Pilgrim's Progress

        It was an early morning and a long day today, but a wonderful one (except Alex feeling sick, boo  :( but don't worry Mrs Cronin she is hanging in there!) The breakfasts at the Hotel Grand St-Jean here in Beaune are very nice and have a lot of options, so we were rearing to go as we boarded the bus for the long ride to Vezelay, a stunningly gorgeous hilltop town and site of an incredibly important pilgrimage church that is right on the Camino. YES THAT'S RIGHT I WAS ON THE PILGRIMAGE ROUTE TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA! The minute I saw the pilgrim's shell embedded in the road up the hill to the church, I was ecstatic--My dream come true! (Lauren this doesn't mean you are off the hook-- we are still walking it! This was a preview) Also it was Lauren's birthday today!

        The church is Romanesque and built to accomodate the pilgrim's coming here to visit the relics of Mary Magdalene, which we got to see down in the crypt, though these are new relics--as in regifted by another church--as the old ones were destroyed during the French Revolution. In particular we were there to study the portal tympanum in the narthex and the column capitols down the nave, but these seemed a little hard to read to me and I much more enjoyed dreaming about pilgrimage and having it all explained to me like a simpleton.

        After some time in the church and look around back at the stunning vistas, we walked down the hill through town to find some lunch. I had a delicious trois fromage quiche and a chocolate eclair, all of which I ordered in very understandable French! Then it was back on the bus (despite my declaration to Stevens that I was breaking from the group then and there to walk the Camino) and on the way to the monastery at Fontenary, home to the Cistercians.

        Fontenay was an absolute vision, probably more lovely than anywhere I've been in my whole life before (and that is saying something!). The sun was confident and everything seemed to be in technicolor. Cistercians didn't believe in very much representative decoration in the churches in rebellion against contemporary Benedictine materialism, but this only seemed to bring the awe-inspiring natural setting of the monastery to the forefront. Light poured in the windows of the simple but monumental church building, empty of art save for a particularly joyful Virgin and Child standing in the nave--it made me smile to think how much her beauty must have pleased the monks as they bustled around in their quiet, thoughtful lives. As a self-sufficient community, the monks had an enormous fish pond where there are still large fish swimming. There are also magnificent gardens. This time I told Stevens to just leave me--I would have been quite content to take up residence and become the last monk of Fontenay.

        But that's not all! Today was endless. Next stop of the Chateau d'Ancy le France, the 16th manor home that introduced Italian Renaissance style decoration to France. We had a great tour guide of the many sensational rooms of the chateau, filled with ornate furniture and wall paintings. My favorite paintings were of St Anthony and the Desert Fathers in the chapel--I was just really feeling the monks today I guess, but the colors and style were very whimsical. I also had a great time finding secret doorways and passages all through the house.

       For dinner after our long drive back to Beaune, many people went to the supermarket near our hotel for snacky groceries, probably because our dinner the night before was so huge and no one was really in the mood for a big production. I got a jar of nutella--which is much less expensive here--an apple and a bag of french rolls. Then I snacked and tried to frantically catch up on my journal before it was due in the morning.
      The day was so full of beautiful sights that I never wanted it to end--I really love Burgundy!