Moving house

The Tabac in Cormatin, for years located next to Restaurant Les Blés d’Or, has moved early May to a different location.

Tabac old location

Nicole, who runs the Tabac, has taken the plunge and occupies a different shop now, a bit further down the High Street. Her husband, the owner of Café de la Poste, has disposed of part of his Café in favour of Nicole, who has now a lot more space available for the sale of cigarettes, newspapers and magazines and, possibly more profitable, lotto and lottery tickets. What is going to happen to Café de la Poste in the future is unknown to us. All indications are that the snack bar which is part of Café de la Poste will be turned into a proper restaurant, and possibly the café might cease to exist.

Tabac new location

The prices and the types of plates he offers presently are more in line with those of a restaurant instead of those he offered previously in his snack bar. However, that might be something for another blog.

Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

Chain Store Cormatin

Recently Monique Dégluaire, a sculptor in clay, opened an annexe in Cormatin, the Comptoir des Artistes.

Comptoir des Artistes - Cormatin

She is not really a potter, because she mainly makes figurative sculptures, while there are no or hardly any plates, cups, saucers, small household utensils, tiles and the like in her assortment. She exhibits her work throughout France (Lyon, Paris) and one can also admire her creations in her workshop in Bessuge, a hamlet in the commune of Chapaize. Last year she opened, together with another local artist Martine Borzycki a showroom in Cormatin itself.
Although taking pictures in her showroom and workshop is not allowed, I am able to show one of her works in this blog; I can do this for the simple reason that this sculpture is ours and stands in our garden.

La Tuilerie de Chazelle

Monique gives courses and stages in her workshop, which are quite popular.

Bessge as well the Comptoir des Artistes are not further than a 10 minutes drive away from La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

An ultrashort concert

Most of the information we obtain about concerts etc. comes from the Journal de Saône-et-Loire, a source which is not always reliable.

Concertzaal - Château de Burnand

In the Friday's extra the events for the coming week in the department are announced. One week we ended up in front of a locked door in Juliénas (Beaujolais) where the exhibition we wanted to visit should start on November 1, whilst in reality the exhibition opened one week later. Recently we read in the paper that a free concert would be given in the château of Burnand, starting at 17h30. We are always well in time, if only to find a good seat.

Repetitie

We were there around 17h00, time enough to put our coats on one of the few available chairs near the exit (the majority of the chairs had a sticker "reserved" on them) and to wonder around the premises. At 17h30 there were still hardly any spectators, except for a handful of people who were downing drinks. Later we found out that the bar where drinks were for sale opened at 17h30, while the concert did not start until 18h00. Everything was a bit obscure, because from 17h30 onwards every so often some musicians started playing.

Tentoonstellingsruimte

And they were not tuning; no, they were playing classical pieces of music. This did not sound very promising, however, it could well be that the whole group was stronger than the sum of the indivdual musicians. The waiting period gave us also some time to admire the paintings of the owner of the château, which decorated the walls in a rather abundant way.
When the concert finally started at 18h00 we did not need more than a few minutes to decide that we would be better off outside.

Eerste deel van het concert

We arrived home a lot earlier than expected, although not in time to join a concert in Chapaize. This concert, which takes place each Ascension day, is given by the Dutch madrigal choir Roundelay, is free of charge as well, and of exceptionally good quality. Ever since we live here we have not missed one of their concerts, except the one this year. So we have decided that this is not going to happen again. Next year we are going to see and hear Roundelay, unless someone with a real big name gives a free concert somewhere around here….

Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

Closed for renovation

There have been quite e few changes in Cormatin , on the shopping front.

Aux Délices de Cormatin old style

A number of shops has changed hands, like the épicerie of Berger (now called Epis & Riz) but of which the range of goods is still the same. Apart from shops which have been mentioned earlier, such as the butcher La Renaissance and the bio market cum organic bakery cum exposition area for a local potters collective in the former Musée du Vélo/Poilu a number of shops have combined anticipating the more severe rules for wheelchair access with a renovation of the interior of the shop.

Aux Délices de Cormatin after renovation

One of the shops that recently has undergone a face lift is the bakery Aux Délices de Cormatin. The shop has been, as long as we remember, a typical village bakery where one could hardly move during peak hours. And peak hour it was, the whole day through. The baker, Laurent, does not only produce the best French breads in the area, but he is also an excellent pastrycook.

Aux Délices de Cormatin new style

And I can vouch for the fact that the renovation of the shop has not the slightest bit influenced the quality of his assortment!
Aux Délice de Cormatin is a shop where the guests of La Tuilerie de Chazelle regularly buy their bread and/or pastry.

A day out in Dijon

Not that we have seen it all in our own vicinity, but, as they say, variety is the spice of life.

Flower market - Dijon

Hence every so often we take the opportunity to see something in another department. One of our favourite outings is a day in Dijon. Dijon is the capital of Burgundy as well as that of the Côte-d’Or department (21), and it has a number of interesting things to offer. And I am not just talking of museums; Dijon is a bustling town, with lots of terraces, shops, half-timbered buildings, and, walking through the old town one is surprised time after time by views of yet another roof covered with glazed, coloured roof tiles in interesting patterns.

Roof of the cathedral Saint- Bénigne/td>

Burgundy once was a powerful Duchy, and the Dukes of Burgundy competed with the French King in power, prosperity and not in the least in cultural affluence. The former Ducal Palace, smack in the middle of the old town, hosted, once the power of the Dukes was broken, the Parliament of Burgundy, and presently the Musée des Beaux Arts.

Tomb detail - Musée des Beaux Arts

This is a beautiful museum, with a vast collection of religious art, but also with a department of contemporary art and a special section dedicated to the famous sculptor François Pompon. The highlights of the collection however are the tomb of Philip the Bold and that of John the Fearless and his wife Margaret of Bavaria. Both monuments are beautifully decorated with sculptures of the best (Dutch) sculptors of the late Middle Ages, Claus Sluter and Claus van de Werve.
Another work by Sluter, the well of Moses, can be found where once the Carthusian monastery of Champmol (also in Dijon) stood.

Detail - Well of Moses

This monastery once hosted the above mentioned tombs, which were moved to the Saint-Béningne Cathedral after the monastery was demolished. From there they finally went to the Palais des Ducs.
The originally Romanesque cathedral, which was replaced by the present Gothic church, still houses a Romanesque crypt which is the only remaining lower part of an impressive rotunda. Next to the church one of the former abbey buildings hosts nowadays the Musée Archéologique.

Polar bear - François Pompon

The lower part of the building is the old Romanesque scriptorium and chapter hall, while the first floor is the former Gothic dormitorium. This beautiful room displays capitals and tympanums from the old Romanesque cathedral, as well as remains of other, demolished abbeys in the vicinity of Dijon.

Dormitorium - Musée Archéologique

There is a lot more to admire in Dijon; this was just a random enumeration. For those who think that an outing like this will set one back quite a bit: all museums in Dijon are free of charge, hence the money “saved” this way can be utilised to pay for a lunch in one of the many restaurants in the old centre of Dijon.

Notre-Dame - Dijon

The link to the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle can be found here.