Vezelay

On our way from Paris to Dijon, we stopped at the hilltop town of Vezelay*, our first stop in Burgundy.

Well, actually we stopped at the bottom, but the walk up the hill was well worth it. Vezelay is a World Heritage site and a major starting point for pilgrimmages to Santiago de Compostella. Admittedly, it was rather touristy, but very tasteful and the main street up was extraordinarily pretty,

The church at the top was gorgeous. From the moment you entered the gorgeous door to the actual church:

until you got inside the bright and airy interior. I found it so appealing, almost delicate in comparison to the dark and forbidding Notre Dame.

Inside the church was a display of wooden crosses, with an incredible story behind them. After WW II, Christians from places across Europe made a pilgrimmage in support of peace, carrying 14 wooden crosses - that's what it said, carried the wooden crosses - from as far as Switzerland and Belgium. When they neared Vezelay, German prisoners from a nearby POW camp asked if they could join the pilgrimmage and a 15th cross was added for them, and they joined the procession. 

Before we left, we took in a sweeping view of the countryside from the terrace behind the chuch. It was a lovely visit and a great start to our few days in Burgundy.

* I must confess these photos are all scavenged from the web, as I had camera difficulties and didn't get any photos of my own.  Sigh.