Montagny les Buxy, Beaune, and Burgundy

 After a long drive, the Alsace region is now behind us, and we are in the Burgundy wine region.  We are staying at Villa Fugue Blanche B&B which is absolutely beautiful.  They have three rooms to rent and provide superb service.  Breakfast is home prepared with homemade jams and juices. Valerie is an interior architect and Jean-Philippe is a retired corporate manager.  He got burned out from hectic business travel world-wide and now enjoys home cooking.  For Valerie, she has transferred her business from Paris to here and is now more selective in her projects.  As an interior architect, in addition to choosing furnishings and finishes, her range of services includes changing doors, windows, and walls in rethinking an interior.  She has done a very attractive job of updating what were previously two old houses.

You can kinda see how this was previously two houses.  The owners live in the right half and ret three room in the left half.

Montagny les Buxy:  I think that means that Montagny is a suburb of Buxy.  The entire area is covered with vineyards.  

Looking across the broad valley towards Buxy.  During WWII, Buxy was controlled entirely by the occupying German Army, but Montagny was part of Vichy France.  People coming home from shopping had to pass through a German guard post.

No cathedral in this village, but I liked the composition in this view of their church.

We really enjoyed our conversations with Valerie and Jean Philippe.  If you pay attention to international news, you are aware that France has gone through five prime ministers in the past two years.  They explained that the prime ministers each came to the conclusion that France must drastically cut its expenditures.  Too many handouts and subsidies.  However, the national legislature does not want to accept such facts.  This is what happens when the takers outnumber the producers.  Valerie and Jean Philippe say the France is at its absolute low point.  Their total effective tax rate is 65%.  They encourage young people to move elsewhere.  All of this is a lesson for us in the United States.

I do not think that they manage this B&B for its profitability, more likely for stimulation.  Their visitors come from all over the world.  You need a vehicle (or road bicycle) and GPS to find their location in the tiny village of Montagny les Buxy, about 200 inhabitants.  No stores here, you need to drive to Buxy, a slightly larger village, for even basic shopping.  The view from our room is across a river valley with extensive vineyards and scattered villages.  The nights are absolutely quiet.

Yesterday, we spent our time in the town of Beaune.  There is a walled central old town: narrow cobblestone streets, interesting shops and restaurants, old churches, and a famous hospital, Hospices de Beaune, (now a museum). Today, the current Wall Street Journal edition had an article on Beaune as the foremost wine town in the Burgundy region.  Beaune has a wine museum which recounts the history of wine in the region since Roman times.  People here take their wine very seriously.  They claim that the wine from each parcel of land has a unique taste.

We also drive to Dijon, famous for its mustard.  Unfortunately, it was a cool drizzly day, and parking was difficult.  We didn't see much worthwhile there.  The following day we headed south to Tournus and Macon.  We toured a beautifully maintained chateau and had the best meal of our trip, counting both the atmosphere as well as the food.

A chateau maintained for display near the Town of Tournus.

Beautiful gardens including a large shrubbery maze.

Kitchen with a fire burning in the fireplace and a boar's head hung above it.

Bed chamber.  What else did they use this room for besides sleeping?

Meals were a problem; that is, dinner was a problem.  Restaurants in France are only open 4-5 days per week, and they ALL (90%) close between 2 pm. and 7 pm.  Dawn and I hate late heavy dinners.  We were told that one reason that restaurants have such limited hours is because they can't find workers.  Instead, we would often eat our late meal (4-5 pm.) at a Boulangerie and Patisserie. That translates to a bakery and pastry shop.  We could find healthy sandwiches and fruit tarts (for me).  

Everything here was well maintained.  With the shrubbery sculptures, I am sure that takes constant attention.

Another castle in the rea.  This one is not open for tourists, but I am sure its history would be interesting.