We’ve passed by a little village called Nolay dozens of times without stopping on our way from our house to Beaune. The place seemed unremarkable on the surface but we finally decided to visit it one day to check out the antiques stores on the main road.
As usual and luckily, we wandered around while we were there.
It turns out that Nolay is awesome.
Most people who’ve been here would cite the beautiful, arcaded central market place, which dates back to the 14th century.
The roof is made of limestone (weighing 800 kg/1800 lbs per square meter) and the frame holds everything together with chestnut wood beams.
But to me, the salon de thé right next to the central market place, La Thé dans la Vigne, is Nolay’s real gem.
With delicious home made desserts, light fare meals, fine wines,
an adorable, sweet and hospitable owner (Sylvie Blanchard),
eclectic quirky French decor,
antique books and newspapers in French and English. antique dishware and silverware and housed in a a building that dates back to 1810, you will only feel comfortable and happy in such a warm, cozy place.
Everything we ordered was tasty and since we couldn’t decide which dessert to have, our kind hostess prepared a plate with everything on it, including a bowl of her whisky infused fruit – the latter being delicious but crazy potent!
Le Thé dans la Vigne
8, place des Halles 21340 Nolay France
Télephone :+33 (0)3 80 26 87 31
Open 10:30am to 9:30pm during warm months Tuesday to Sunday. Closed November 30 to April 1. Reservations recommended.
Not knocking this but does this tarte aux escargots /snail pie (really more like a quiche) entice anybody? I didn’t get it and opted for a yummy apple tart, but maybe if I stay longer in Burgundy, snails will eventually seem like a treat.
On our way to Vezelay, we decided to take a slight detour to peek at this tiny village just to check it out.
It turns out it’s beautiful
with picnic areas
and three bridges
and hiking trails.
Looks Roman.
Moral of the story: Always wander off the beaten path!
Chef Bernard Loiseau, known for his world class fine cuisine, is no longer with us but his Three Michelin starred restaurant, La Côte d’Or and hotel, Le Relais Bernard Loiseau in Saulieu continue his legacy largely due to his family’s dedication and current chef Patrick Bertron. His attention to detail, focus on exceptional dining and overall perfectionism is felt everywhere here, and if anything, Bernard Loiseau should be remembered for what he was able to achieve during his lifetime and the hallmark he leaves behind. Nothing else.
We loved staying at Le Relais and eating La Côte d’Or. If you come to France and don’t make it to one of Bernard Loiseau’s establishments, you’ll be missing out on what would be one of the most memorable trips and meals you’ve ever had.
Some photos from our trip!
Le Relais Bernard Loiseau
21210 Saulieu – Bourgogne, (Côte d’Or, Burgundy) France
Tel. : + 33 (0)3 80 90 53 53
E-mail : contact@bernard-loiseau.com
CLOSED Tuesday-Wednesday from November 2 to December 22, 2010
Other Bernard Loiseau locations:
Restaurant Loiseau des vignes
31, rue Maufoux – 21200 Beaune, Bourgogne, France
Tel. : + 33 (0)3 80 24 12 06
E-mail : loiseaudesvignes@bernard-loiseau.com
CLOSED every Sunday and Monday
Restaurant Tante Louise
41, rue Boissy d’Anglas – 75008 Paris, France
Tel. : + 33 (0)1 42 65 06 85
E-mail : tante.louise@bernard-loiseau.com
CLOSED every Saturday and Sunday
Restaurant Tante Marguerite
5, rue de Bourgogne – 75007 Paris, France
Tel. : + 33 (0)1 45 51 79 42
E-mail : tante.marguerite@bernard-loiseau.com
CLOSED every Saturday and Sunday
The 15th-century alabaster statues – considered treasures of medieval Europe – have never before left the city of Dijon, where they march perpetually around the base of the tomb of John the Fearless and his wife Margaret of Bavaria.
Now they can be seen walking two-by-two down a plain catwalk in the heart of the Met in the exhibition The Mourners: Medieval Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy.
Carved over a 25-year-period by Jean de la Huerta and Antoine le Moiturier, each statue represents a mourner – mostly ecclesiastical figures such as a bishop, a choirboy and rows of monks from the Carthusian order.
In their normal setting in Dijon they are only partially seen, as they are positioned between miniature Gothic arches lacing the base of the wealthy and powerful couple’s black marble tomb…
This little shop in Dijon wants you to know one thing and they’ve put it on their window loud and clear: Désolé. Nous ne vendons pas du made in China / Sorry, we don’t sell items made in China.
The medieval village of Cluny (in the Burgundy region of France) was declared a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1979 and remains a legendary and awe-inspiring point of interest for millions of visitors who come to France every year. Its focus is the Romanesque abbey, founded in 910 by William the Pious (the Duke of Aquitaine) when Cluny was the center of religious reform and efforts were made to restore monastic life. It was the largest church in the world until the construction of Saint Peter’s in Rome. During the French Revolution, the Wars of Religion and its aftermath, the abbey was sold, looted and operated as a quarry. Most of it was demolished and systematically dismantled until 1823. Despite this terrible turn of events, one transept of the church survived and remains standing, as well as 18th-century convent buildings and 15th-century abbots’ residences.
A recent installment has been placed near the transept. It’s a movable screen to create the illusion showcasing the rest of the church, sections that are actually no longer there but were re-created in 3D using augmented reality technology. It’s pretty cool. I took a short video of it (below):
Guided and non-guided tours also include a 10-minute, 3D film Maior Ecclesia, which inculcates a sense of the majesty and purpose of what was once the Christian world’s largest church.
More Visitor Information
Abbaye de Cluny
Palais Jean de Bourbon,
71250 Cluny France
Telephone Number: +33 (0)3 85 59 15 93
For more information:
Email: aymeric.pathier@monuments-nationaux.fr
Websites: National Monuments of France, Cluny Office of Tourism
General Admission Fee: 7 € / Free admission for children under 18 (except for groups) Open: May 2 to August 31 from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm; September 1 to April 30 from 9.30 am to noon and from 1.30 pm to 5 pm. Closed: January 1, May 1, November 1, November 11,
December 25
Can you tell? There’s not a whole lot of excitement goin’ on chez nous these days. Anyway, the little guy from the other day is back. Actually, I think this might be a different one. It’s hard to tell; they all look pretty much the same (sorry, squirrels!). The walnuts have made the French squirrel news because I saw four squirrels around our house yesterday. That, I think, is a bit too much.
If you’ve spent some time in Burgundy, you will know that most of the regional cuisine is extremement copieux – not that there’s anything wrong with that – but occasionally one needs to deviate from the standard Burgundy fare.
La Petite Marche is a wonderful reprieve from eggs swimming in wine, beef slow cooked in wine and snails soaked in parsley and garlic butter. Here you can spend very little for a completely organic and delicious meal in a relaxing setting with a great view of old town Dijon.
There’s nothing complicated at La Petite Marche but everything we ate was simply flavorful and healthful. Service is friendly and excellent, too.
Rillettes aux légumes, carottes râpées, salade
Escalope de volaille, et une composition de lentilles, choux fleurs, poivrons verts
Gâteau au chocolat dans sa crème anglaise
Café et mignardises
La Petite Marche
27-29, rue Musette (located above the organic grocery store, La Vie Saine)
21000 Dijon France
Tél: 03 80 30 15 10
Open Mon – Sat – Serving Lunch Only ’til 2pm
10€ – 20€
It probably helped immensely that my sweetie put out a bunch of walnuts from our last walnut harvest. I don’t think the little guy would be that bold and stay so near to me, being only about 6 feet away when I took the photo. He was alternately watching me and the gros lot (the jackpot) of walnuts.
A well-established restaurant, Le Chalet Bleu, headed by Philippe Bouché, is one of our favorite restaurants in Autun, France (Burgundy). It’s very reasonably priced with a basic menu starting at 18 euros. Of course, that menu features Tête de veau, which I don’t think I could bring myself to eating. It looks so blubbery and well….it’s a baby cow’s face! I might be unreasonable saying this but I don’t really want to eat a calf’s head. Does that include the brains? I know, I know, I should TRY it one day to REALLY tell. It’s not like you see a face with eyes and ears and a nose and BRAINS.. Well. Anyway, we ate lunch at Le Chalet Bleu recently, so here’s a little sampling of what we ate. None of us ordered Tête de veau.
Ballotine et Rillettes de Faisan en Gelée de Lentilles Vertes , Magret de Canard Fumé en Compote de Figue, Effilochée d’Endive, glace aux champignons et au miel
Terrine de lentils, Magret de Canard Fumé, soupe aux lentils
Dos de Flétan et Pétoncles au Safran, Meunière d’Endive, Epinard et Kumquat
We heart Apple season (well I guess we heart all seasons) where we live and this wheelbarrow is about the third one of apples we’ve harvested in the last month or so – from only one tree. By the way, if we didn’t live here in the countryside I probably wouldn’t even be familiar with the French word for wheelbarrow, which is une brouette, just in case you were wondering. My city dwelling family members in the U.S. tease me about this to no end (because I used to be such a die-hard city person), and they sometimes tell people that I am a farmer now. I’m not but I’m actually fine with that.
So many people just leave their apples to drop off and rot on the ground, I mean hundreds upon hundreds of precious, yummy pesticide-free apples, which makes no sense to me but whatever. We can never have enough apples; bring ‘em on, we say.
So far, I’ve only made pectin (with the greener ones), apple compote, and lots of apple (plus other fruit and veggie) juice, but I really would like to try to make some chaussons aux pommes (French apple turnovers) and some tartes aux pommes (apple tarts/pies). You know, do something French with these apples, since they’re French afterall. Maybe I’ll try making something this weekend if I’m not too lazy.
Embracing the philosophy that the dangers and risks of cell phones are REAL, our very awesome grocery store, Morvan Bio, is adopting the same policies that healthcare facilities have put in force for years, that is, banning mobile phone use in their establishments. Hospitals in France (and even in the U.S. and elsewhere) do not allow the use of cell phones for obvious reasons.
We only recently noticed this “no cell phones allowed” sign on their door, but I think it’s been enforced since their opening about a year or so ago.
Good for them! I hope other businesses will follow suit.
Morvan Bio
10 bis Avenue Charles de Gaulle
71400 Autun France
Telephone: 03.85.52.44.44
“…….”This year, Boisset Family Estates is the first winery ever to announce that all Beaujolais Nouveau wines imported to North America will be packaged exclusively in lightweight PET plastic bottles,” states Jean-Charles Boisset, President, Boisset Family Estates. “In addition, we will simultaneously debut Fog Mountain, featuring the first organically-farmed California Nouveau in 750ml PET bottles, to highlight our commitment to reducing the wine world’s carbon footprint by producing locally.”
“It is critical in today’s time, with the scarcity of our planet’s resources and the known environmental impacts of human activity, that we consider whether we should still ship thousands of cases of wine in heavy bottles via air throughout the world in order for the wines to arrive on time for their annual release date in November, when we can reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by more than half through a responsible choice of packaging.”
….Boisset Family Estates owns and imports Mommessin and Bouchard Aîné & Fils – two venerable Burgundy wine houses each with deep historical traditions in Burgundy and Beaujolais….”
This California company, importing wines from France, claims to be innovative and eco-minded.
In our world that has unfortunately embraced the notion of “planned obsolescence,” when I encounter quality-made, let alone hand-made items, AND made in France, they stand out like stars amidst the dark universe.
In a small village not too far from where we live, we walked by an unassuming, “blend-in-the-background” studio and I’m happy we actually noticed what was inside because we saw these flowers in pots:
Nope, they aren’t really flower pots, they’re leather purses! Aren’t they totally adorable and original? They are one of a kind and there are several whimsical and unique purses inside this handbag artist’s studio: an haricot purse, carrot purse, and my favorite, an eggplant purse. Sorry, but the photo of the aubergine was too blurry to post.
We talked with Sylvia, an expat from Switzerland, who is the creative mastermind behind these works of art and we chatted a bit. She’d mentioned that she took several purses to a luxury handbag store in the south of France, a fancy store that sells designer handbags. The owner of this store had rejected her purses because he said, “They are too nice and well-made.” He wanted purses that would break in a matter of months so customers would return to buy new purses. Grrr!
Her purses, wallets, etc. – are all made out of high quality leather. They will last forever. These are also unique. As an artisan specializing in purses / wallets (and other maroquinerie / leather goods) in France, she is by law, not allowed to make more than 6 of the same style items. This isn’t a problem, she says, because it gives her more freedom to be creative with new styles.
And creative, she is. Look at this watering can key chain holder.
Here’s her “book purse.”
If you’re not into these playful designs, she does make more “serious” styles as well. Everything is impressive.
I love that these purses are so much fun, different and one of a kind (or at most 6 of a kind). It’s perfect for people who want a designer purse that no one else has. It’s a shift from mass produced to niche unique, which I feel is becoming a nice trend. The “mass market” used to be considered as highly demanded and therefore of quality value, but that is simply no longer the case. In reality, mass produced purses, even if they’re designer brands, represents a recognizable label that exists because of savvy marketing/advertising executives calling out to a shallow, broad appeal.
Niche items, like these purses, have much more value, are beautiful, and they will last a long, long time. Note: You can also order custom made bags from Sylvia. If you’re interested in purchasing any of her works, check out her purses at the following link below:
For non-French speakers, it can be a challenge, if not completely impossible to correctly pronounce some names of French wines. Here’s another one that is not very easy to pronounce but if you could, you might not want to pronounce it. I found this excellent wall paper covered with wine labels in a brasserie in Beaune (Burgundy). One particular wine label stuck out, called, “Montre Cul,” which means “show your ass.” Burgundy vintners are silly and fun, apparently. The great thing about this wine is that if you’re looking for it in a store and the salesperson comes to help you, you don’t necessarily have to try to pronounce it. Just mimmick exactly what the woman on the label is doing…. THAT should work.
That isn’t too much to ask, is it? I mean, try acting out this label.
According to the independent, there’s an escargot shortage that is threatening French life as we know it. OH NON! Most of the snails people eat in France are from Eastern Europe. Gasp! Oui oui. It’s true. But now the snail harvesting profession there is frowned upon. NOT very glamorous. How will they supply this year’s snail chow down?? Hohum.
People should come to the forest near our house. There are GOBS of snails after a rain.
Anyway, here’s the article:
“A slow-motion crisis threatens the French way of life – the great snail shortage of 2008. Shell-shocked French food processors have warned that they can no longer obtain sufficient quantities of snails from eastern Europe, their principal source of supply.
Snail collecting for the French market used to be a popular way of making money in eastern European countries, especially in Poland and Hungary. But since they joined the European Union five years ago, better-paid job opportunities have flourished.
In a glum statement, the French food processing industry announced that snail-collecting was now the object of “growing disaffection” among eastern Europeans. People were no longer keen to leave home before dawn on wet days, armed with a torch, to search the Polish forests or Hungarian scrubland for the “burgundy snail” or Helix pomatia.
As a result, the price of processed snails in France will rise sharply later this year, warned the Fédération des Industries d’Aliments Conservés. The French eat 25,000 tonnes of snails a year – equivalent to 700 million individual snails. Two in every three snails eaten in the world is consumed in France.
The attraction remains a mystery to much of the rest of the planet. The sauce served with the snails – made from garlic, parsley and butter – is delicious, but to the uninitiated, the escargot itself tastes like a tired piece of chewing-gum.
A quarter of the French market is still supplied by French snail-hunters, who mostly search for snails for their own tables. The small French snail-farming industry has suffered badly in recent hot, dry summers.
Two thirds of all the snails eaten in France come from eastern Europe and the Balkans. Of the ready-cooked or processed snails – widely used in the less expensive or less scrupulous restaurants – 99 per cent come from abroad.
A higher bounty will now have to be paid, French food processors concede. Hunters used to get as little as two euro centimes per snail. Transport and processing costs are also booming. As a result, prices are certain to spiral this year, the French food processing industry warned.
At present, consumers in France pay about €3.50 (£2.77) for 12 boiled snails, or €6 if they are supplied ready-cooked in the traditional garlic-based bourguignon sauce.
The H. pomatia, or grey-and-brown, spiralled, edible, burgundy snail, is said to have become rare in France. Although it is a protected species, hunting, for private consumption or sale, is still permitted.
Madeleine Lechartier, 61, from Culey-le-Patry in the hills of lower Normandy, has been a keen snail-hunter, and eater, all her life but the crisis of 2008 will not trouble her. “The problem is not a shortage of snails it is a shortage of people who know where to look and can be bothered to collect their own,” she said. “I always start in summer at about 5am, preferably on a wet day, turning over the big leaves or pulling aside the grass.”
“People say there is a shortage but the wet summers of the last two years have been very kind to snails. I have 500 snails in my larder, already cooked. We will eat them little by little.”
What is the attraction of eating snails? Is the taste not just in the sauce? “If you eat the processed snails, yes,” she said. “Wild snails, they are quite different. Ah, the taste of a wild snail. That is very special and delicate.”" [source]
Escalope de volaille, et une composition de lentilles, choux fleurs, poivrons verts
From the Boisset Family Estates press release:
According to the independent, there’s an