Vezelay to Beaune

Vezelay to Beaune
We spent the morning exploring some more of Vezelay. The crypt of St Madeleine was interesting – very old and containing an amazing casket covered in gold and jewels in which a relic was held (looked like a finger bone!). The panoramic views from the back of the basilica out over the countryside were beautiful. It was a misty, drizzly morning, so the photos don’t really do it justice. Coffee was in an old building which has been used for hospitality since pilgrim times – we peeked at the rooms upstairs where guests have been seeking refuge for over 500 years. We set off for our lunch stop, Autun – which was a bigger town than we anticipated. We got a bit lost trying to find the roman ruins – but found a great old church which we wandered around before having a picnic in the central square/car park – and were able to use the public toilets once the madame returned from her lunch break at 2.00pm to take our 30 centimes each entry fee! We did find the Roman amphitheatre – which was magnificent (seating 15,000) and still used for events.
Then on another hour or so to our destination – Beaune. Again a bigger town than we were expecting, and very touristy. After the lovely little villages we’ve been in the past few days, it was a bit of a shock. We had a good meal in a little local bistro/pizza shop out of the tourist area a bit. Pretty laid back with the telly on and the locals popping in for a quick meal. Mary, Michael and I had excellent salads – fresh and full of good ingredients. Dick had a baked potato and ham dish that was tasty but filling.

Beaune

Today we just spent in Beaune. There’s meant to be a jazz festival going on – but it’s pretty low key. There are only a couple of events over the 10 days which are open to the public – none when we’re here, and only one concert in the three days we’re here. So we decided to buy tickets to that concert – tomorrow night. The program looks good - there will be a wine tasting, then 2 concerts. We heard one of the bands today as we were buying the tickets from the festival centre – they were doing a session for some local school kids – and they sounded great.

We did a tour of the “Hotel de Beaune” a medieval building that has functioned as a hospital for the poor for the past 500 years – and still has an operating aged care centre in it. It has been restored to it’s original condition, as a place of beauty for the poor and sick citizens of Beaune – one of the original Christian charitable establishements in the world – the chapel was part of the grand hall where everyone slept and lived – with religious paintings all around – it makes Bethlehem’s statue of Mary on the stairs look quite subdued.

In the afternoon we took on the “Marche du vin” – where for 10 Euros you get let loose in underground caverns full of wine – with 15 different bottles open for you to try. I enjoyed many of them, but they were a bit light for Michael.
We talked to the Vigneron and he told us that all the grapes for red wine are pinot noir in this area – we need to go down South for the big reds – next time! We purchased a bottle of sparkling rose, which the hotel have refridgerated for us, and we can enjoy tomorrow night with the Verweys before dinner – we’ve sampled enough for now! Dinner was at a Nouvelle cuisine / japonese inspired restaurant – we had interesting entrees, such as curries lentils with anchovies, then a nice plate of meat or fish and vegetables or risotto, followed by an amazing selection of desserts in little jars.

Beaune and surrounds

In the morning we set off on foot for a mustard factory – and somehow manged to walk straight past it without any of us realising! Anyway, we found the door in the wall (yellow wall of course should have given us a clue!) just in time for the 10.00am tour. The tour was mainly about the history of mustard making, and then a tasting and we were given a few little samples. All quite interesting, but not one to put on the “must do” list.

After a picnic lunch, back in our rooms (with a very tasty combination of salads plus ham and egg in aspic) and a siesta we took off for Chateau Pommard – a nearby winery. We were a bit taken back by the cost of a tour – 17 euro, but it was well worth it. The chateau is beautiful, with a few rooms used as reception rooms which were beautiful to see. Then a few rooms made up as a museum – very interesting kitchen and wine utensil rooms, then our guide took us on a tour of the cellars. It was fantastic, as today was the last day of grape picking for their wines – so it was all action – grapes arriving, being pressed, being stored, being moved by hose into big vats etc. After looking at thousands of bottles lying in storage underground, we emerged for a tasting. We tasted 5 wines – one white, 3 reds and a liquer – all for sale at at least $100/bottle!

After the tasting, where we disappointed our guide by not buying any wines (she still offered us the tasting glasses for free) we wandered back to the Salvador Dali exhibition that happened to be on. The owner of the winery had recently purchased two large Dali sculptures, and so the Dali foundation allowed an exhibition of sculptures and paintings to come to the chateau for 6 months. It was fascinating, and the curator was very helpful in telling us about the pieces

Back to Beaune for a short rest before heading off to the jazz concert – which included a free wine tasting. We felt we’d done enough tasting, but the Verweys were up for more..