how do you catch a cloud and pin it down?

le dernier jugement


the library of Bussy Rabutin (there were some VERY old books here)


view of Burgundy from the abbey window




walking from the farm to the chateau, very full






pastoral


the abbey


SOUND OF MUSIC




ellie, shelley, eliza, louisa, becca



lexi, ellie, eliza

abbey


eliza


liz, eliza, lexi

i got back sunday afternoon from a two-day excursion deeper into burgundy (dijon itself is in burgundy, but you must leave centre-ville to reach the heart of the region). our bus left saturday morning for le Abbaye de Fontenay, a 12th century cistercien monastery chock-full of gorgeous romane architecture. the abbey itself was simple--the church had a dirt floor--but the way the light fell through the arches was glorious. i couldn't help but think "Sound of Music" the whole time i was there. i kept on waiting for the church bells to ring to call maria home. note: interesingly, le cloche (bell) at the abbey was very small; as the abbey functions as a self-contained village, there's no need for a large bell, or a loud sound. the monks were able to hear the slightest of noises because the surroundings in the valley were so quiet. we've seen multiple gorgeous chateaus and magnificent cathedrals, but i think the abbey was my favorite spot so far. (thank god my camera died just afterwards.)

from the abbey, we left to have lunch at la Ferme Auberge de Bazoches (yes, it was a farm!). There were two Burmese mountain dogs and of twin French children that made the dining experience all the better, not to mention fantastic organic red wine. in France, lunch is the big meal of the day, so we were incredibly well fed: pate de cochon followed by pork in apricot sauce, potatoe pie, bread and fresh cheese, and tarte de pommes. given the fact that our history professor Jacques insisted on buying us all a breakfast of the BIGGEST croissants sold in dijon, we were all grateful for the walk up to the Chateau de Bazoches at the top of the hill.

From Fontenay, we proceeded to le ville de Vezelay, where we visited la Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, a gorgeous cathedral with an underground crypt designated for prayer. The crypt is said to hold one of Mary Magdalagne's bones. (soooo exciting for this here lover of all things mary (mother and friend). The cathedral had been rennovated multiple times, most notably after it was destroyed by cow vendors who decided to conduct market in it--New Testament Jesus getting angry lesson, anyone? The basilisque was beautifully decorated--the top of each column, called a chapiteau, was ornately carved with a special design that depicted some story or another. Absolutely amazing. My favorite part of the church is that one of the stones is deliberately missing from the archway so as to deliberately allow sunlight to fall on Jesus' head..so cool! The fact that confessions were also being held (without a screen) in the eyes of the public was also interesting.

After another five course dinner, complete with cassis AND regional wine, blanc et rouge, we stumbled back to our hotel in Auxerre, where we crashed long and hard...until the next morning.

Sunday was another fantastic day. We visited le Chateau de Bussy-Rabutin, a wealthy count with a keen wit. His chateau was full of paintings with caustic inscriptions (called devises) written in latin and French. My latin actually came in handy! I spent the morning wandering around with my resident director Jon, reading the inscriptions and making sense of the pictures with him. Sooo cool!

After leaving the chateau, we went to the little village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, where we had lunch in another barn (yes!) with a friend of one of the girls on my trip. The friend's name is Florence Ladd, and she is apparently an amazing author and psychologist. Florence and her husband were kind enough to give our whole group a tour of their gorgeous house after lunch--Momma, one day i'll buy you a house in burgundy. no worries. : )

***

I'm back in Dijon now, and have been enjoying my day relaxing in parks and cafes, reading La Peste by Camus. Good stuff indeed. My intensive French course is done, and the break is nice. Onto some work for now. Miss you all!