05 January 2015

Irancy

“Irancy, one of France's most beautiful wine producing regions...” When I read that, the deal was sealed. It was October 22, and we were staying in a little gîte rural in Môlay, not far from Chablis. Chablis is known for it's white Chardonnay wines, of course, and Irancy is (less well) known for its red Pinot Noirs. (Yesterday's post included a photo of the church in Irancy.)


We had spent the morning in Chablis and Tonnerre, to the north of Môlay. At lunchtime, we returned to the gite to have lunch and decide what we wanted to do in the afternoon. We were having beautiful sunny weather. We'd seen Avallon the day before — in the rain, mostly. On earlier trips, we'd spent time in Auxerre and in Vézelay, each more than once.


I was reading a book I had taken with us, called Touring in Wine Country: Burgundy. The book is 10 or 12 years old and the editor of the “touring in wine country” series was famed wine expert Hugh Johnson. I think I bought the book back then because at one point, when we still lived in California, we started planning a vacation trip to Burgundy. I bought books and maps then, but never used them.


Why? Well, the Loire Valley got in the way. Instead of going to Beaune or Dijon, we ended up in Vouvray, where we found a really nice gite. That was in 2000. We returned twice to the Loire Valley and ended up moving — lock, stock, and barrel — to Saint-Aignan in 2003. Now Burgundy is only a four-hour drive to the east. I don't know why it took us so long to finally drive over there from here.


Well, I do know, really. We were having too much fun in Saint-Aignan. There is much to see and do in the Loire Valley, of course, but it is nice to have a change of scenery now and then. When I read this sentence in that same guide book — “Irancy sits at the very centre of a large amphitheatre of vineyards and is one of Burgundy's most beautifully located villages" — I decided going there would be a good way to spend a sunny afternoon. Irancy is only about 30 minutes' drive west of Môlay.


15 comments:

  1. " I bought books and maps then, but never used them."....
    nice to know we aren't the only ones!!

    Lovely pix as usual... all greens and sunshine!!

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    1. It's nice to remember how beautiful the countryside can be in other seasons, isn't it?

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  2. Also, having a carsick dog doesn't lend itself to 4-hour trips! From what you and Walt have written about this trip, it sounds as though Callie travelled well and you cut the trip into chunks, so it wasn't too hard on her. Happy New Year!

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    1. Thankfully, I can say that Callie doesn't actually get carsick. She did when she was a tiny puppy and I think that first car experience scarred her for life. Now, she just hunkers down on the back seat, refusing to get up and watch the countryside going by. She drools some, but less and less. And sometimes she starts scratching the car door as if she wants us to know she wants to stop and get out. The whole thing is much less than ideal...

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  3. I had never heard of Irancy before you mentioned this lovely village.

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  4. It is a beautiful place. I have more pictures. Irancy was Jacques-Germain Soufflot's home town.

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  5. Ahhhh, it's always fun to learn of the existence of a person that a street (or Métro stop) is named for :) I remember you writing once about Hôtel des Grands Hommes off of rue Soufflot, by the Panthéon (which I noted because I had stayed near there, and admired that hotel).

    Looking forward to seeing more of Irancy :)

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    1. Judith, I've stayed in that area also and Ken once spent the night there also. Love being near the Pantheon and the University.

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    2. The U. of Illinois year abroad program had its office on the rue Soufflot back in the mid-1970s when I worked there. And I stayed once at the Hôtel des Grands Hommes, way before it was renovated into a multi-starred establishment. I also spent one night in the jail at the poste de police adjacent to the Mairie du 5e arrondissement across from the Panthéon. Long story...

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    3. I think I remember your telling us once about the night in jail... Wasn't there a photo?

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    4. Judy, I did write about it once. See my comment to CHM below.

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  6. Replies
    1. Oui, dans une cellule. Je ne t'ai jamais raconté ça ? C'était en 1970.

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    2. I wrote about my night in a jail cell in Paris here in 2009.

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    3. On second thought, last night, I had a faint recollection of you telling me about it, but could not remember the details! I just checked the 2009 post.

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