Burgundy

Burgundy began well. On the way here we stopped for our usual light lunch (3 courses and a carafe of wine). The third course was cheese (as is often the case). We were presented with the entire cheese board from which to help ourselves. It was stated by the waiter we would know our limits...of cheese...really...this place obviously hadn't met us.

The Burgundy markets
Saturday in Beaune, Sunday at Chagny, Tuesday at Dijon...there's one somewhere every morning in this region. However, beware: if you haven't completed your purchases before le midi then you're out of luck. Everyone's packing up and bolting off for lunch as quickly as they can. The markets are fabulously diverse, sometimes excellent value for money; sometimes not (€140 per kg for particular mushrooms, €26 for 2 chickens but only €12 for Armagnac).

• Piglets the size of cats displayed as a lure to get people to try cough lollies (we don't get the connection, but the piglets are cute).
• Dijon markets. Three good wedges of cheese for less than a single slice of terrine (admittedly, the terrine was fabulous, but the price outrageous). Choice of fresh livers (duck, chicken or rabbit), of which we chose the last two to accompany a comfort-food dish of risotto with goat's cheese and chicken. All the produce you could wish for: comprehensive range of vegetables and fruits; endless varieties of cheese; meats from horse to guinea fowl (those familiar with our trials and tribulations at home will understand the fascination with the latter), and cuts from prime to the more nose-to-tail (all right, haven't seen nose yet but virtually everything else).
• The works of art that are petit fours (small dessert items). It's just not fair to make food look this good ("shiny thing - must have shiny thing").
• The much advertised on road warning signs of deer finally seen on windy roads through the forest. Four so far, and counting.
• Boulangerie just 40 seconds up the street; canal de Bourgogne just 20 seconds in the other direction.
• Lusciously rich wine-based sauces. Oeufs en meurette, Boeuf Bourgignon.
  

In many ways trying to condense Burgundy misses the point. This is a broad-ranging region equally praiseworthy for its history (the amazing tiled rooves! Alesia! the gorgeous fortified town of Noyers), its scenic splendidness, its tranquility (anyone who has ever savoured the serenity of a fresh morning in the Huon Valley would recognise traces of that in the Ouche Valley), the elegant chateaux found in most villages, its food and (of course) its wine.
Let's be upfront about the wine: the good stuff costs. However, the quite-decent stuff is quite reasonable (€6-€14 per bottle). The best value for money, though, has to be the Cremant de Bourgogne. They can't call it Champagne, but that's more liberating than constricting. The cremants are fruitier, and far more affordable (think €8-€18, rather than €20-€350).

La Maison Verte
This has been our home for the past ten days, and the word home is used deliberately. This isn't some tacked-together self-catering motel-like room. You could sleep eight people here without difficulty; there are 3 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms (just for us); the kitchen is ready for the enthusiast (although as everywhere, bring your own sharp knife); the salon upstairs is a perfect spot to retire after dinner for a digestif (small alcoholic beverage); the garden is gloriously full of blooms; there's a fabulous well-sheltered outdoors area in which you can cook or linger; the pillows are the best in France thusfar; bicycles await the active (we love riding along the canal); we could go on. We will return, and will exhort anyone seeking a tranquil home with easy access to the best of Burgundy (perhaps France) to come and stay here.

There are many beautiful villages in Burgundy. We particularly like Beaune (not too b-b-b-bad), with it's medieval centre; Chablis with it picturesque canal; Vezelay, the start of the Pilgrim trail; and of course, our own hamlet of La Bussiere sur Ouche (population 80), which has a starred Michelin restaurant in the old abbey.

(we've got a bit more to add to this post, so keep an eye out for more...just wanted to post now)