Cote d'Or

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K- Our original intention, and something I have wanted to do for years, had been to spend a gourmet week or so in Lyon which is home to 14 Michelin starred restaurants and is arguably the best place to eat in France. Incredibly however after 4 weeks in France we just couldn't face it. We were stuffed full of foie gras, cheese, delicious meats and sauces and we just didn't feel we could do justice to the amazing and relatively expensive restaurants. As I write this a year later I cant believe we didn't go but I can still vaguely remember that sated feeling and I know it was the right decision. However I would kill for that gourmet week now and it remains high on the bucket list.

So instead of our food extravaganza we spent a week exploring the countryside around Lyon, leaving Perouges for a short drive to Cremieu in the Rhône-Alpes. Cremieu is yet another pretty, medieval town and we stayed at Soleil & Cacao, a very pleasant Chambres d'Hote. We ended up staying 3 nights and doing the usual market / strolling / dinner thing which by now we were expert in. The B&B also had a cute dog which we borrowed for a couple of walks to a nearby lake and the inevitable, but still very enjoyable, picnic.

As well as exploring Cremieu we also took a longer drive out to Annecy, a popular, medieval town (what else?)in the Haut-Savoie on the edge of Lake Annecy. Although it is the usual cute mix of ancient buildings and small cobbled streets it also has a very distinct alpine feel, and was therefore different to anywhere else we had visited thus far. Whilst here I reintroduced myself to one of my favorite foods - Tartiflette, a mixture of bacon, potatoes and Reblechon cheese. Yum. Well - just because we couldn't face a week of gourmet, Michelin food didn't mean we were stinting ourselves!

Our next stop after an enjoyable drive through the vineyards and sunflower fields was Beaune, the wine capital of Burgundy and therefore obviously a very suitable place for us to visit. It is a walled city with a history that stretches back to Roman times and a little larger than other places we had stayed with a bustling traditional shopping area and a great market. We enjoyed some excellent and informative wine tasting here and purchased a couple more picnic bottles. It was a very pleasant stop despite a terrible dinner which took over 3 hours - for 3 courses. Very average food, surly service and an absolutely dreadful wine. How dare they serve bad wine in Burgundy? How is it even possible?!

Dragging Mark away from Real Estate windows we left the next day and drove through the Cote d'Or, enjoying a wonderful picnic by the Burgundy Canal en route. The canal appeared to be almost as pretty as the Canal du Midi but was a lot quieter. Our destination was Saint-Marc-sur-Seine, a one street town with a very nice B&B (the Soleil d'Or). It was owned by a Brit who turned out to be a very good cook. After the disappointing meal we had endured in Beaune it was a delight to eat a beautiful home-made boeuf bourgignon and coq au vin. A cliche maybe but a local specialty which we saw on every menu.

There were several "beaux villages & villes" in the vicinity so despite being plagued again by unseasonal grey weather we bravely headed off to sight see in some pretty towns such as Flavigny and Vezelay. We also dropped in on 2 local vide greniers (car boot sales) which were just advertized on the side of the road. We have visited these previously with Mum & Don so enjoyed browsing the stalls and tasting the foods, including a home-made black pudding. Delicious, but as you can see from the photos we are pretty sure it contravened all of the EU health and safety regulations. Fortunately we belong to the "if it looks good taste it" school and bought a piece for the next picnic.

Aware that we had not been exploring much "culture" in recent weeks we headed to Abbey Fontenay, which was founded in 1118 and is one of the oldest and best preserved of the medieval monasteries. The Monks were also talented engineers and are said to have invented the hydraulic hammer, which became the basis of industrial manufacturing in Europe. There was a working model in the forge which was explained so clearly that even I understood!

We had enjoyed our evening and meal at Le Soleil d'Or so much that we stayed an extra night and the following day visited the Chateau de Bussy-Rabutin. This 16th Century Chateau is where Roger de Rabutin, Count of Bussy was exiled after attending an orgy during Holy Week. He then exacerbated his offense by writing " l'Histoire Amoureuse des Gaules" summarizing the more steamy romantic sides of Louis XIV's French Court. This was then leaked and after a further scandal and a period in the Bastille he was banished once more to his Estate. During his 17 year exile, which for a renowned libertine and socialite must have been sheer torture, he amused himself by collecting and commenting on over 200 portraits of the great and the good of France. Some of the portraits and comments are less than flattering! It is a pretty little chateau and unique because of its back-story and we enjoyed our visit.

Incredibly it was now time to wind our way back to Colondannes so although we could have happily enjoyed Burgundy for a lot longer we pointed the car West. The official end of our travels was looming......

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Photos

Canal de Bourgogne
No boats!

Blood Sausage
I can only imagine how many EU health regulations were being flouted. Tasted good though!

Chateau de Bussy-Rabutin
The Count's bedroom complete with pictures of supposed mistresses

Abbey Fontenay - Hydraulic Hammer
Pretty obvious how it works so I won't elaborate!

Burgundy Town
I shamefully can not remember which!

Chateau de Bussy-Rabutin
Note the portraits