Italy Road Trip: Another Day On The Road

What a difference a day makes! Thursday evenings meal a €2.80 tin of ravioli in the tent and Friday night dining in luxury overlooking the river and beginning the meal with a complimentary amuse bouch! At last I got my lapin! Perfectly cooked rabbit's leg boned and stuffed with onions, breadcrumbs and smoked lardons; delicious. The Maconaise Pinot Noir was also excellent.
This morning (Saturday) we were up and breakfasted bright and early and then off to visit the local town and abbey. We realised immediately why the first hotel we had tried yesterday was full: there was an alternative technology weekend in, plus a big horse jumping event and it was also market day. Once we had found (with difficulty) somewhere to park we wandered into the abbey through the alternative technology exhibition. We didn't realise until we left by the entrance that we had entered by the back way and inadvertently avoided the €9.50 entrance fee. It also explained why we had found the explanations difficult to follow!! The abbey at one time had been huge but now little of the original building remains. Begun around 950, it had been built to house the remains of St Peter and St Paul that had been brought to the site from Rome. Consequently it became an important pilgrim shrine. The abbot, in the mid 1600s when the abbey had still been at the height if its powers, had been Cardinal Richelau, but by the 1700s it had fallen out of favour and was largely demolished. Once we found our way out we discovered the Saturday market. Brilliant! I love food markets as this was and the camera soon came out. After a couple of purchases a coffee in the old town was in order before moving on to Taize. Here we mingled with the Taize Community (Google it!) and attended their 12.30 service a spiritual and moving experience.
All too soon it was time to be on the road again as we drove the length of the Cote d'Or vineyards of Burgundy; Mersault, Beaune, Nuits St. George and Givrey-Chambertin to name but a few. From Dijon our route took us over the high rolling hills of Burgundy to Chatillon sur Seine, close to the source of the famous river itself. This is a favourite stop over of ours and he have stayed on the campsite in both tent and caravan. This time it was to be a very pleasant Logis de France hotel; old and quirky but with a wonderful restaurant. After our meal we walked it off with a stroll around the old medieval town perched above the river. Another excellent day.