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The Route to Vezelay-
On Saturday I took the train from Dijon to Auxerre where the Lonely Planet Burgundy route officially begins. Auxerre to Noyer-sur-Serein and Noyer to Vezelay are the first two day's routes.
I would have liked to spend more time in Auxerre, but the French rail system did me in. My route from Dijon required two trains, one about an hour long and the other less than 15 minutes. The first train was no issue and the second train left the station on time, but that 15 minute ride took 2 hours! I have no idea what happened, but it meant I needed to hit the road as soon as I got to Auxerre.
Noyer is another well-preserved medieval town. Small and quiet, but not a museum. People live and work there. My stop for the night was a small chambre d'hotes (kinda like a B&B where people rent out spare rooms in their house) called Le Moulin de la Roche or mill of the rock. As the name suggests, it is an old mill where water from the river has been diverted to the house to run the mill. You can see the water channel running up to the house in the picture with this post. The couple are architects with their office taking up the 2nd floor and their living quarters on the 1st floor. The third floor has 2 rooms for guests. It was a beautiful place!
The following day took me to Vezelay. Vezelay has been named a world heritage site for it's pilgrimage church. The crypt supposedly contains some of Mary Magdaline's bones. She is said to have moved to Provence after Jesus' crucifixion, where she later died and was buried. A sign at the church says her bones were 'retrieved' from Provence and brought to Vezelay. Relics like these were a hot commodity in the middle ages as a good set of bones would bring pilgrims from far and wide. Those that have been to Santiago de Compostela in Spain know what I mean. And this theft... I mean retrieval... did the trick for Vezelay, as pilgrims have been coming here ever since.
Vezelay's location is also stunning as it sits atop a hill with a view to forever from the terrace behind the cathedral. Pictures uploaded include a couple from the terrace.
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