We arrived at our VRBO, a small but complete cabin supposedly in the woods but really in some woods near the road, in the late afternoon after a full day of touring and after some time relaxing, as well as a cold glass of white wine, we were off to nearby St Junien to dine at the local hotel restaurant which seemed to cater to men of the working class and served a decent, if unremarkable, steak frites. There is not much to see in St. Junien but we tried to see it, wandering around a bit before and after dinner.
Back at the VRBO it was time for more wine, some tele followed by a good night's sleep. The next day we did not have much to do as we had already visited Oradur-sur-Glane (the primary reason Christos had brought us here) but we did have one major site to see; the Agnelle factory outlet store in St Junien!
Agnelle is a maker of high end leather products with a focus on gloves. They have been worn by such luminaries as Madonna, Beyonce, Lada Gaga and even Melania!
We arrived at the nondescript building in downtown St Junien and were soon admitted by the store minder, a lovely older French lady who spoke very little English. She led us up to the second floor where a small room was dominated by bins by size of pairs of men's gloves on one side and women's on the other. Other leather goods such as purses and small bags adorned the walls. We chatted a bit and she was quite pleased to learn we had come all the way from Canada to see the store.
With this new information in hand we ended up buying two pairs of gloves each for a very reasonable 240 euros. The shopkeeper threw in two small zippered bags as gifts. What a wonderful experience!
Then it was off to shop as we planned to eat at home that night. We visited the local grocery store (not our favourite as we prefer farmer's markets) and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the product. France really does have good produce throughout.
Returning to the VRBO in the afternoon we opted for more relaxing with some crafting thrown in before preparing dinner.
Although we had no BBQ at this VRBO, we opted for pasta with fresh vegetables accompanied by salad and of course the obligatory wine.
The next day saw us back on the road heading east with our first stop at Saint Leonard de Noblat where we visited the lovely cathedral and bought some wonderful dried goods (nuts, mango, ginger) from an African shopkeeper of incredible good cheer.
Then it was back on the road and a visit to the town of Borganeuf where Christos had hoped to visit Cem's Tower (which had housed an Ottoman Prince) but sadly it was closed until later in the day and we had places to get to.
In the late afternoon we finally arrived at our destination, the amazing Zone Bleu located in the sleepy farm village of Hyds.
Christos had booked Zone Bleu without really knowing what to expect and it was one of the pricier places we stayed this trip (although not outrageous by any means).
It had seemed a bit odd to find a highly rated B&B deep in the French countryside and quite off the beaten trail but it was truly a gem. It is a lovely old farmhouse restored with care and attention to detail by a husband and wife couple from Denmark and Holland.
Chickens and a lovely dog roam the grounds and the interior oozes old world charm (complete with candles on the super wide staircase to the second floor). The basement houses a cellar full of local wine which we soon sampled.
Our suite had a lovely king sized bed with a gorgeous ensuite washroom and an anteroom room with two wingback chairs with furs facing a fireplace and a small table. We didn't think we would use the anteroom much but we ended up loving it for late night TV and early morning coffee. We stayed only two nights but could have stayed a week.
Dinner the first night was a planche of meats, cheese etc prepared for us by our hosts and was perfect after our day on the road. After a lovely dinner, we wandered the grounds for a bit enjoying the rural idyll before heading to our room for a little TV in the anteroom, cold white wine and finally bed in our luxurious king bed which enveloped us.
We wandered the small medieval core, shopped at the local farmer's market and enjoyed lunch at an odd restaurant (nachos in France?) before heading to the church and the local ruined castle for a tour and some photos.
After a hot day touring it was back to the Zone Bleu for pizza night! It seems a local pizza truck makes a circuit of the local villages on Friday nights offering various types of freshly cooked pizza and it is quite popular with the locals.
The pizzas were quite good and a nice change from French food as well as quite reasonably priced compared to eating out.
After our two nights in Hyds, it was time to head to our next destination, a small cottage near the village of Chevroches. We purchased a half dozen bottles of the local white from our host and were soon off to visit Saint-Pourcain-sur-Sioule for the weekly farmer's market.
After stocking up for the next three nights at the farmer's market, we enjoyed a quick lunch at one of the local restaurants (where one can eat food from the market so long as you bought a beverage) and were on the road around noon.
We stopped to visit the town of Nevers with a visit to the Ducal Palace as well as a wander through the medieval core. As it was June 21st, also known as Fete de la Musique in France, we noticed quite a few bandstands etc being set up even though the afternoon heat was excessive.
With the tour of Nevers complete, we made our way to the Domaine Des Carriers where we had booked the Maison Des Compagnons, a small stone cottage with a wonderful view, BBQ etc. The only challenge was it was a bit small (cosy?) and with no AC and with the oppressive heat it was quite hot in the upstairs loft/bedroom.
After meeting our charming young host, we settled in and found out a bit about the area including the town of Clamecy just down the road where tonight there would be some live music although the big excitement would be a bit further afield in Auxerre. Clamecy was also the closest place to shop and as we needed charcoal for the BBQ so off it was to Clamecy for a little provisioning.
Eventually it was time for dinner on the BBQ and by the time that was done we decided to just take it easy and relax with some cold white wine at the cottage instead of having to drive into Clamecy for live music.
That night was quite hot and restless for the two of us; the small size of the cottage coupled with the heat was just too much so the next day Christos arranged to have us moved into the Sculptor's Apartment, which was both more spacious and much much cooler, for the next two nights.
As it was now Sunday and we were tired from the previous twenty-four hours, we opted to relax rather than tour for the day. While the Domaine is only a short drive from Clamecy, it is otherwise quite isolated with no shops so it was to our benefit and wonder that around 9AM on Sunday the bakery truck showed up with fresh bread!
This meant we did not have to leave the grounds for the day so we did some laundry, watched some TV, dipped in the pool and generally loafed.
Dinner was once more on the BBQ and we used the same one from the Maison des Compagnons as the new one was very dodgy!After a good night's rest, we were ready for some touring the next day so off we went to visit the village of Vezelay with its stunning Basilica complete with jaw dropping central portal and supposed relics of Mary Magdalene!
A lovely place and well worth the visit although the shops leading to the Basilica are quite touristy.
After our visit to Vezelay, our next stop was the village of Bazoches, or more accurately, the Chateau de Bazoches, which was home to Vauban, a famous nobleman and military engineer of 17th century France.
The full tour, including a visit to Vauban's richly appointed apartments, took about an hour and was worth the ticket price.
On the way back to the Domaine, we popped in to Clamecy to make a full tour of the medieval core including the local church and we also stopped in one of the few shops open on Monday, the delightful Chez L'Houme where Christos bought a shirt (with snails on it) and Lisa bought a bag emblazoned with the town's name on it.
After the Clamecy tour was done, it was back to the Domaine to relax, prepare another lovely BBQ dinner and get ready for our departure the next morning.
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