Vezelay and Flavigny-sur-Ozerain

Blogging a little out of order here. But I have to document our little Anniversary getaway. We had a free weekend and decided to road trip to one of our favorite parts of France--Burgundy. This countryside is so beautiful and there were places we passed back in September that we wanted to go back and see. Destinations: Vezelay and Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. 

We took off after work and drove through some crazy rain and snow, but eventually made it to the Cheval Bleu, the hotel we would be staying out just outside Vezelay. It was kind of creepy driving in the car because we were following our GPS through these dark, abandoned-like villages. But there was a lit residence--our hotel!!!!!

This really nice couple from Belgium purchased an old barn and decided to gut it and remodel it into a charming Bed and Breakfast. They live in part of the house and rent three rooms out to traveling guests. It was so beautiful!!! It has a quirky, eclectic style, and combines the old rustic french stonework with the funky and fabulous!

We were pretty hungry, so we went into Vezelay to a restaurant called Cheval Blanc. It was pretty good! We were a little stunned when the salad arrived....obviously.

crab wars!

 We had a good night's sleep and woke up to a lovely breakfast provided by our hosts. The wife is an artist, so I got to see some of her work, which was way cool. The whole experience was just artistic and fun!

Our room at the Cheval Bleu. Funny Angel mounted to the wall:)

obsessed with these window sills:)

the fabulous hosts!

our lovely breakfast

 We walked around the village a little bit, which was cool. Very quiet sleepy town, but some neat houses and barns that have been there for hundreds of years.

the outside of the Bed and Breakfast

the local church

 We drove to Vezelay and toured around a bit. Unfortunately, in January--things shut down and people go on Vacay! A lot of things were closed and everything felt kind of sleepy, but we loved seeing the architecture and seeing the Abbaye Sainte Marie Madeleine, the famous cathedral. This was my favorite part of the visit.  I have never seen a cathedral that has so much light pouring in. It was gorgeous!

old town Vezelay

everything closed.....kind of eerie....

The Abbeye

Light!!!!!

detailed capitals

 We hopped in our car and headed towards our next destination. I had fun taking pictures along the way:)

 We arrived at Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. This was the town where the film Chocolat was filmed. I love this movie and I was excited to see it. The town was gorgeous (kinda dead and sleepy with everyone on vacay) and we loved the quirky architecture. There is a Benedictine Abbey and seminary there, so we did see some monks and students walking around town, but that was about it. Totally lovely though. We would love to see this town in the summer!

everyone is on Vacay!

 We did get to go into the famous Anis shop. For hundreds of years, residents here have been making these candies that each have a tiny anise seed in the middle. You can smell Anise in the air all throughout the town! We got some candies to take home with us:)

the Anis shoppe

exploring alleyways

thank you for carrying my purse baby

we had quite the affinity for this wall

quaint cottages. stonework heaven!

perfect shade of blue, yes?

we decided that this is where we would live. more blue doors!

 After a nice visit, we continued on our drive. We just love this countryside so much!

look closely and you can see some deer!

harses, harses, harses...

We stopped in the town of Beaune on our way back to Geneva. (i lost all my pics I took here...boo.) It was a bigger town that had a lot more going on, and we mostly just window shopped.....as well as made our way into a French pastry shop and got some treats to die for!

You gotta ya know?

Such a fun weekend getaway!