riontel | Fontainebleau and Burgundy

We landed in Paris on Friday and on Wednesday left it for ~~greener pastures~~ Burgundy in a rental car. Since we were told that portions of Versailles were closed due to repairs, we instead detoured to the modest country house of the French kings - Château de Fontainebleau. Cozy, but a bit ostentations for my taste, it must have been quite a challenge to heat up in winter. Lucky them the forests were right outside the front doors. Some of the forest is still there, protected as part of the National Park. We weren't able to see the park, which makes up the grounds, it was closed.


Ballroom


	Library

Queen's Bedroom	Napoleon's office with camp bed

Throne Room	Napoleon's Abdication Room

One more stop in the neighborhood of Fontainebleau Forest, to see what all those artists found so appealing in Barbizon, and we continued on to our final destination. Driving through the French countryside is quite unlike driving around US highways: narrow winding roads, in keeping with the narrow-winding-street traditions of the towns, lush green manicured fields dotted here and there with clumps of trees and grazing herds of cattle, farms, and vineyards. Hiding among all this bucolic picturesqueness are quaint villages, abbeys, and Châteaus.

Of course, hiding would be a lot more successful if not for the billboards proudly listing nearby attractions, so the inattentive tourists don't accidentally miss any of the remains of the old royal France. Never mind that coats of arms and decorations of the Chateauх have been smashed and the abbeys still carry scars of the French revolution, French are very proud, both of their aristocracy and its trappings and of those who sent it to the guillotines. But I digress, our destination was a small fortress town of Semur-en-Auxois. It is considered one of the prettiest towns in the region and its picture rightfully graces many a guide to Burgundy.


	House we stayed in

View from the porch

Around the town

Just a short drive away from Semur is a 12th-century Cistercian monastery, Abbaye de Fontenay. The abbey lived through some troubled times, Hundred Years' war, Wars of Religion, and, of course, the French Revolution, which forced out the last of the monks. For a while the buildings served as a paper mill until the abbey was declared a historical monument, restored, and opened to the public. It's a charming place, with a lovely cloister, garden and fountains, and if you wanted to be a monk, and sleep in unheated common dormitories, listen to sermons every day, and generally enjoy chastity and poverty I would highly recommend it.

Château de Bussy-Rabutin is situated in a small valley carved out by the Rabutin river near the village Bussy-le-Grand. It was built in 1649 by Roger de Bussy-Rabutin. Roger was a soldier and a courtier until his sense of humor landed him in Bastille courtesy of dour Luis XIV, who did not appreciate tales told of royal mistresses in Rabutin's "Histoire Amoureuse des Gaules". Stint in jail didn't cure the count of his wit and he was eventually exiled to his Burgundy estate, where he whiled away his time renovating the Chateau and writing letters filled with gems such as "Love comes from blindness, friendship from knowledge," "We are each of us angels with only one wing. And we can only fly by embracing each other." and "As you know, God is usually on the side of the big squadrons against the small." He also took the time to write short but biting comments to go with the portraits (including paintings of a bunch of mistresses of French kings and other notorious people of the age) with which he decorated the walls of his home.

Vézelay's main attractions are the Vézelay Abbey (Basilica of St. Magdalene) and the great view it commands from its grounds. Aside from that, its citizens seem to have some penchant for unusual decorations and Romain Rolland lived and died in Vezelay.

The name of this next Chateau is sadly lost in the recesses of my memory. We stopped there on our way to Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, which is famous for its L'Anis de Flavigny (aniseed) candy, that's been a staple of the town since some dark ages. Only the grounds of the Chateau were open and those were being repaired along with portions of the building itself. The moat was dry and overgrown with grass and the main door guarded by a mean dog. Well, it barked at us, so it was either mean or bored. But the most startling feature was that visitors were expected to drop 2 euros into the slot at the entrance, tear off their own tickets and then proceed in. I wonder how many actually bother.

Exceedingly originally named Châteauneuf-en-Auxois, whoever named must have been as 'inventive' as I am, is comprised of the 12th century square keep surrounded by Gothic structures built a few centuries later. Many of those are in a rather dilapidated state and make for very picturesque ruins. Keep itself is well preserved though none of its original furnishings remain. There is an interesting collection of medieval tapestries decorating the walls. Also interesting were the exposed beams which give you an idea of the internal wall structures.

Castle is surrounded by a very typical, except for the cars and the tourists, small town, which, apparently is a perfect place to acquire a point of view, should you need one.

Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune (Hospice of Beaune) was built in the town of Beaune as a hospital for the poor in 1430s. Its very distinctive mosaic tile roof, beautiful well-preserved wooden structure, artworks decorating the inner rooms would all make it stand out among any hospitals. It must have been a marvel when it was first opened though I doubt its inmates, peasants forced out of their fields by the bandits and hit by the famine and pestilence, were equipped to appreciate its beauty outside of the bed, food and care it offered.