Sunday 5th May Epoisse 21st fete du vin, pain et Fromage

 

I awoke soo excited. On our earlier visit to Noyers we had spotted an advert for the 21^st Fete of wine cheese and bread at the village of epoisse which just happens to be this boys favourite cheese.

 We were delighted to find the river was receeding and the tide mark showed it had not quite reached the workshops during the night and so after a quick coat of varnish on rails and flagpole, we were looking chipper in Sunday best and with blue skies and old yeller shining down on us, we set off glad of heart! 

 

Even uncle Roger was smiling dressed very smartly in his sunday rags whilst fixing his fork.

Bloody sat nav took forever to start and I had already headed off in the wrong direction. My sat nav absolutely has a mind of its own and appears to have a thing about me. A trip to town and it fires straight up. As soon as I need it, it refuses to play ball. Of course we are out of internet allowance so cannot use the ipad for mapping. The skipper shows the extent of his rising irritation by suddenly pulling over and refusing to drive another inch until it starts working. Fortunately the crew is a tad calmer and takes over. Miraculously Collette takes the cd out re-inserts and immediately the satnav fires up. I had done the same thing 7 or 8 times and nothing! I feel like punching the screen but settle for starting the engine and heading off. My mind is a flurry of crazy activity as to how the crew have somehow programmed the satnav to just piss me off. There must be tablets I can take for this!

We enjoy a very scenic trip of 55 miles following much of the route of the Nivernais we hope to soon be enjoying by boat. The villages and towns we pass through very much wet our appetites.

The village of Epoisse is approached and the outskirts are a parking lot. We find a spot opposite the imposing chateau walls and already can see, this is going to be a very nice place.

We stroll down to the traffic free high street which is a buzz with artisan stalls and I am in heaven. Degustation Chablis, petite Chablis, champagnes, cremant de Bourgoyne, Irancy, Bourgoyne aligote,pinot noirs and chitry wines, pain and sausage to die for and the cheeses, every variation of goats and of course at the home of the Berthault Fromagerie, epoisse cheese.

We enjoyed a lunch of 3 cheese and ham coleslaw salad followed by, ham and frites, a fruit crumble and of course some epoisse sat in the middle of the bustling street outside of the auberge. unbelievably everybody stopped to allow me to take this picture. Bit embarrassing but very polite!

In the main square we enjoyed the classic French brass band and a groovy jazz quintet whilst sampling responsibly the delights of the fair.

 After making purchases of a case of cremant and some epoisse,  The skipper looked rediculously smug!

 

we strolled to the chateau passing a very unique doorway with a brilliantly clever use of a stone corner.

The privately owned chateau has been in the same family for 300 years and is only open to the public in july and august, but the parc is open all year round so we paid our 2 euros and spent a delightful hour in the sunshine. The houses near the entrance had been built by locals who had been given this honour in gratitude for labours and defence of the chateau. The staggering pidgeon tower housed 3000 nesting boxes and the wooden revolving contraption allowing ladder access to every box was an engineering feat to behold.

 

The peace and tranquillity of the gardens was just lovely and it was nice to see chateau occupants enjoying the sun on the terrace as we gawped at them through the iron gates. Collette particularly liked the stable block with its horses head door handles.

 Of course we visited the onsite church.

The Sat nav was now obeying its master and we decided on letting it take us the shortest distance meaning the longest time home. We found ourselves following the meandering river Sereine. This was one of the feeders to the Yonne that Simon had told us about. We were amazed to see the swollen waters had broken the banks some 100yds the other side of this stand of trees

 We passed a police car thinking what a strange place to see one on this quiet backwater road. We soon found out why. The following village was in flood and the route Barre sign was up.

 

 It was so sad to see very worried villagers surveying the damage. Of course most French houses have caves (basements) so much of the damage is unseen from the road.

The flooding was sobering to see with cows struggling to find dry land and some up to udders in water

 and we encountered route barre 3 times resulting in a slow journey back to Migennes. 

All this water had to pass through Migennes so what were we instore for?

A first for us, we came upon a boulangerie open on a Sunday evening in a tiny village just outside Migennes. I grabbed a pain which was so hot I had to juggle it back to the car. What a treat!

Back at the yard at 7 we found incredibly that the waters had dropped and it was back below the quay. Good news but what we had seen today did not bode well and we noted emergency service helecopters buzzing around late into the evening covering the river.

The bread and cheese supper was a delightful way to end a fabulous day.