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Bonjour! First things first, we would like to officially welcome the newest addition to our family, little Camille Agnès, who, at almost a year old (has it really been that long?) isn't quite so little anymore. She is, however, along with her older sister Charlotte, keeping us from twiddling out thumbs (or even sitting down very much). This summer she just had her first trip to Burgundy to meet la famille and to become indoctrinated in the Burgundian joie de vivre. We had also planned her baptism during our stay, but a sudden outbreak of the measles for little Camille on the appointed day put the kibosh on that. Oh well, C'est la vie, and it just gives us another reason to go back! I) BUZZ airlines introduces direct London to Dijon flightUPDATE Jan 2004 - The flight we are mentioning here has now been cancelled. This time we tried a new routing on our trip to France. While we were planning our trip we stumbled across a new flight that has introduced by a British discount airline called "BUZZ" that goes from Stansted airport (outside of London) direct to Dijon. We thought we'd give it a try, so we planned an overnight stop at Stansted. The idea of arriving in Dijon freshly showered after a good night's sleep and a short 1hour 20 minute flight was too enticing to resist. Unfortunately, for us, it turned out to be a better plan on paper than it was in reality. The long and the short of it is this:
So, for those of you traveling direct from North America with kids, learn from our experience! However, there were some very good things about the BUZZ flight that made us conclude that if you were already staying in London for a few days on either end of your stay in Burgundy, it might just be the ideal route to travel. If you are not traveling with children or a lot of luggage, there is a train link to Stansted from London which is supposedly very good and fast.
II) A Little History Lesson
The church of Magny, l'église Saint Martin, dates from the twelfth century and has a unique roof structure that, from the interior, is built like the upside down hull of a boat. The church houses well-preserved wooden statues from the sixteenth and seventeenth century, and you will notice that on the floor near the alter there are tombstones that date from the fifteenth and sixteenth century. It is fascinating to try and decipher the old French written on them. Of course, La Maison des Deux Clochers boasts the best view of the church in all of Magny-les-Villers. The kitchen, Living Room, and Bedroom windows all look directly onto its warm façade. I urge everyone who stays at the house to wander across to the church and go inside and explore. It is a little gem, and it is open almost every day. This summer I watched three weddings from our Living Room window! In the next issue of the Grape News, I am going to give a little history of Magny's favorite neighbour, Villers-La-Faye. III) New Restaurant - L'Hallebarde
L'Hallebarde has an excellent selection of specialty beers - many of them brewed in monasteries in Belgium. Much to our surprise, the type of beer we ordered came in foot high glasses (they were very thin glasses, so still contain about a pint). We got some very strange looks from the people at the surrounding tables - but thoroughly enjoyed our beverages and felt pleasantly like we were at Oktoberfest. The restaurant also serves an artisanally brewed Mead, not something one gets the chance to try every day! We didn't - preoccupied as we were with trying to figure out how to drink from our towering beer glasses, but I later heard from the locals that it is very good. The food is made to go along with the beers, and is very rustic and simple as well. This is not a restaurant to go to if you are looking for "lite" cuisine. I had a salad aux quenelles de chêvre which was very large and satisfying, followed by melted époisse over potatoes with lardons. This kind of dish is the Burgundian equivalent of soul food, and it warmed me down to my toes. Franck had a lovely steak, and moules for an appetizer. Although we have prodigious appetites, we couldn't ingest another particle of food, so had to take a pass on the dessert menu which looked very interesting. There seemed to be lots of desserts that were based on blackcurrant (cassis) and honey. The bill was not shockingly expensive, about $40.00 for the two of us. We both felt it was quite reasonable for the quality and quantity of the food (and drink!). So out we rolled onto the Rue d'Alsace, with full tummies and relaxed dispositions. Give it a go! Café L'Hallebarde Tel: 03.80.22.07.68 IV) The village of Flavigny
Right he was! Flavigny, located in the Northern part of the Côte D'Or, has also recently been voted as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Most of Chocolat was filmed there, and it is a fascinating village to visit. Besides its beauty and medieval remains, the village is also renowned for the production of little licorice candies (anis de Flavigny) which have become famous in France and abroad. Franck has fond memories of driving down from Flavigny, where his parents would occasionally stop to purchase bulk bags of the candies, prodigiously ill as he had eaten too many too fast. Yes, that French goumandise will get you every time.
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I found out some new things about Magny-les-Villers'
history when we were there, thanks to a little insert in the local paper. As I
found the little tidbits quite interesting, I thought I'd share them with you.
Now inhabited by 240 (236 when the Maison des Deux Clochers is empty!) people,
Magny-les-Villers used to be located closer to its' closest neighbour
Villers-la-Faye than it is now (the two villages are now only 700 metres apart).
Around 761a.d. Magny was located in the dip between the two villages, just about
where you can now find 
Looking
for a casual place to go for dinner in Beaune? You can't get much more rustic
that L'Hallebarde, a Maison de la Bière (beer house), that styles itself
as a medieval tavern. Jeans are de rigeur, and the waitresses are decked
out as "wenches" in peasant skirts and big leather belts with lots of
bottle-opening implements hanging off them. It is a fun place, and a refreshing
change from the rarified atmosphere that typifies so many restaurants in Beaune.
A Bit of
History
VI) New
Articles from Laura & Franck