Wanderlust Traveler: Burgundy (Cluny, Brancion, Beaune, Chateauneuf-en-Auxois, Semur-en-Auxois, & Flavigny-sur-Ozerain)

Day 25 (Monday, September 21, 2009)

From Chamonix, I began a several hour drive northwest towards Burgundy. I was going to be spending the night in Beaune, but before reaching the city, I had a few stops along the way.

The first of those stops was in the small town of Cluny, which is famous for the ruins that remain from its once glorious Benedictine Abbey. The abbey was built between 1088 and 1130, and when finished, was 555 feet long and covered a massive 25 acres. Until the construction began on St. Peter’s in the Vatican, the abbey was the largest church in all of Christendom. The peak use of the abbey occurred during the 12th century, but continued to remain in use until the late 18th century. Unfortunately, during 1790, revolutionaries destroyed almost the entire complex, leaving only bits and pieces, which are now barely discernible as houses have been built up and around the ruins.

House in Cluny.

Pretty building in Cluny.

Door in Cluny.

Cluny

Blue shuttered building in Cluny.

Ivy covered building in Cluny.

Cluny

I didn’t have a map of the city, so I had a difficult time understanding exactly where it was I was supposed to go in order to see the abbey. What made matters even more confusing was that I saw a large building with what appeared to be cloisters inside; at first, I thought this was part of the former abbey, but I later learned that the cloisters I saw had been built much later (18th century) than the originals had. I eventually came to the area where I finally saw a few partial ruins from the abbey. Considering how difficult it was to visually imagine the former abbey due to the sheer lack of ruins, I’m not sure that I would recommend a visit here, although the small town was pleasant enough to wander through. If you are pressed for time, there are far better sights to be seen within Burgundy.

This woman was looking out towards the ruins of the abbey in Cluny.

Part of the ruins of the abbey in Cluny.

Cluny

Ruins of the abbey in Cluny.

18th century cloisters in Cluny.

Ruins of the abbey in Cluny.

From Cluny, I drove to the tiny village of Brancion. Upon my arrival, I was slightly confused as my navigation system indicated that I still had a few kilometers to go, but the sign on the road in front of me said Brancion. So, I pulled the car over to the side of the road to park and then explored what had to have been the tiniest village yet that I had seen in France. The guidebook referenced the town as having a castle, but there was definitely no castle in sight. I found this quite strange, but figured that that must have been the reason why my navigation system had stated that I had not yet arrived; I assumed that the castle was located just outside of town. Aside from the missing castle however, the little village was cute and quiet, and took me no more than ten minutes to wander through.

View of Brancion from a distance.

Another view of Brancion and its vineyards from a distance.

Homes in Brancion.

Brancion

Beautiful church in Brancion.

Buildings in Brancion

Brancion and some of its vineyards.

When I went back to the car, I continued on, until I reached my final destination of Martailly-lès-Brancion, where I saw the partially ruined castle looming above me. Apparently, there are two towns that go by the name of Brancion, although the one with the castle is generally known as Martailly-lès-Brancion; that cleared up the confusion! I decided not to tour the interior of the castle and instead wandered through the streets of the town. I also stopped to enjoy a 15th century market hall, which was in remarkable condition, considering it was used up until 1900. The town also has a 12th century church, but unfortunately, I somehow missed seeing that.

The castle in Martailly-les-Brancion.

Martailly-les-Brancion's Castle.

Building in Martailly-les-Brancion.

Inside of the 15th century market hall in Martailly-les-Brancion.

Exterior of the 15th century market hall in Martailly-les-Brancion.

Another shot of the castle in Martailly-les-Brancion.

From Martailly-lès-Brancion, I drove to Beaune, my chosen destination for the next two nights. This small but very pleasant town is centered around the production of Côte d’Or wines. Aside from the wine industry, Beaune is also well-known for its medieval sight of Hotel Dieu.

Before heading out and checking out the sights of Beaune, I first checked into Hotel La Villa Fleurie. The hotel was located just outside the center of town in a charming old historic home and was decorated in a very traditional but comfortable way. I dropped off my things, and then walked into town, which took only ten minutes.

Exterior of Hotel La Villa Fleurie.

Beautiful garden area at Hotel La Villa Fleurie.

My room at Hotel La Villa Fleurie.

As I walked through Beaune, I was surprised to see that it was a slightly larger city than I had anticipated it would be, with plenty of restaurant options and dozens of different wine shops and tasting rooms.

Beaune

Since I didn't have many daylight hours remaining, I made a beeline to Hôtel-Dieu. This site was once home to a medieval charity hospital, having been built under the direction of the Chancellor of Burgundy, who wanted to build something for his people. The hospital opened its doors in 1451, and surprisingly enough, some of the rooms within the building housed patients up until 1949.

Aside from its former use as a hosptial, Hôtel-Dieu is also famous for its colorful and elaborately decorated roof and gables, which are displayed within the Courtyard of Honor. The colorful glazed tiles covering the roof top have become so synonymous with Burgundy that their style is now known as Burgundian throughout France. The tiles are very sturdy and can last up to 300 years. The ones that are currently on the building were added back in 1902, so they still have about another 200 years before they will need to be replaced. Unfortunately, since my visit occurred during the very late afternoon, the sun was shining in the opposite direction of the tiled roof, so I wasn't able to get very good shots of the famous roof.

Courtyard of Hotel-Dieu.

Hotel-Dieu.

Courtyard of Hotel-Dieu.

Hotel-Dieu.

Colorful roof tiles of Hotel-Dieu.

From the courtyard, I headed into the chapel (main hall). This massive room was basically used as a hospice since most of the people who arrived rarely left alive. The entire length of both sides of the room was lined with beds covered in a bright red fabric. It was quite sad to think of how many thousands of people had died within the room, especially knowing how little privacy they had during their final days.

The chapel at Hotel-Dieu.

After touring the chapel, I continued my visit of the building, including several smaller wards, a kitchen, and even a pharmacy.

One of the smaller wards at Hotel-Dieu.

Walking through the courtyard of Hotel-Dieu.

Hotel-Dieu's kitchen

Pharmacy of Hotel-Dieu.

From Hôtel-Dieu, I headed back to the hotel for a bit to relax as I was very tired.

When I was finally ready to leave to find a place for dinner, I decided to drive back into the city as I did not feel like walking for ten minutes. As previously mentioned, there were a ton of restaurants to choose from, although I was hesitant to pick a random one without having a recommendation. As a result, I once again consulted Rick Steves guidebook and chose a place called Brasserie le Carnot due to its decently-priced menu options and the fact that it had boeuf bourguignon on the menu.

For those unfamiliar with French cooking, the Burgundy region of France is known for hearty dishes, many of which are cooked with red wine. Two of these famous such dishes are boeuf bourguignon (beef simmered for hours in red wine with onions and mushrooms) and coq au vin (rooster stewed in red wine with vegetables). Those two dishes also happen to be two of my most favorite things to eat in the world, so I was quite excited to actually try the authentic stuff in Burgundy.

Unfortunately, my excitement quickly waned when my plate of food arrived. The boeuf bourguignon tasted only sub par; the potatoes were't even fully cooked and the sauce was weak and without much depth of flavor, which is usually one of the biggest components to the dish. Even more strange, in addition to the obvious beef sitting on the plate, there were also several chunks of chicken. I found this very confusing as I had ordered beef, not chicken. Overall, the dining experience was quite disappointing. I hoped that evening that I would be able to find better boeuf bourguignon or coq au vin to eat the following day.

Not so good boeuf bourguignon.

Day 26 (Tuesday, September 22, 2009)

Today I had quite a busy day planned in Burgundy. After leaving the hotel, my first stop was the tiny town of Aloxe-Corton, where I had hoped to complete some wine tasting at two different wine cellars. Although it was only 10:30 in the morning when I arrived, I had a difficult time finding a place to park within the small village as there were already lots of cars lining the streets.

The first cellar I visited was called Chateau Corton-Andre. After walking into the building, I didn’t see any workers, but quickly noticed that a sign was up indicating they were guiding a tour and would return shortly. After waiting for about five minutes, a young woman appeared and asked in French how I could be helped. After apologizing in French and explaining that I didn’t speak French very well, I then asked if I could complete a tasting. For some strange reason, she appeared to be slightly irritated with this request, but still went ahead and lead me back to the dark cellar.

There were a total of four wines to try; two whites and two reds. Between each of the pours, there was a very strange feeling of uncomfortable air that circulated through the room; after she poured each of the wines and provided me with the name and year of production, she was utterly silent and stared at me. Needless to say, I finished the samples rather quickly, and ended up purchasing one of the reds as a gift for a friend back home. Later, I wondered if her unfriendly nature was really just her possibly feeling as though she couldn’t keep up conversation with me due to her lack of English skills. Whatever it was, I’ll never know for sure; all I know is that that was the most uncomfortable wine tasting experience I had ever been a part of.

Chateau Corton-Andre.

Wine tasting at Chateau Corton-Andre.

Immediately afterward, I had planned on partaking in wine tasting at another place located just down the street called Domaines d’Aloxe Corton; unfortunately, as I walked up to the entrance door, I noticed that they were closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so I turned right back around and headed to the car.

Next, I drove to another small town called Pernand Vergelesses. I drove straight through the town and up to the panorama viewpoint, where I was provided with beautiful views of the town and the neighboring vineyards. Unfortunately, the combination of haze in the sky and the sun shining against my lens as I attempted to photograph the view of the town below did not make for the most appealing pictures.

Vineyard view in Burgundy.

View of Pernand Vergelesses.

Vineyard view in Burgundy.

Afterward, I continued my drive to the town of Savigny-les-Beaune. There was nothing major to note of in this town, the only exception being Le Chateau de Savigny. I decided not to tour the chateau as I had seen enough of the most famous ones several weeks prior in the Loire Valley.

Building in Savigny-les-Beaune.

Savigny-les-Beaune.

After wandering the town, I got back in the car and drove to a small village called Pommard, where I planned to do more wine tasting at a place called Le Cave de Pommard. Unfortunately, this cellar was also closed, although it indicated on their door that they were open every day from 10:00-19:00. Since it was nearly 12:00, I thought that maybe they were closed for lunch, so I decided to find a bite to eat.

Pommard

Pretty flowers growing in sidewalk cracks in Pommard.

Sunflowers in Pommard.

Pommard

After conferring with my guidebook, I read that the Hotel du Pont served delicious but reasonably priced lunch menus, so I decided to eat there. I figured it would be a good place when I viewed their small menu; the lunch came with an appetizer (either pate or hard-boiled eggs over a medley of vegetables), entrée (boef bourgninon or a faux fillet) and dessert (cheese or dessert du jour) for 13 Euros (although the faux fillet had a supplemental charge of 1.90). I ordered the egg plate for an appetizer, the boeuf bourguignon (hoping it would taste much better than the night prior), and had the dessert du jour (mille-feuille).

Truth be told, when I ordered the egg appetizer, all I understood from the waitress and the menu was oeuf mayonnaise avec legumes (eggs and mayonnaise with vegetables) so I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into. When the food arrived, my plate had one hard boiled egg cut in half, which was topped with some mayonnaise, and placed atop of a bed of vegetables that was mixed in some sort of mayonnaise sauce (peas, green beans, red peppers, and some other unidentifiable ones). The eggs tasted very similiar to deviled eggs, and the mix of vegetables, although different than anything I had ever eaten before, wasn’t actually too bad; in fact, it was rather good.

Egg appetizer at Hotel du Pont in Pommard.

As for the main dish, my boef bourgingon proved to be a wise decision as it was about 100 times better than the one I had consumed the night before. The thick sauce was extremely flavorful and almost purple in color due to the large amount of red wine that had been used during cooking, and the beef was fork tender; exactly as it should be. In addition to the beef and side of green beans, my plate also came with a side of potatoes that tasted as though they had been cooked in cream and with a bit of cheese; rich and yummy goodness. For dessert, I had the mille-feuille, which is made with several layers of puff pastry that are alternated between layers of sweet cream pastry and topped with fondant with white and brown (chocolate) strips. This pastry, while very difficult to cut with a fork due to its layer of hard fondant, was also very tasty. All in all, I spent exactly the same amount of money that I had the night before on dinner, but instead of just one plate, I had a three course meal and had eaten food that was utterly delicious instead of just sub-par.

Boef bourgingon at Hotel du Pont in Pommard.

Mille-feuille dessert at Hotel du Pont in Pommard.

After finishing lunch, I continued the drive, stopping briefly in the town of St. Romain at Tonnellerie Francois Freres, a wine barrel fabrication company. As soon as I stepped outside of my car, I could hear the loud noice of hammers banging away. At this facility, visitors are able to walk up next to the shop and observe the action of the workers making the wine barrels, which involves several steps including placing small fires within each of the barrels (to make them flexible) and pounding iron rings around the barrels. Although I couldn’t see too far into the workshop, it was absolutely fascinating to be able to watch the barrel-making process up close. I would definitely recommend a visit to this place to anyone who happens to find themselves in this area.

Tonnellerie Francois Freres.

Next, I drove to La Rochepot and its gorgeous chateau, which picturesquely rises tall above the village. I didn’t stop in however, as the chateau is closed on both Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Instead, I enjoyed views of the chateau from a distance.

View of La Rochepot and its chateau.

La Rochepot's chateau.

La Rochepot.

Chateau de la Rochepot.

Afterward, I drove to the village of Chateauneuf-en-Auxois, which is listed as one of the most beautiful villages of France. As with so many of the other tiny villages in France, I wandered around the town for awhile, taking lots of photographs and enjoying the quiet ambiance. I found this village in particular to be extremely photogenic; I realized after my short visit that I had taken over 100 photos in less than 20 minutes!

View of Chateauneuf-en-Auxois from a distance.

Chateauneuf-en-Auxois

View of the surrounding valley from Chateauneuf-en-Auxois.

From Chateauneuf-en-Auxois, I headed over to Semur-en-Auxois. Just before I arrived in the main part of town, I had a great view of the entire city from across the River Armançon in front of the Citroen dealership; if you happen to approach Semur-en-Auxois from this direction, make sure to stop and take some photographs. Apparently, the city looks even more beautiful at night as much of it is illuminated by lights.

View of Semur-en-Auxois.

Once in town, I parked the car, and then walked a short distance to the tourist office, where I began a walking tour described in Rick Steves France book. The town was quite pleasant to stroll through, especially because I appeared to be the only tourist. There really aren’t necessarily any “must-see” sights in this town, but I must admit that that is entirely the whole point of visiting. The last part of the walking tour was the best, when I walked along the River Armançon. During this last portion of the walk, I was rewarded with the most amazing and beautiful riverside-reflections of the medieval bridge and buildings looming above the town, which created a truly picture perfect postcard scene.

Semur-en-Auxois

Enjoying beautiful Semur-en-Auxois.

Semur-en-Auxois

After enjoying Semur- en-Auxois, I headed to my final destination which was yet another village, this one called Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. Like Chateauneuf-en-Auxois, Flavigny-sur-Ozerain is also listed as one of the most beautiful villages of France; however, its bigger claim to fame is the fact that parts of the 2000 movie Chocolat were filmed in the village. Probably much to the sad disappointment of fans of the film, there is absolutely no mention (i.e. souvenirs, posters, etc) of the movie within the village itself. In fact, had I not read about the movie being filmed here, I would have had absolutely no idea that part of Chocolat had been filmed in the village, especially since I’ve seen much more beautiful villages elsewhere in France.

Distant view of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain.

Flavigny-sur-Ozerain

Tiny cute window in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain.

Flavigny-sur-Ozerain

After strolling through Flavigny-sur-Ozerain for a bit, I began the hour-long drive back to Beaune, where I settled on a dinner of sandwiches, cheese, and wine from a grocery store. It had been a very long and busy day, but I was quite happy with the amount of things I had been able to see and accomplish. In hindsight, another full day in the region would have been very helpful, especially for seeing sights further east that I did not have enough time to visit, such as the Abbey of Fontenay, Vezelay and the Basilica of Saint Madeleine, and Chateau de Guedelon.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Burgundy (Cluny, Brancion, Beaune, Chateauneuf-en-Auxois, Semur-en-Auxois, & Flavigny-sur-Ozerain)

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