EXPLORING BURGUNDY

Autun, an old Roman town , was close to where we stayed, so off we went to find the remains of a Roman ampitheatre.

Wow, there was really a lot of it still remaining and it was lovely to see a modern stage constructed so that performances of some sort are still held there.

Below it there is a beautiful lake and park which is well used by the residents of Autun.

We are getting very good at taking photos of ourselves with the timer on the camera !

Another place we visited was the old medieval town of Semur en Auxois. This is the best medieval village we have seen so far and we followed narrow lanes as they wove their way up the hill towards the oldest part of the town.

Some parts of the town wall are still remaining and some have strong supports in place to keep them safe.

You can see the wooden construction below the blue section of the photo.

Below the village the Armancon River winds its way under a very old , narrow stone bridge.

Picture postcard perfect isn't it ?

Next we moved on to the village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. It is another delightful hilltop village straight out of the Middle Ages where the film Chocolat was filmed.

This is the only hotel - it has seven rooms but is very spartan.

It was the only place open in the whole village and as it was lunchtime, we found ourselves a table and before long were tucking into some really authentic, home cooked food famous in Burgundy.

Yes, Beef Bourguignon !

and it was GOOD !

As it was only 3 o'clock by the time we had finished lunch and our exploration of Flavigny, we pushed on to Abbaye de Fontenay.

This gem was founded in 1118 and has been restored to its medieval glory.

The chapel is very imposing but quite stark with little decoration in keeping with the spartan lives of the monks.

It offers a fascinating glimpse of how the Cistercians used to live.

Carefully tended gardens surround the abbey.

The weather was perfect - warm and sunny and the trees were greening up nicely.

Everywhere we went the blossom trees were heavy with flowers especially pink ones.

Spring had finally sprung!

Only a short time left before our lovely holiday would come to an end.

Cheers.