijon and driving through the valley below the village I thought how charming it looked and that I'd like to visit sometime.

Alise Sainte-Reine is famous as it was the reputed battle site between Caesar and Vercingétorix, the Gaulish leader who for a time resisted Rome by uniting the numerous Gaulish tribes and whose legend is considered the origin of French national identity. Caesar's campsite is shown on the Michelin map as being just east of Flavigny. The Roman ruins at Alise Sainte-Reine aren't all that interesting and date to a time long after the famous battle but it is kind of cool being on such hallowed ground and imagining. A museum dedicated to the battle and the history of the site is under construction near the village. We passed by it and it looks like they might have another year to go before work is complete.

Besides its inherent charm and the fact that a famous movie was filmed here what also makes Flavigny famous is Les Anis de Flavigny, a small pearl shaped candy flavored with anise seed. The building where this candy is produced is open for guided visits but was closed during our out of season visit, so I didn't get to taste it. I'm not sure I'd enjoy anise flavored candy anyway. Sounds kind of medicinal, and since it was originally produced by monks I'm sure that may well have been its intended purpose.

I'm going to cheat a bit here and instead of recounting the history of the town I'll provide a link to wikipedia, which gives a brief but adequate summary of the towns history.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavigny-sur-Ozerain



















If you've seen the movie Chocolat, the Mrs. Tells me that the building in the center of the photo below was where the chocolate shop was located.

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You'll notice in the photo below that the building is partially faced with plaster covering stone. So many old buildings in France that are covered in plaster have stone subsurfaces. I wish all the plaster were removed from such buildings but I suppose the cost of maintenance might be cheaper from an owners perspective. Perhaps it cover leaks between stones as well as protecting the mortar holding them together from wearing away. Do you know?


















Here's the building where they make Les Anis de Flavigny.






Noyers and Flavigny were the only planned stops for the day before heading for our overnight destination of Semur-en-Auxois and since we still had a couple of hours of daylight we decided to get lost on some of the nearby country roads, enjoying beautiful scenery and wandering through tiny unknown villages.

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The next few photos are of the village of Frôlois, one of many tiny villages in the area perched on the edge of a plateau that drops away to a valley below. Also, like many of the tiny villages in the area, nothing much of great historic importance occured in Frôlois. But I must say that I was impressed with the town website which had a pretty well documented history of the town going back to the 11th century and full of all the names of the people who were vital to its history and the various acts they performed.


















At one time some sort of miracle must have occurred in Frôlois as several streets took a name invoking the word miracle.







You'd think if a town could boast of a miracle in its history they might make mention of it on their website but no such luck. After some google searching all I could scrounge up is that there is a statue in town (La Vierge du Miracle à Frôlois la Montagne) which is obviously the source of whatever miraculous event transpired here.

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The Michelin map shows the source of the Seine river as being a few kilometers away from Frôlois but we didn't have time to visit. Leaving Frôlois we moved on, catching one last view of it from a distance as we drove away.






The road led up a hill and into a forest before re-emerging and descending downwards on the other side approaching the town of Thenissey.








The road went over a hill and through another forest and we approached the village of Hauteroche.






That was all the get lost driving we had time for since we wanted to arrive in Semur-en-Auxois while there was still some daylight. There was still some pleasant scenery along the way but we didn't feel like slowing down or stopping for pics.

Semur-en-Auxois is a somewhat well known Burgundian village and although not too large offers enough in the way of services and amenities to make it an attractive place to base yourself in this region. But its biggest draw is the town itself due to its medieval heritage in the form of impressive ramparts, towers, windy streets and ancient buildings, and of course, it sits on the edge of a plateau overlooking the river valley below that surrounds the town on three sides, which would have been a defensive plus back in the day. Legend has it that Semur was built by Hercules on his return from Spain (I have no idea what he was doing there) and it first enters written history in the 7th century. It was built up with its present walls, towers and ramparts from the 13th to 15th centuries. Besieged in 1589 during the wars of religion Henri IV had its primary fortifications dismantled in 1602 and it lost its defensive role. There are all kinds of tidbits of minor historical interest scattered throughout the village and you can get yourself acquainted with them by stopping at the tourist office and obtaining your map and info.

We were looking for a cheap place to stay and since there are only a few hotels in town we chose the cheapest, Hotel du Commerce, which was 56 euros for a double plus 7 euros each for breakfast. The hotel obviously occupied what was once a prestigious noble residence as evidenced by the grand staircase, high ceilings and large room size and configuration. Too bad the decor wasn't as grand as the building. You know, a little paint and some up to date bed spreads don't cost much money and go a long way to brightening up the atmosphere of any hotel. But I wasn't there to admire the decor and our room was good sized, with a comfy enough bed and the building still had charm due to its architectural integrity so I was pretty happy with it. Our room even had a wall of exposed brick and a non-working fireplace to add a bit of charm. Their website says some rooms have been renovated but I don't think ours was one of them. I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again if I were returning.

We checked into the room and the Mrs. took a nap while I went out for stroll to get some pics and learn my way around town. In towns the size of Semur I like to walk on every single street and thoroughly orient myself with the town so I know where I am going and what there is to see without leaving any potential surprise undiscovered. It is definitely a town where every single street is worth walking and where scenic photo ops abound at every turn. Picturesque is an understatement when describing Semur. Sunset was approaching quickly so I knew I'd only get a few daylight photos but I also knew the village would light up at night and offer some glorious night time photo ops. So off I went with my camera.








The gothic church was built in the early 13th century where there had previously been an 11th century Romanesque church. It was restored by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century.

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I've got more night time photos but I think you get the idea. It's a pretty magical place. I headed back to the hotel to get the Mrs. and then head off to find a restaurant. During my stroll I had been noting the locations of all the restaurants, read the menus of what they were offering and checked on the prices. There are over a dozen places to eat in Semur appealing to all tastes and budgets. We decided for something a little more than average and went to a nice place called Les Minimes. It's located next to the river below the village at the base of the ramparts. It's in an old half-timbered building and feautures cuisine from Burgundy and the Midi. The owner and staff were friendly and the food was good. While dining we discovered a couple of the local specialties were cassis (black currant) and pain d'épices (loose translation - gingerbread) as these items were featured in our dishes. Another regional specialty is époisses cheese, which I had never had until now. It's a soft, unpasteurized cows milk cheese and is my temporary new favorite cheese. The Mrs. had this in her oeufs meurette à l'époisses (poached eggs in a red wine sauce with époisses cheese). I had a cassis sauce on my pork. I can't remember what I had for dessert but it also featured cassis and was delicious. Here's a photo of the restaurant.




Looking out our window in the morning we saw nothing but clear blue skies and knew it was going to be a great morning to go for a stroll around town. Why don't you come join me?

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I'm going to interject here to tell you about a little anecdote involving Semur which dates from the 16th century. If there are those of you reading this report who have delicate sensibilities or are easily offended by tales recounting sexual escapades I would suggest you skip the following paragraphs and go right to the pictures that follow this tale of strange and wondrous travel adventure which I will recount for you.

Normally when writing trip reports I do all the research and writing and occasionally the Mrs. might help me with a little bit of research. Often she finds just the right anecdote to add a touch of color to my reports. She is one smart cookie, let me tell you. She really outdid herself this time, however, so let me tell you all about what she found out.

If you enter Semur through the gate at the tourist office (the barbican) after you pass through the second gate look up and behind you to the rafters overhead. There you will see the motto of Semur, which looks like this.




What this says is "The people of Semur really enjoy the company of strangers. - S. Munster 1552". Sounds very welcoming, doesn't it? However, when the town of Semur chose this quote as their motto they conveniently omitted the end of the sentence, which translates to "but more than that, they hate the French". But that still wasn't the whole quote, which only goes downhill from here. Now, let's put this sentence into its original context, that is, an account of German traveler Sebastian Münster's visit to Semur in the mid 16th century. The first paragraph is the original 16th century text in old French. Those of you that have some grasp of the French language may have fun trying to decipher the meaning of this text. In any case, the modern English translation provided by Mrs. FMT will follow.

"Les Semurois se plaisent fort en l'accointance des estrangers, mais haissent bien davantage les Françoys. De faict, lorsque je me rendys en cestuy bourg je fus ascueillys fort plaisament par ses habytants. Toutes foys je ne pus trouver oncques auberge pour y reposer, aussi je demandoys le gite à quelque bergier qui voulu bien m'hesberger pour une nuyté dans sa bergiérie. La nuyt, tandys que je dormoys pesament j'oys un grand bruy, je crus qu'il s'agissoy d'une beste. Cestoy ledit bergier qui venoy tou desnudé de son corps, il s'estriva avec un mouston et l'enscularda derechef sans austre forme de proçay dans l'enscoulure de son postérieur. Il me proposa de le resjoyndre, je restrivai puis acceptoy, et prist la place du milyeu, dite place françoyse en cestuy constrée. Les Semuroys sont décidément de fort joyeux bousgres."

"The people of Semur really enjoy the company of strangers. But much more than that, they hate the French. In fact, when I arrived in the village, I was very well received by its inhabitants. However, I could not find an inn where to rest, so I asked a shepherd if he could put me up for the night. At night, as I was sleeping tight, I heard a great noise, I thought it was a wild animal. But it was the shepherd who, completely naked, grabbed a sheep and started fucking him right in the ass. He invited me to join in the fun. I declined at first but finally accepted and placed myself in the middle, which place is called 'the Frenchman's place' in the region. The people of Semur are decidedly very jolly fellows".

Wow! I thought I wrote good trip reports but I've got nothing on good old Sebastian. He was one wild and crazy guy. And now that I think about it, wouldn't you say this is quite a strange anecdote from which to choose the motto of your town? So, who was this Sebastian Münster? Sebastian was a German scholar whose 1544 work "Cosmographia" is the earliest German description of the world. It had numerous editions translated into Latin, Italian, English, French and even Czech and was one of the most popular and successful books of the 16th century. For the sake of being able to put a face to a name, here's a photo of Sebastian in a much more dignified pose than the one in which he found himself in Semur.



A portrait of Sebastian was featured on the old 100 DM German banknotes until the early 1990's. So proud of their heroes, those Germans. And now, back to the photos.

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It was around noon at this time so we decided to have lunch before heading off to explore the countryside. There was little place near the church I had spotted the night before that seemed to be buzzing with all the locals and looked quite lively. It was a bar/restaurant combo with the restaurant being called Le Carpe Diem and the bar called Au Bon Coin, but it was all the same establishment. It was still buzzing with locals at lunch time and was definitely the place where they all hang out. The decor was low budget artsy-chic and the the walls were decorated with paintings for sale by local artists. They were kind of nice and unique paintings actually and I wish I had taken a photo of one or two of them, although at 600-700 euros they were out of my price range. The food was good and reasonably priced and the funky decor and lively local atmosphere made it even more enjoyable. Lunch finished, we hopped in the car and headed off to explore the countryside. Here's one last look at Semur.




We headed west and entered agricultural terrain.




The first village we entered was Epoisses, the town from which the aforementioned cheese derives its name. Its history goes as far back as the 6th century when Queen Brunehaut, Regent of the kingdom of Austrasia, used to stay there. The town is defined by its château, which has medieval origins. The exterior is mosty 15th to 18th century construction with interior decor from the 17th to 19th centuries. The Dukes of Burgundy and Kings of France always made sure it stayed in trusted hands due to its strategic location. In the 17th century it is said that it was visited by the Prince of Condé, who owned the castle at one time, and also Madame de Sévigné.Several other illustrious historical figures are attached to its history and you can find out about them if you visit. As for the cheese history, its production was begun in the early 16th century by Cistercian monks who had taken up residence in the village.

The château is open for visits in July and August at regular hours and from April through October (excluding July and August) by reservation. The exterior grounds are open year round and there is an honor system 2 euro entrance fee, donations made to the box at the entrance.

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Here's a look inside the colombier (pigeon coop/dovecote), which is restored to what it used to look like.




It was time for a bathroom break and since you don't find too many public bathrooms in the country we were hoping one of the two bars in town were open. Luckily one was and we had a couple of cafés for a euro each. Prices are cheaper in the middle of nowhere. They were even serving lunch there too and a few locals had taken up residence in the dining room. A rare occurrence, finding a tiny rural village where not only do they have a bathroom and cheap cafés but also food, which was as cheap as the café. Back to a few more photos of the village. Our bar is on the left next to the boucherie in the first photo.












After Epoisses we figured we'd just wander around for a while heading in whatever direction looked scenic and interesting before we'd finally wander back to the highway. Off we went.








Here's a little video where you can drive with me through a tiny unknown village. I think this one was called Guillon.




And here are some photos of Trévilly.

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Next village was Montréal. If you go to the French wikipedia site you'll learn a bit about the history of Montréal, which was closely linked to its neighbor Epoisses, and which is tied to some significant historical figures and events. For such a tiny place it has a rather illustrious history.










The next village we came to was my favorite tiny unknown village we encountered on this trip. Ladies and gentleman, I present Thizy.
















The only info I could dig up on Thizy had to do with the remains of the fortress there. It was built in the 14th century with some later renovation/additions in the 16th century. The local sculptor, who resides in one portion of the castle, is undertaking its renovation. It is a booming metropolis with a population of 156 inhabitants as of the 1999 census.

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A local sculptor had his workshop set-up inside the old castle and some examples of his craftsmanship were on display outside.












I'm not so sure these last sculptures are recent, due to the moss build-up and evidence of weathering, but who knows.




And a few more pix of the castle and then the panoramic view.




(Sorry about my annoying and distracting shadow)




We paid a quick visit to Talcy......




…...before moving on to Blacy.





Where we met a little white kitty.






And then back to the country.......




…...where we met these cows.




Cows like to have their pictures taken and always look at the camera.






Then we arrived in L'Isle-sur-Serein.












The last town I have a photo of is Joux-la-Ville.




And one last photo (complete with my distracting shadow) before we hit the highway for Paris.




And so ended the most beautiful weekend we've had in terms of weather since the end of October. I'll be back to this region again as there are still about a million other villages I need to explore but with the unpredictable winter weather and short daylight hours this is all I had time for now.

[Jeri]

Just wanted to thank you for this wonderful tour. We spent a couple of weeks in the west part of Burgundy in 2010, based in Massangis, and your pictures brought back so many memories. As lovers of Epoisses, we had lunch in a little cafe through an arch as visible in your picture and topped it off with a portion of Epoisses, which was heavenly. And we spend many an hour in the cafe in L'Isle sur Serein, because the Internet access at our b&b was erratic and my husband needed to keep in touch with his business. The locals didn't quite know what to make of the two crazy Americans who came in, got their coffee, and plugged right in.

Noyers was very close by, and we spent a lot of time there, and we also got to make return visits to Flavigny and Semur, which we'd visited on previous trips. So this was a delightful travelogue for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks so much!