Rain and Picnics....

Wednesday, August 11

A gray and rainy day.We headed for breakfast in a small room off to the side of the circular staircase and sat under the wood beamed ceiling. While we had our continental breakfast at the hotel; a basket of baked on the premises croissants, bread and petit pains au chocolat, it was only a light mist, but when we were ready to go out and have another look at the old town center it began to rain. Too much rain to enjoy sightseeing. We packed up the car and said au revoir to the tiny, charming medieval hotel.

We drove by the huge chateau of Amboise where kings and queens of France over the ages lived and died and where Leonardo da Vinci spent many hours. Not far down the road is the Clos Luce which the King, Francois I, gave to Leonardo to live in. This is where he spent his last years and died. You can visit his bedroom and study. Also Leonardo's chapel which has frescoes, painted by his pupils under his direction. In the basement and gardens are quite a few of his inventions that have been brought to life and it is a great hands on place for kids.

We headed off, taking country roads through Touraine, which have forests and fallow fields on either side. We continued on through the Sologne, considered one of France's most remote areas but coming from Canada and our vast stretches of plains and forests this didn't look so remote to us. Every 5 to 10 kilometers you are sure to come up to a small village. We checked our watch and made a quick stop for lunch provisions in Aubigny sur Mer. Even large chain supermarkets will close to let employees go home for lunch at noon. We weren't hungry yet but better be prepared. The drizzle continued on and we could see sun in the distance and finally about 2 p.m. we hit a sunny spot at Chatillon sur Loire and stopped at a picnic area next to a canal for our lunch.

Then on the road again. St. Fargeau was a quick half hour stop. You can't just drive straight past a medieval town, castle with cobbled streets and timbered houses. You have to give it a little nod. Sooo cute! Then on to our stop for the evening, Auxerre in Bourgogne. This is another wine stop, a name from the days of Ross buying a good bottle and telling me about it and then I would plan a perfect meal to accompany it. But that was ages ago. Auxerre has an amazing gothic cathedral, St. Etienne, with fabulous stained glass windows. We enjoyed more than usual as it was a welcome break from the drizzle and then we braved the wet and walked around the narrow cobbled streets and enjoyed more medieval timbered buildings. I think I'm obsessed with them. Even if they are run down I wish I could live in them. If one is for sale with a store front below I think I could have a cafe downstairs and live upstairs. The reality of medieval plumbing stops my dreaming.

It is still pouring rain so we will just have dinner at the hotel restaurant. We went for the smaller of the set menus as neither of us was too hungry. I guess not as much walking outdoors to stimulate the appetite. We started with the appetizer , jambon persillé, which is a local Burgundian specialty. It is a sort of coarse ham paté with gelatin and lots of parsley. It is served over a bed of tender lettuce with a light dijon mustard dressing. Then, to match the grey, rainy mood, we had burgundian beef stew with boiled baby potatoes. For dessert we both went with the chocolate mousse. We had a small pichet, a small earthenware jug, of red wine. Now off to bed as we have an early start tomorrow. So ends our first day in Burgundy, well half day. A demain mes amis.