A Day in the life of:Burgundy,France
Introduction
The scenery in Burgundy France is much different than many other regions of France. This region of France is overlooked as a place for tourism in France,it encompasses many historical sights and sight seeing destinations than much of France itself. It engulfs much of a country and historical feel , much of the monuments in Burgundy, France illustrates its wealthy past , and is known for their wine.
Brief History
The history behind Burgundy France is very interesting and gives you an idea of what this region is really like and how it come to be what it is today. Burgundy was an independent regions up until 1477. The people of Burgundy France are known as Burgundians and were Scandinavian people whose homeland were in the southern shores of the Baltic Sea on the island of Bornholm which is still called this today. Later the then know Scandinavians moved westward to the borders of the Roman Empire, to start establishing their kingdom within France. After is was annexed in the 16th century with wars because wars of religion, mercenaries roamed the country not until 1678 was peace restored in the Burgundy (Bourgogne) and after it was divided into departments later became a region of France.
The past of Burgundy France makes every architecture of the region of importance. Burgundy is known for its religious importance , so in early cathedrals the main symbol was the cross and shaped in the form of transepts which was a cross axis that was the purpose to identify the monks choir. Like many other cathedrals the main altar is the center of the cathedral and sub alters were placed in the transepts and in the ambulatory (extension of the aisles). “ Unlike other French churches of the period, Saint Philibert used transverse arches to support a series of barrel-vaulted naves. At the ends of the vaults, the naves had windows that were high in the vertical plane. As seen in Sainte Madeleine, in Vezelay, the groin vault became the popular solution. This answer can also be seen in the Worms Cathedral in Germany” http://www.french-at-a-touch.com/French_Regions/Burgundy/burgundy_4.htm.
The region is located in east-central France, and consists of 4 departments Cote-d’Or , Nievre , Saone-et-Loire, and Yonne .Burgundy is one of the richest regions in France to this day, it is a legend of prosperity and stills has many major attractions for tourist http://www.francethisway.com/regions, Not only in rich in history but also in culture and geography.Its diverse geography with much woodland in the department of Cote d’Or in the Morvan park with cold granite.With famous wines, because of the romans introducing grapes and production was mastered by the monks in this region, the vineyards in french stretch for hundreds on kilometres.
What To Do
The things to do in Burgundy are endless from museums, historical artifacts and Architecture, to Wine Tasting and more ,the list can go on for days. Since one of the things they are known for is there famous wines, there are many vineyard in Burgundy France in the vineyards you can wine taste (at the legal age of course) to start to immerse yourself in culture. Some vineyards only accept visitors that have reservations so making sure which was allow walk in and which ones don't is essential in this region for many want to try their famous wines, usually the larger vineyards are the ones that are open to the public and the smaller ones are private.
The legal age varies to drink from 16–18, and a tip to remember when visiting this region and the vineyard is that the larger vineyards usually ask you to pay a small fee to try their wines or sometimes will let you try for free but after will expect you to buy a bottle of your interest. In a true vineyard they will let you spit on the floor otherwise their is a bucket that you can spit in called the un crachoir.
Another activity to do in burgundy is to visit their numerous museums. The Musee des Beux-Arts museums is one of Burgundy’s major atrraction. It has arts from the 13th and 14th century , with medieval and aesthetics arts. One thing that is interesting within the museum besides the arts is the Ponpom Room which is behind a staircase and has modern sculptures of animals by Francois Ponpom (hence the name of the room). Although this museum has, works by historical artist outside in the courtyard it has works of art by local artists, they call this area of the museum the duchal kitchens.
After visiting museums and seeing historical artifacts along the way and immersing in wine tasting , the best place to sit and grab something to eat is in Dijon, Burgundy which is the capital of the region. Known for their dijon mustard,cheeses,escargot, and Charolais beef also with the finest of wines and cuisine.Auberge de la Charme is listed as one of the best places to eat in Dijon, Burgundy. Making sure to bring the proper currency is vital it is 31 euros for adults being the highest price thing on the menu and 17 euros for children to eat at this restaurant. Specializing in desert making, if your looking to eat a big meal in France lunch is the largest meal of the day and wont get much on your plate as you expect if you go during dinner hours. Lunch retour de marche is their lunch menu that consists of their dish of the day and have starters or appetizers like a typical restaurant the only thing that may be different when you visit restaurants is the language that they speak.
Que dire?
The regional language of Burgundy, France is Franc-Comtois and this refers to two dialects of two different languages.It is a mix of Langue D’oil and Arpitan , Langue D’oil is the langue spoken by the northern of the region and Arpitan by most of the Southern Region.This is just a different dialect of French so knowing the basis of the french language will help you to understand their native language of this region.
Communcation in Burgundy,France is a lot different not just in the language that they speak. In France people are a lot more affectionate even when meeting for the first time than Americans. Usually a kiss on each cheek is essential when meeting even a stranger, but depending on which region you live in how many kisses you give on each cheek is different. If you give someone a handshake you may come off as rude or stand off ish. Before giving a kiss when you meet someone of this region you could say comment de bises which means how many kisses just to make sure. Another thing to remember is you do not kiss someone from a higher rank than you such as a boss for example, unless they initiate first. Men usually only kiss family or really good friends. They also kiss by social class if you are of the upper class you tend to give two kisses and working class tend to give four kisses, which is something that is interesting because they tend to communicate by social class as well.
Thoughts
Its History helps to understands the regions upbringing and cultural aspects that it involves. In the region because it is still wealthy things may be a little pricey but well worth is for a one time trip and to emerge yourself in a different environment and culture in that sense. The scenery and housing is unique in its own , because the region was not considered a region till later on you can till its differences from other parts of France it has its own historical assets and destinations to visit when touring.
