“If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.”
– Julia Child
Hop over les Alpes via Brussels and we are delivered in Geneva, gateway to promises of lush plaisir awaiting us in Burgundy. Exercise, adventure, and epicurean delights are our mission in the heartland of France.
First destination is Fuisse (as in Pouilly-Fuisse), vineyard hamlet furrowed in stony, stingy earth that forces the Chardonnay grape to work hard for its sustenance.
Our cheerful hosts, Thierry and Gerald, run La Source des Fees, a 13th century structure which serves as active vineyard/winery as well as our B&B. Thierry announces our arrival with a fervent piano recital and we are casually left to investigate our understated, stylish surroundings.
Boris, a self-taught young chef skilled in wonderful country-styled cooking, is a source of remarkable food and entertainment. He glows from our appreciation of fresh, quality ingredients prepared with minimal fuss: roasted garlic chicken with creamy carrots, pan-seared salmon, and of course Boeuf Bourguignon, along with carefully arranged salads, fresh regional cheeses, and fruited desserts.
As we swoon with satisfaction and inquire about his secret “sauce,” Boris brings petit German pressure-cooking pots to our table and reveals recipes and methods. He is pleased and proud. We love Boris.
Breakfast is simple and concise: fresh baguettes and croissants, berry preserves de la maison, and heavenly teas. The guys are bottling wine from oak today, so not much time to hover over curious Californians.
The Voies Vertes is a dedicated bike path fashioned from a repurposed railway. At the tiny old depot we depart on bikes and meander though vineyards, farms, and small towns. We pass chateaus and cows and kids with their moms. We move through hills and a frigid 3-kilometer railway tunnel dripping water and sheltering bats. This offers immediate cool-down, although a slightly scary diversion.
After lunch in the Benedictine monastery town of Cluny, we are ready to return to our estate grown Pouilly-Fuisse whites, and Boris’s comfort food.
When town planners of Beaune sought the look and feel of their burg, they must have visited Disneyland, ‘cause it sure looks familiar.
We stay one block outside the walls of this postcard ville at the impeccable home of Ms. Cecile Bouchard who attends to every detail of our comfort. Her house carries the aromas of roasted meats and garden flowers. Home made jams, still-warm boulangerie baguettes and brioches, and visits of her adorable grandson insure our petite dejuneurs are intimate and homey.
All attractions in Beaune are a 10-minute promenade: open market Saturday, cafes and small restaurants, and a remarkable 14th century Hospice Musee. We eat at 2 cozy restaurants with prix fixe offerings that while adequate, are a little too predictable.
A third restaurant, the tiny wine bar Le Dilettante, provides a folksy offbeat experience. Families and couples, jazz music, hand sliced hams and sausages to accompany great Burgundy wines (bubbly Cremant is to die for), and homemade lemon tart. We hear the bearded proprietor speak at least 5 languages – including Japanese – which inspired me to learn 3 additional words of French.
Biking thorough vineyards and picturesque towns dotting the landscape is enjoyable, even memorable. We stop at a small fromagerie to provision a sunny, stone-wall picnic demarking the ancient properties of venerable vintners.
Land use changes as we migrate north through Burgundy. Craggy vineyards give way to velvety fields of mixed agriculture – verdant spring wheat and blazing yellow rapeseed fields provide watercolor vistas. We romp in a blossoming Flonase commercial with medieval backdrop!
We drive though dozens of limestone farm villages and expansive grassland in search of our next venue, Massangis. Locals refer to this region as the “lungs of France,” as it provides essential life to the nation.
We ring the chime outside the metal gates of Carpe Diem and are greeted by owners Patrick and Eric. They left 900-year old aristocratic families 30 years ago to pursue their vision of running an exquisite country inn. It is a grouping of remodeled stone animal quarters, re-created in period furnishings, inherited antiques, and collected vignettes of crystal, silver, books, paintings, and furniture.
We are assigned crimson Eugenia Suite (Napoleon’s 3rd wife). I strut around, much to Lisa’s forced amusement, declaring myself the reincarnation of Bonaparte himself!
Dinners at Carpe Diem are 3-hour etudes in tradition, social graces, meticulous care, presentation, and beautiful cuisine. Patrick commands his salon with wine and toasty fires to ensure all guests (we were alone one night as well) are compatible in the ensemble.
Days in the area are also spent visiting the spectacular Abbey and Basilica at Vezelay, a destination for pilgrims from which two crusades were launched. Just outside Massangis is a 1000-year old, still functioning quarry from where limestone was supplied to Fontainebleau and countless churches and towns of Bourgogne.
Biking here is a tranquil 15 km excursion along the working Nivernais canal that formerly supplied commerce along the river L’Yonne.
Our stay is a memorable adventure in rural French settings, customs, and traditions.
One lesson learned from this superbly cosseted countryside visit is that imposed ritual is not always synonymous with gratifying experience.
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there are 5 pics in here that i would like to paint someday.
I’m still taking in the “lungs of france” Wow. the shots are amazing as is your discretion of your day. I have never seen rapeseeds and your photos of them make me want to see if they are drought tolerant.
Absolutely beautiful!