Wisdom & Whimsy in Auxerre
If I had to list the reasons why living in France in such an on-going delight, right up there on the top five would be this: France is the land of “bottomless travel”. Je vous explique.
Here in Beaune, and most anywhere in France actually, options for a day trip or an overnight séjour, by car or train, are nearly endless. If we want a short holiday? We can check out the lovely Jura, or the Morvan. Is there a heat wave? We can zip over to the Alps, or to Geneva. Is it cold and rainy? Let’s go to Lyon or the Rhone Valley, or we can be in Provence by lunchtime. Time for a dose of history and beauty? Charming villages, public châteaus, abbeys, and gardens abound. Hungry or thirsty? There are a gazillion wineries, and destination restaurants in the countryside. Just pick your postcard destination, it’s a hop away.
So this week, having a couple of weekdays with nothing on our schedule, it was time for a holiday. The town of Auxerre is an hour and a half away, but somehow in 22 years of living in Burgundy we had never been there. So off we went to discover this beautiful medieval bijou of a town, perched on the banks of the Yonne River.
Auxerre has it all—architecture, history, water, boats. Like many French towns these days, they have a town mascot, with a backstory, which they use as a walking “tour guide”: they imbed brass arrows with the mascot pictured, into the sidewalks to make a walking tour easy.
Auxerre has a unique mascot. It is a colorful character from their history nicknamed Cadet Roussel (Cadet=youngest child). Born in 1743, he is immortalized in a statue in the main square. As far as I can tell, this servant-turned-baliff was mostly famous for being quirky.
Here are the arrows to look for in the street:
He is also famous for a song , which went viral, back in the day. One of his political enemies wrote an unflattering tune about him, which, though not remotely about war, became a sort of marching song for the French revolution. It’s really a children’s song these days, with a few of the racier verses left out. A sample is below–one of many verses– to give you the idea (or listen to the kid’s version here.)
Cadet Roussel has three hats,
Two are round and not beautiful,
The third has two pointed cones,
From his head, it takes its form …
Ah! Ah! Ah! Yes, truly,
Cadet Roussel is a good boy!
So we followed the Good Boy around town. Here are some of the highlights.
Inside the cathedral that is pictured above
Views of the medieval streets
The tower has an astronomical clock
A Statue of St. Nicolas presides over the square by the river where we ate lunch. Saint Nicolas, whom you may also know as Santa Claus, was the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, toymakers, unmarried people, and students. Busy guy!
The Promenade along the river
A statue of the poetess Marie Noël, born in Auxerre. She was a Catholic writer, “torn between faith and despair”.
In the COMMENTS: Francine, le Cervil (the matterhorn) sounds pretty enticing this week: it’s 105 degrees in Beaune today! And speaking of bottomless travel, Natalia seems to have an endless supply of great books about France for us, see below.
Favorite READS: Natalia’s book today is The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah, the story of two sisters who struggle to survive in WWII. And a friend here in Beaune has discovered the perfect summer cookbook, Salads for All Seasons, French Inspired Recipes to Enjoy, by Alexandra Stacey.
