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| Basilique Ste-Madeleine - Vezelay, France |
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| Palais des Ducset des Etats de Bourgogne - Dijon, France |
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| Street in Chablis - Burgundy, France |
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| French Cheese Vendor at the Sunday Open Market - Chablis, France |
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| Burgandy Wine Village from Vezelay, France |
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| Place Francois Rude - Dijon, France |
Chablis, Dijon, & Vezelay - Burgundy, France (6/15-19/2011) - We had a great time getting an introduction to the Chablis wine growing area in no other place than the town of Chablis. Chablis wine is made of Chardonnay grapes made with great destination and the wines are wonderful!. We came to Chablis during their Sunday market and picked out a picnic of cheese, roosted chicken, bread, and wine and had a picnic in the beautiful wine fields of Chablis.
We started our visit to Burgundy in the large city of Dijon and ended in the small hilltop town of Vezelay with a visit to Chablis. Dijon is known overseas for its mustard (named after the town). Dijon is the capital of the eastern French region of Burgundy (Bourgogne). Having avoided being devastated by bombing in WWII, Dijon is one of France’s beautiful cities. Going through some upgrading at the time we visited (so much street construction is going on you can’t drive through town), Dijon is a showcase of past greatness when for some time it was the capital of the Dukes of Burgundy from the 11th to 15th centuries.
Burgundy rivaled France itself during the 14th and 15th centuries, when the dukes controlled a large part of what is now northeastern France, western Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The dukes were great patrons of the arts leaving a lasting mark on Dijon with sculptures and architecture. The owl (la chouette) is the icon of Dijon and we followed the trail of owls on the street on a historical walking tour and had lunch at Place Francois Rude, the center focus of Dijon's old town. We also had fun visiting Moutarde Maille, the makers of Grey Poupon, tasting mustards on tap and the Palais des Ducs et des Etats de Bourgogne (say that fast), where the Dukes ruled.
Vezelay (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is a small pretty town on top of a high hill. Vezelay's main claim to fame is as the home of a stupendous early Gothic cathedral (Basilique St-Madeleine), which is widely considered one of the greatest in Burgundy. We had a chance to listen to the monks singing prayers. Vezelay was the meet up place in 1190 for the Third Crusade.
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