The daily diary of a wandering restaurateur
May 30 - Semur-en-Auxois, Flavigny-sur-Ozerain

We had grand plans to do a major road trip today, but quickly scrapped them when we woke up! Instead, we decided to explore a couple of villages we had seen in one of Patrick's books, "The Most Beautiful Villages of Burgundy." We headed southwest using the motorway -- not as relaxed as taking the back roads, but definitely faster. The first stop was in Semur-en-Auxois, a medieval village with cobbled streets and quaint shops. Here we picked up picnic supplies figuring that we could find a spot by the river to relax with some bread and cheese.

We didn't find the river, but we did stumble upon a chateau in Lantilly with a lovely lawn and a great view. We found a bench and were just spreading out our stash when the caretaker informed us that the gates would be locked in five minutes and that unless we wanted to spend several hours locked in, we might want to move it! It seems like most everything closes between 2 and 4 in the afternoon, although some close earlier. It makes it tricky for travelers running on a more relaxed pace.

We continued along the back roads and found a picnic area next to a canal -- not quite the under-the-tree-by-the-side-of-the-river site I had envisioned, but certainly workable. From there we went on to Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, another of the beautiful places, where we wandered around town, through the crypt under the old abbey and generally took in the flavor of the place. From there it was back roads to Fontaine-Francaise and a dip in the pool to bring down the body temperature (the last few days have really been hot!)

It was the smallest crowd of the trip at Chez Patrick -- just ourselves and a couple from Ghent in Belgium with their 9-month old son. In addition to their native Flemish, they spoke excellent French and English and were very helpful at translating messages back and forth between ourselves and Patrick. Dinner was a light vegetable salad, potatoes au gratin and steak with an outrageous apple and rhubarb tart for dessert.

Les villages

The canal rest stop and some local color


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