Bourgogne - Auxerre, France
Another stop on the tour of finding a city for my second home in France was Auxerre. Located about one hundred miles from Paris with a population of thirty five thousand. This town is like walking around in a fairytale. The buildings are timber wood, the streets cobblestone and the character unbeatable. My first stop in Auxerre was a tea house for a café and macaron, then I was able to check into my Airbnb. My apartment here was great! A one-bedroom apartment that was near the clock tower in the city center. It would be a great location to live.
I arrived on a Saturday so after settling into my place, I meandered the town and did some shopping since most places would be closed on Sunday. I found a very cool Paris travel book in an antique shop from nineteen forty-eight. It was like finding a treasure.
I went to dinner at a delicious pizza place and then settled back in to my apartment. It seems that it depends on which region I am in France that it dictates what I seem to eat. While I was in Brittany I ate crepes, Provence seemed to be a lot of omelettes and Burgundy pizza. I’m not saying they don’t have anything else in these regions, just that these foods seem to be prevalent.
After a restless night, I went to explore this little town of Auxerre. I walked down to the Yonne and it was stunning. There is a great walking/biking path and a pedestrian bridge that has the most fantastic view of the city. You can see all of the churches and the abbey along with the river. It was breathtaking and made me consider this being the one.
On the suggestion of my host, I went to Boulangerie Patisserie Eric Roy. There was a line just like he said there would be. I got a pastry and a croissant, then realized there was a tea house next door so I took a seat and saved my treats for later. I had a cafe au lait, orange juice, an Eric Roy banquette with butter and jam and a croissant. It was a delicious brunch.
After brunch I planned to go to another small church but ran into the Abbey of Saint Germain d'Auxerre. There were several cats roaming around so of course I befriended a little black and white one. He was too cute and kept me company until they opened. I went into the abbey and everything was in French so I didn’t understand it all, but I am able to understand some of it. It was quite beautiful.
After the abbey I wandered through town and stopped for a cafe au lait. Everything is closed today and there is not much to do so I decided to go home and rest with the rest of the French.
So, is this the one?! No. I adored this little city and I’m very happy to have visited. But It didn’t speak to me as a place I wanted to live. On to the next one.
