Contact Phone Number

While we're overseas we will have a Travelsim mobile with us as the international mobile call costs from Telstra are too expensive. To call us from a mobile simply dial +37257173206. To call from a land line call the international exit code (e.g. 00 from NZ and 0011 from Aust) then 32757173206. Remember France is 8 hours behind Aust and 10 hours behind NZ.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

24 May - The Morvan

After a quiet day in Semur yesterday we ventured into the Morvan region today for more sightseeing. We started in Avallon (about 35kms from Semur) which was one of the key cities of Burgundy during the Middle Ages. It is still surrounded by ramparts and 7 of the towers that protected the town from invaders. Today the main invaders are tourists !!

After a walk around the ramparts and viewing the 12th century church we carried on to Vezelay. The Basilique Ste Marie Madeleine in Vezelay is easily the largest cathedral we have seen in France. It dates from the 9th century and houses what were thought to be the remains of Mary Magdalene however, after a century or so of pilgrimages to worship these remains, it was discovered they weren’t hers – oops ! The abbey went into decline and has only been restored in the last 100 years. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and hence Vezelay has become very touristy.

We ventured via the back roads to Semur and discovered the town of Quarre les Tombes where there are about 100 pieces of stone sarcophagi (ancient coffins) surrounding the local church. These date from the 7th to the 10th century and it is thought that the locals manufactured these for sale to the surrounding villages.

We are now relaxing at home composing the blog before venturing to the bar to publish it. Jan is busy photographing the duck that has just laid about a dozen eggs in our back yard – all part of the mothering instinct I think ! 





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