This week has been absolutely tremendous. I got to spend it with mostly new friends. The town of Mussy-sur-Seine in the Champagne region is very small; kind of an old, run-down, empty, and depressed town with lots of homes vacant or falling down. And yet, it doesn’t have graffiti any where or trash or anything that would immediately target it has a depressed, run-down town. It’s just something you kind of “uncover” as you walk around. There used to be, at least, five restaurants in town only two of which still exist - a bar/cafe and a wonderful little restaurant on the main road as you head out of town. I’ll mention this one a little later, as we had dinner there last night. The Collegiate Saint Pierre-es-liens Church was built in the late 1200’s. The chapels on the church were added in the 16th Century and is a wonderful example of Gothic Architecture. Unfortunately, it is currently under renovation and closed to visitors. Here are pictures of the town and the Church.
Yesterday, we went to the Abbey of Fontenay, founded by Saint Bernard in 1118. It is one of the oldest Cistercian abbeys, founded in 1098 in Citeaux. The Cistercians wanted to reform monastic life and to apply the rule of St. Benedict from the 6th Century, which prescribes a life of poverty, based on self-sufficiency and solitude. With a community of more than 200 monks, they led a life of utter self-sufficiency, and owned a large estate which they cultivated and farmed. They also created an innovative forge. In the 16th Century the Abbey went into decline when Abbots were no longer chosen by the monks themselves, but appointed instead by the King. By the time of the French Revolution there were only 12 monks in residence. Sold and resold over the following centuries, it is now in the Aynard Family’s possession, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is partially open to the public. I was fascinated by this tree:
After visiting the Abbey, we stopped off for a Champagne tasting. I’m not a big Champagne drinker - they all taste the same to me. However, at this tasting, I realized there are some noticeable differences in them. The woman who gave us the tasting wasn’t very clear about explaining the differences or giving us any more information than necessary to describe the differences, so I didn’t really learn much about Champagne itself.
We’ve had some great meals together and have enjoyed each other’s company. Last night we ate at a local restaurant called Le Relais De La Popot e Plainoise. It was excellent food and was the cheapest meal I’ve had in all of France! The waitress kept apologizing about her lack of English understanding and what was available for eating that night. But, seriously, it couldn’t have been better. My entree (first dish) was a salad of potatoes and salted fish with a Dijon mustard dressing. My plat (main dish) was guinea fowl, root vegetables and broccoli, with potatoes au gratin, and my dessert was caramel cake with a vanilla sauce.
No comments:
Post a Comment