Winding Down in Bussy le Grand....

September 24^th

Well, my time in Burgundy is getting very short! October 1^st I am off to Nice for four months.  So I wanted to see as much of Burgundy and her grand castles/chateaux as possible.

Tuesday I headed off to Chateauneuf and its chateau….

But unfortunately I was late enough so I missed the morning tours! Well, that was really okay, because this is a delightful place to walk around and enjoy the homes and the little village and the gardens still, another of France’s most Beautiful Towns! And it was a spectacular day-weather wise!

Of course, I could eat…so I stopped into the restaurant across from the chateau for lunch. It was pleasant, but not earth-shattering!

Luckily this was a chateau, where there was an English description to read as I walked around. I am less enthused when I have to walk around with the group and the guide and not understand much, which some chateaux do!!Like Chateau de Maulne, Chateauneuf is also undergoing a renovation-not quite as major, but definitely work in progress.

Even rear of Commarin is lovely!

 On the way home, I drove by Chateau de Commarin.  Again, my timing was off. The next tour would be at 3:15. I paid 2,20 euro to go through the turnstyle and walk around this lovely old chateau and its grounds. However, I was “chateau-ed out”, so I left and headed home. I just learned that this was the home of Talleyrand’s grandmother. He was a well-known bishop and minister of Foreign Affairs in France.

September 26^th

The town of Vezelay (pop.486) was my primary destination. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Lonely Planet gives it very high praise, including “seems to have been lifted from another age”! It is also one of the major pilgrimage starting points for the Camino to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. See www.amis-saint-jacques-de-compostelle.asso.fr.    

The guide quite liked the back straps on this '20' s gown!

No idea who this hunter was, but dapper!!

My cute guide had no interest in being photographed!

First, though, I wanted to stop in Avallon (pop.7743). The biggest museum attraction (according to the guide books) was only open from 2-6; I was there in the morning. So I did go to the Musee de Costumes. I had read about this on  www.tripadvisor.com This was MOST interesting…First of all, it is one of those cottage-industry kind of museums. The owner/collector is also the guide and took me through every room. I rang the bell; she answered; she locked the door, and the tour started.  She is in her 90’s (which I learned from the woman at the TI) with two daughters who also sometimes act as guides. She has been collecting all sorts of period costumes for years!!!!!! Of course, it was all in French; I asked her a few things, but mostly she talked, and I didn’t understand ALL that much!! (For example, I asked if she had a favorite room; she said,  ”no”.) But it was intriguing! Apparently it was originally a boys’ boarding school. It had a chapel. She showed me where people could stand in the hall and spy on the boys to make sure they were behaving. (There was a broken pane of glass in the window in the hall.) She obviously got a big kick out of every single item! And she sprinted around that building in her little heels, including going up the stairs like "Auntie" used to-for those of you who met or have heard about my aunt in Kennebunk! I liked this museum so much I will write a review for it on Trip Advisor.

Avallon is a very charming town!

Maybe twenty minutes later, I was in the very picturesque Vezelay

....well, I would have been, if I had listened to the GPS….Eventually I did, and got to my destination! The Unesco recognition actually goes to the Basilque Ste-Madeleine. Founded in the 880’s, its history has been wild: 1120-damaged bu fire, but rebuilt in the 11^th and 13^th centuries; 1569-trashed by the Hugenots;  desecrated during the Revolution; 1840architect Viollet-le-Duc basically saved the Basilica, as it was on the point of collapse. The crypt is believed to hold one of Mary Magdalene’s bones. It is a very impressive space, and tourists come in busloads!

I ate my ham sandwich in this garden-the town hall!

"Proof" that I went into the Basilica!

Chateau de Bazoches, which was 10 km from Vezelay, and built in the 13^th century,  was acquired by Marquis de Vauban in 1675. He is a very famous French man, who was known for many ingenious engineering plans.(His descendants still own it.) So

Marshall Vauban

Vauban wore this in battle; dents show where he was struck!

it was really a museum to him and his works. He actually first used the term of (military) engineer. It was well maintained and most informative! You could look out the window and see Vezelay!

And I was then ready to go home after a really interesting day!