Happy sunflowers in the Nièvre
Yesterday we began our journey from Normandy to Provence, where we will stay for the next five weeks. This trip will take us almost the whole length of France… a nine-hour drive if we were to do it all in the same day.
But we’re not doing it in one day—we’re enjoying an interlude in Burgundy, courtesy of Dave (“Happy in Paris”) and Aralynn McMane. Several months ago they invited us to break our drive in two and spend a couple of days at their house in western Burgundy (in the département of the Nièvre) near La Charité-sur-Loire.
With Dave and Aralynn at their house in Burgundy (photo by Charley)
Dave and Aralynn are incredibly generous and interesting people. They’re Americans—both journalists—who have lived in Paris for 20 years. In addition to houses in Honfleur (a rental) and Burgundy (their own little hideaway), they own several apartments in Paris. We met Dave and Aralynn in person for the first time last Saturday night when we arrived in Honfleur. They served us dinner on the terrace of the cottage, and we spent hours talking and getting to know each other. As we drove south, we realized we were looking forward to seeing them again as much as we were looking forward to experiencing a new part of France. What a wonderful network of special friends we have made through Slow Travel!
I use ViaMichelin to help me with route planning. Yesterday’s route took us east from Normandy to the edge of Paris, one of our favorite cities. We had just a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower and the Seine from the Boulevard Périphérique as we headed south to Burgundy. In 2004 we spent a week on the eastern side of Burgundy, not far from Beaune. Now we are on the very western edge of Burgundy—a beautiful, quite untouristed area, heavily agricultural and very focused on grains. At this time of year many of the fields are a beautiful golden yellow and the farmers are hard at work mowing and harvesting, even over the weekend. I am ecstatic to find fields and fields of sunflowers in bloom. There’s just something about sunflowers—they always make me feel happy.
Dave and Aralynn have a very comfortable house, once part of an old mill complex. What a contrast to city life in Paris… though just two hours by train or car. They’re really out in the country: a few kilometers beyond the nearest village, which is just big enough to have a boulangerie.
After passing through the village, we drove through the middle of a large farming estate with four horses with shaggy fetlocks clustered together in a field. Kelly and I were especially charmed by the sweet floppy-eared donkey in the next field with her baby donkey… so very young that it was usually laying the grass. It was hard not to drive by and coo “ooooh, how cute!!” We passed an extensive field of sunflowers, a golden field of grain, and there was the McMane’s little house right next to a small river. The simple pleasures of life on a sunny Saturday afternoon in rural France: a golden field of grain, a baby donkey, sunflowers, a glass of wine with friends.
Late afternoon near Dave and Aralynn's house
After a short expedition into the town of La Charité, we had another enjoyable evening with Dave and Aralynn. (What great people to spend two weekends in a row with us!) We set up a table out in front of the house, and this time the Wood family served dinner: the chicken terrine we bought at the Honfleur market this morning, Kelly’s now-famous Linguine Honfleur, salad, cheese, and a Normandy apple tart with vanilla ice cream and chantilly. And of course we began with chilled pommeau and accompanied it all with a bottle of wine—or maybe had two.
Dave and Aralynn headed back to Paris early this afternoon, leaving us to enjoy their peaceful spot for one more day on our own. After they left, we headed out to explore. We drove a few miles to the impressive ruins of a 15th century chateau (Passy-Les-Tours) we had spotted from the road. There are places like this all over Europe—just another castle ruin on the side of the road… but still a marvel to us. Then we drove on to La Charité-sur-Loire, about 15 minutes away. The town was once an important pilgrimage stop on the route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain; its large Benedictine abbey was founded in 1059. A few elements of the original structure still remain. The town spills across Loire to a small island, reached by a beautiful 16th century stone bridge.
We took a few photos of the town from the island, and then crossed to the other side of the Loire. The road meandered through more beautiful countryside not far from the canal—more golden fields, more sunflowers, a sleepy village here and there. Suddenly we were in wine country—vines everywhere and the famous village of Sancerre on the hilltop above. The hillsides around Sancerre are simply covered with rows and rows of vines, and nestled on the valley floor are more fields of that golden grain. The landscape is a patchwork quilt of greens and golds—just lovely! We spent several lazy hours tasting and buying wine, relaxing in the village square, wandering the quiet streets, and driving on the narrow vineyard lanes. I loved Sancerre! Actually I loved this whole area, much of it seemingly undiscovered by tourists.
Vineyards and fields around Sancerre
We also had a new food discovery here. Last week Dave and Aralynn initiated us to the wonders of Normandy pommeau. Yesterday they introduced us to a wonderful goat’s cheese from a village just outside Sancerre: “Crottin de Chavignol,” one of 40 French cheeses with an AOL designation. The taste and texture are quite different from the fromage de chevre we’ve gotten to know in Provence. We had to stop in a fromagerie in Sancerre to buy some of this great cheese.
Wine, cheese, a house in the country, a town on a river, a village on a hilltop, a weekend with friends. We had a taste of a different area of France, and we liked it all very much.
