Driving to Burgundy in October

In 2014 we decided to take a road trip to Burgundy. We found a gîte that would let us bring our dog (Callie) along and that was well located in the center of the area we wanted to see on day trips. It was not far from towns like Chablis, Auxerre, and Tonnerre to the north, and Avallon, Montbard, and Semur-en-Auxois to the south. It was very close to the picturesque village called Noyers-sur-Serein. We scheduled the trip for October, even though we knew we couldn't count on good weather at that time of year. It was to be only a four-day trip.

We drove on little roads pretty much straight east across the forested Sologne region to Sancerre and Pouilly-sur-Loire, two famous wine towns, and then crossed the Loire river, which flows south to north along the western edge of Burgundy. It was only a four-hour drive from Saint-Aignan to Môlay by that route, so we didn't have to be in a hurry. We couldn't check into the gîte until 4:00 p.m., so we planned to stop along the way to have lunch and maybe take some pictures... and buy some wine. Here are a few photos I took along the way.

1      2

The Sologne area is very flat and very forested, as you can see in picture #1. The Sancerre area is hilly, and in October the vines are taking on what we call "fall colors," as you can see in several of the photos. By car, Sancerre is less than two hours from Saint-Aignan.

3      4

There were fields of flowers as well. The town in the last picture, Ménétréol-sous-Sancerre, is just south of Sancerre and across the Loire river from Pouilly-sur-Loire, where we wanted to have lunch. Neither of us had ever been to Pouilly before.

5      6

Fleurs de juin

We really don't seem to be having a summer this year. Today, for example, Accuweather and MétéoFrance are predicting a high temperature of 18ºC for Saint-Aignan. That's 64ºF. And MétéoCiel says the high will be 61ºF (16ºC). With scattered showers. On August 3! Everybody here is complaining about the weather. Enjoy these photos of flowers.

Moules... et frites...

Yesterday's lunch: mussels (moules), French fries (frites), and green beans (haricots verts). Walt had bought a kilogram (2.2 lbs.) of mussels from the fishmonger at the Saturday morning open-air market in Saint-Aignan. I dumped them into a container of fresh, cold water, and then threw out the ones that floated. They were dead and unfit for consumption. Then I put the ones that didn't float in the sink and cleaned them one by one by pulling their "beards" off and scraping off any barnacles I found on the shells. I also threw out any that had broken shells.

1      2

3      4

5      6

We seasoned the mussels with fresh chives and black pepper and then cooked them in about a third of a bottle of dry white wine and three tablespoons of cream (crème fraîche). The cream is optional. There was no need to add salt; the moules are salty enough. They cooked in a pot with a tight-fitting lid for maybe 10 minutes. As soon as the shells open, they're done. Then I put them in a dish in a warm oven to wait while I boiled the creamy cooking liquid down to concentrate it a little. And while Walt cooked some French fries. We had already cooked the green beans. Both the frites and the beans, as well as the moules, were delicious with the creamy sauce. Don't forget the bread.

The Renaissance château at Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher

The Renaissance-style château at Saint-Aignan was built in the middle of the 16th century (1540-1550 or so) by the Beauvilliers family, who had come into possession of the town's the château at the end of the 15th century. The Beauvilliers were from Chartres, and they were to become close allies of king Louis XIV in the 17th century. While the north face of the château looks more like a village perché than a château — it was built on top of medieval fortifications — the south-facing Renaissance château is more unified and ornate. The owner of the château still lives there, and it is not open to the public.

The car in the photo above will give you a sense of scale.

If you want to read more about the history of Saint-Aignan and its château, here are links to three French web sites: Châteaux de France, Monumentum, and Histoire-27. You can also have a look at this recent post of mine about the site.