Sunday in Franche-Comté

Items for sale at Etuz vide grenier

On Saturday I took the TGV train from Paris to Besançon Franche Comté, 2 hours south-east, where I am staying in village called Auxon-Dessous with C, a lovely lady, and her 3 children. I had contacted the family regarding a possible home exchange and they very kindly have offered me hospitality for a week. The area around Auxon-Dessous is marked by gently rolling hills that have at their base green pastures dotted with yellow flowers. The woods are a light, vivid green which gives everything a bright, fresh look.

Being a Sunday and in rural France, it was only natural that we would head to the closest vide grenier (garage sale, car boot sale or trash and treasure depending on your roots). It didn't take us long to travel the short distance to Etuz. The store holders had set up their stands around the local school. Most of the stands were families selling items of clothing, books, toys and knick knacks that they no longer wanted. There were a few stands set up by second-hand dealers who frequent such markets. The prices were generally very reasonable.

After lunch, C, her father and I drove to Pesmes, officially listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France and with its heritage listed buildings. There was the added bonus that the Fête Art et Terroir was also on. We therefore not only visited the historical village but also saw some very high standard work by local artists including lacework, porcelain, basketry and painting, plus lots of local food products. We did purchase some rillettes, terrine smoked duck breast and chocolate. Pesmes has magnificent views from the back of the school of the river and surrounding countryside. Even with the fête it was not overly crowded making it a very pleasant place to visit. 

Decorative tiles on the church roof

Lots of delicious things to taste at the Fête 

View of Pesmes

On the way back from Pesmes we stopped at Marnay. It too was beautiful retaining many of its ancient stonework homes and church with decorative tiled steeple roof. We returned home to a feast of pancakes that we cooked with the children on an electric crepe hotplate placed on the middle of the table. Banana, dark Cote d'Or chocolate spread and rum is definitely a new taste sensation to try.

Tower at Marnay

Citroen 2CV in front of church at Marnay

Historical Michelin road sign at Marnay