En Auxois
/0th July, 2013 (Tony)
The Massif Morvan, the hills of Burgundy, have long presented a problem for travellers journeying to the East of France from Paris. In the 1600's a plan was devised to cut a canal from the river Yonne up the valley of the Armançon, almost to its source near the small town of Pouilly en Auxois. A 3.4km tunnel carved under the col at an altitude of 378m provided a link to the Ouche which flows into Dijon which in those days was a very important centre of wealth and power. And from Dijon an almost perfectly straight 35 km canal gave access to the Saône, and thus the Mediterranean. Work began in 1775 and following lengthy delays brought about during the period of the Revolution the Canal de Bourgogne was completed in 1832. 242km; 189 locks, virtually all still manual and many only a few hundred metres apart. However, the VNF ensure there are always lock-keepers to assist every vessel through every lock and at this time of the year a large contingent of students are employed to supplement the workforce over the summer holidays. There are many twists and turns along this beautiful canal — too many for todays fast railways but the TGV races up the Armançon far above the level of the canal almost to Montbard before it branches into a more direct valley via Montchanin towards Lyon whilst the line to Dijon crosses over to the Oze until it joins the Ouche a short distance from the city.
We lingered in Dijon for three weeks. It was no hardship. It is a lovely city and we had a great mooring with free electricity and water. All the other boats that had attended the DBA Rally departed soon after the rally and we were more or less on our own except for the occasional overnight stayer. The weather was mostly pleasant and we fully explored the city's fabulous new tramway system as well as venturing on bike and foot to various places. It was also an opportunity to get some painting done. Last year, in Holland, I put off painting the decks because at first the weather was too cold and wet; and later it became too hot. By the time the weather was agreeable it seemed too late in the season to be bothered. So the decks have been annoying us for more than a year but now look sparkling. And once in the mood I couldn't resist starting inside, repainting all the ceilings and bathrooms. Next job, the walls.
Gray and Suellen joined us in Dijon. They spent several days taking in the attractions of the city, including an escorted tour of the vineyards and villages of the Cote d'Or. We all took the train to Beaune one day so they could visit the must-see Hôpital and wander through the beautiful town centre. Lunch at Caverne des Arches, another restaurant featured in Shannon Bennett's book, was magnificent. The girls' boeuf bourguingnonne was to die for; whilst Gray and I thought our chicken with mustard sauce; and duckling with foie gras every bit as delicious. My apple tart was specially baked and served piping hot with made-in-house icecream... yummmy!
We departed from Dijon and meandered slowly up the Canal de Bougogne, Gray and Suellen biking most of the way, each day taking in more of the sights of the countyside and exploring the small villages nestled in the valley. At Velars sur Ouche we strolled up to the top of the village to admire the spectacular railway viaduct. A wonderful old farmhouse complete with its ancient huge barn with a monstrous cantilevered roof hanging over the farmyard caught our attention. As we peered through the wrought iron gates admiring the expansive gardens and all the animals — horses, chickens, rabbits (in hutches), ducks, geese — and an extensive range of old implements and machinery, an elderly woman emerged and struck up a conversation with us. She was as fascinated with us, from Australia, living on a boat, as we were with her priceless heritage property. Well, it deserves to be a "Heritage Property" as it was the best realistically preserved farmyard typical of a bygone era that we have seen. Further down the street all our eyes were averted to a man standing in his open garage stretching on a pair of rubber gloves. A second glance revealed a carcass of wild pig reposing on a bench. Another fascinating conversation ensued. Obviously an enthusiastic hunter, he had shot the pig in the forest a few miles away and was about to butcher it and store it in his freezer, already laden with previous 'kills'. Sadly we weren't invited to the barbecue.
An overnight stop at Bussiere prompted a pilgrimage up to the beautiful village church which three years ago was undergoing a major restoration. In the old cemetery above the church lie seven commonwealth graves, the entire crew of an RAF bomber that crashed nearby in August, 1943. La Bussiere Abbey resides in about 10ha of stunning botanical gardens. A small lake, broad stretches of manicured lawns and more than fifty varieties of mature trees create a scene of chocolate box beauty around the lovingly renovated 15th century abbey. It is now an exclusive boutique hotel with a renowned restaurant. When the British owners applied to restore the property they were met with over three thousand objections — far in excess of the local population — mainly based on outrage at the Church selling a crumbling historic property to foreigners. (Wait 'til the Chinese discover France.) Fortunately their patience and perseverance prevailed. Strolling into the grounds on our way to lunch we met a couple taking an enormous Saint Bernard dog for a walk. Assuming they were guests we exchanged greetings and in the course of a chat which followed we inquired, "Are you enjoying your stay here?" "Oh, no, we own the place..." Lunch was absolutely fabulous. Despite ordering only two courses the chef plied us with numerous tiny appertizers and amusées: calamari stuffed with coriander mousse; mushroom and escargot soup; red wine sorbet; and petit-fours. It has to rate as one of the most stupendous dining experiences ever — and not just because of the bill! We had intended to dine at the less expensive Bistro but being Sunday it was closed.
From Pont d'Ouche Gray and Suellen biked into Bligny while Sally and I took the motorbikes. We browsed for some time among the chaos of an antique dealer's premises adjoining a gracious old home built in 1840 by his great-grandfather. We interrupted his clean-up of his flood damaged cellar where many of his vintage bottles of wine has lost their labels. He was a charming fellow and was happy to chat forever but how he ever made money from his business defies belief. The home would have made a great guesthouse, or B&B. Gray bought a couple of excellent Bordeaux. Beneath the imposing castle of Chateauneuf, we rested in the delightful port of Vandensse for five glorious sunny days. Gray hired a car for their return to Dijon but before they left we spent a day touring the high spots of Auxois: Flavigny, a quaint village where the movie "Chocolat" was filmed; Alésia, site of Roman archaelogical excavations; Abbey de Fontenoy and Chateau Bussy-Rabutin. None of these should be missed by any visitor to the region. However, we fully described our visits to these places three years ago so I won't repeat our impressions here.
We've made it through the tunnel and are safely moored at Pouilly en Auxois enjoying the heat and sunshine. Boats bigger than Sable cannot fit through the tunnel, therefore commercial traffic on this canal is now rare. Some can make it by demounting the wheelhouse etc, but hotel boats only come to the summit either side and then return. On Saturday we have to move around the corner to allow the port to be the focus of a fireworks display to herald Bastille Day. To date we have not seen any harvested fields. Most years all the wheat and barley have been harvested before now. Many crops still look as if they will need another month to ripen and many lack the usual healthy vigour that French farmers produce. Next week we're off to England.