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Spring Tour 2009 – Day 3: For lunch we stopped at the Grande Forge de Buffon, the integrated ironworks near Montbard, established in 1768-72 by Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon (1707-82). The Forge can be visited from April until the end of September from 10-12am and 2-6pm. Next to the forge one can see the Canal de Bourgogne, which is 242 kilometers long and links the river Yonne with the Saône.

We didn’t want to wait until 2pm but used the break to check the air filter of our Mercedes-Benz. Occasionally on this and the previous tours the motor had problems accelerating. On the 3rd day of this tour it was worse than ever and we wouldn’t have been able to continue our trip like this
Previously I had checked all oil levels and got the better more expensive fuel but the air filter was something I hadn’t done yet. According the manual there should be a meter notifying us if it has to be replaced or not, but that specific meter didn’t exist in our model. So I found the air filter and took it out. Mercedes obviously believes that a car owner doesn’t do this, so there were no instructions in the manual and it was more difficult than necessary to get the filter out. After cleaning everything as good as possible and putting it all together again, the motor ran smoothly again and didn’t have any more problems for the rest of the trip. What a relief!

Spring Tour 2009 – Day 3: This day felt like our vacation had really started now. Instead of driving all day again, we decided to visit interesting places in the area, as we were moving south. First destination was the wash-house at the Fosse Dionne, a deep water source with a mysterious blue green color below the Sankt-Pierre church in Tonnerre.

Unfortunately the town with just 5322 inhabitants (2006) is a town in decay. Many houses are in a bad condition and on the edge of collapsing. It could be a charming French countryside town. With the Fosse Dionne, the Sankt-Pierre church high above the town (not open to the public), the Hôpital Notre-Dame and some small stores and cafes it could be popular among tourists.

On our way to Tonnerre we drove through the vineyards of the Chablis, the northernmost wine district of the Burgundy region. In April there isn’t much to see yet but it is always nice to see where some products come from.

Spring Tour 2009 – Day 2: From Bouillon it was just a short drive until we reached France. Originally we had considered stopping in Reims on our way South, but as it started raining we kept on driving. As far as we could see, the famous cathedral of Reims was also obscured with scaffolding, so we will come back another time.
Leaving Reims behind we drove through the wines fields, were Champagne comes from and soon reached Burgundy. The further we got South, the more trees and bushes were flowering already. Unfortunately this also meant that my allergies were getting stronger.

For the night we stopped in Gurgy, which is a small town north of Auxerre. Here there is a lovely camper park directly next to the Yonne river. We arrived early enough to enjoy the warm weather outside and went for a walk along the river and through the village.