Around my Home and Just around the Riverbend

Fortunately for me, I have three days when my little charge is off at daycare, meaning I can take Burgundy by storm. Well, one of those days is my day to get errands done and you know study French a little and things like that; however, I have decided that on those days I am going to take a bike ride around this area. Afterall, it is truly lovely here and the weather has been great. So, I hopped on my my bike two days in the past two weeks, and I visited some amazing things. This blog is therefore going to be two parts because I saw very different things and had completely different experiences. That is all to say that one never knows what can happen.

ABBAYE DE CITEAUX

This abbey is a Cistercian Abbey, started by St. Bernard in the 12th century. He built many abbeys around France, and at that time, or at the height of the Cistercian commitment, there were something like more than 2000 different places where Cistercians lived and served. Same as the monks who lived at the Abbaye de Fontenay (I referenced this in my last blog), these men committed their lives to poverty, to studying writing and literature, and of course to God and prayer. In fact, their motto is Prayer and Work, that is what constituted their lives. The most interesting thing, though, is the fact that this abbey (about 14 km from my home) is a living abbey. This is truly rare...in the Cistercian world, I think she (my guide) said that there were maybe three in France that were still living (although do not quote me on this --- the guide was in French and I tend to miss important things then pick it up again being a little confused but okay since I had a lapse in comprehension, oh, well, so it goes in the life of someone learning a new language --- you live your days not completely knowing what's going on --- ADVENTURE!) It was a unique tour for a unique place; you see, the abbey, although living, is not the same as it was in the 18th century, when it was at the height of its prosperity. The majority of the buildings are no longer standing, so as part of the tour, we were taken to a small room located in the oldest buildings of the abbey and shown via a model the way the abbey looked 250 years ago. Very unique. I paid to see a model...no, it was very interesting to see the way it has changed and yet remains alive (this I know is true because I bought cheese from a real monk...I guess he gave up his day of silence to work the boutique store and sell their special cheese; I might consider giving up a vow of silence to sell delicious cheese as well).

I saw these manuscripts that had been copied during the first 50 years of the abbey's existence, and they were unbelievable...to think that someone had done all of that ornate work all by hand, by candlelight in some cases and with no ruler! Incredible. I think that might have been my favorite part although, of course, they were all just copies. The originals are kept safe from wear, and rightly so. These are things no one should ever lose.

After my tour and after eating some fantastic cheese made with monk love (after writing that, I think it sounds a little strange, but I am going to keep it anyway, so hopefully you know what I mean --- with the care of dedicated monks), I made my way back to the road. This is when an unexpected adventure happened. I came to a road sign and on it, I saw the name of a town I had been wanting to visit, saying Nuits St. Georges, 10 km. Now, 10 km, not bad, so instead of going back the way I came, I took a right and kept riding. Nuits St. Georges is known for its wine, a very expensive Burgundian wine and that is about it. Once I reached the town, I could tell that wine was its main attraction. I have never seen so many wine cellars and offers for wine tasting. My goodness! Since I had been biking all day, I decided to treat myself to a bunch of sweets, so I found a lovely bakery and chose several things (you know what they say about not going to the grocery store on an empty stomach, well, it is not prudent to go to a bakery on an empty stomach either!) I sat down and ate my confections and wondered what I would do. Again, the wonderful thing about being alone is that you do not have to answer to anyone and no one is asking what's next, what are we doing, where are we. I mean, solo traveling is a completely different animal. In fact, you never really have to know anything except how to be safe.

I rode my bike around town and looked at all the winos enjoying the fruit of the region, but like I said, the town really is just that, food and wine. I did not sample the wine since I used up my budget on confections and plus, I was thirsty from the ride, so wine was not so appealing to me. Instead, I used one of those toilets where you have to pay, but it is full service, so the toilet is a little wet, making you think that the person before you had some kind of accident, but really, it is just the machine cleaning the toilet for you. I took water from that sink to drink...there was no sign saying it was just for hands. Oh, well, I am still alive and hydrated.

PT 2: NO IDEA WHERE I AM

I do not know if you have seen Pocohontas, although not one of the best of Disney's classics, there is one song in particular that I have sung on my adventures in my life. It is called "Just Around the Riverbend," and for this journey on bike, I felt like a little Native American wondering what was up around the next bend in the river. All I had was a bottle of water and my sense of direction (I wish that were an asset, but normally, I cannot rely one lick upon that, so really, I only had my bottle of water). I started out taking one off beaten path, which unexpectedly led to the town where my family's cafe is located! What a surprise that was :) Then I thought, well, I have no plans, so I will just follow the river. So, that is exactly what I did, I followed the bends in the river, passing several signs that said forbidden. Seeing several people along the way, I figured that I was not too rebelious with my bike riding. Several turns I took were definitely not productive, leading to dead ends and paths that were so overgrown I could barely move my pedals. The blessing about rides like these is that all you have to do is turn around. I think the marvelous thing about not having any idea where you are going is that you never get lost. I love it when I do not get lost; therefore, riding around without a plan is ideal for me and in fact, makes me feel a little invincible!

I continued down the path, which bacame less like a path and more like grass with some ruts in it, but hey, still traversable and going in the "right" direction --- along the river. I came to a bridge and looked up and saw some bikers crossing the bridge and thought, well, they have to be going somehwhere, so I decided to follow them, go away from the river and explore a new area. Much to my surprise, I ended up in a small town, with probably 150 inhabitants, you know, just some houses, where there was a sign that pointed back to Seurre, where the cafe is located and where I needed to go. I now had a way back that wasn't simply to follow the same tracks (which I think is the worst part...it is an adventure going and a bit of a drudge returning).

In France, every town, no matter how small has very well marked white signs with black outlining, telling people where to go. These are displayed quite frequently on roads, so it is not as easy to get lost...of course, 100 % possible and likely with me. One of the signs mentioned a town I recognized, so I headed due that direction (I was going to say something like "due north" or "due south" but that would imply I actually knew where I was, which I definitely did not). Along the way, I stopped to drink some water, pulling off where there was a path or small road of some sort intersecting the road I was on. I decided to take that small path because I was kind of bored on the road and the wind was killing me. Only in France will you find these random little paths of which you are unsure of their purpose and motivation for being built in the first place, but I am always thankful for them because nothing spells excitement better than a small path leading in some unknown direction.

By this time, I was getting kind of hungry, so when I came to a small town, I decided to stop and see if there was a bakery nearby. Stopping to ask an old couple about the location of bakery, I noticed something wonderful about encounters with the French. They are always saying "Good [fill in blank with some sort of noun, like bike ride or walk, etc.]" or "Be courageous" as departing words like everything in life is somehow meant to be confronted with the utmost zest and fervor, no fear, but confidence. I like this; I think that everything in life should be looked upon as something with which a person can use as a tool to build skills and build a sense of confidence, that even upon failure, you can pick yourself up and do something else with the knowledge that in the end, it is a journey (even if you look at that journey as a series of different destinations), and in a journey, the small destinations are not as important as the overall experience. So, bonne vie! Bonne journee! Bon effort! (Good life...good day, good effort)