Dandia Dancing in a small French Village

Blandine caught sight of a poster while we were browsing the weekly village market in Vienne - Indian Folk dances in Montseveroux. She jumped with excitement. Anything to do with India makes her do that. I was more tepid. I tend to run the other way when I see a troupe of folk dancers. As we did, seconds later. A whole horde of my fellow countrymen in traditional folk costumes trundled down the cobbled streets of Vienne. While I was still recovering from the shock, they were followed by another horde of what looked like Russians in Cossack costumes, and a phalanx of Americans in checked suits.

Apparently, they were the dancers invited for 'Les Nuit de Montseveroux' (The Nights of Montseveroux). Montseveroux is a tiny little village on the hills overlooking the Rhone, just a few miles out of Vienne. Having gotten tired of hearing 'Montseveroux - What's That?', the villagers decided to make their village a little more notorious by conducting an annual international dance festival. This year, the invited countries were India, Ossetia and the USA. Ossetia, in case, like me, you haven't heard of it, is a little sub-state carved out of Georgia that still is not fully recognized as a separate country. They would probably be deeply offended at my description of them as Russians in Cossack costumes, but in my defense, I have to say I couldn’t see much difference.

Naturally we had to go to the festival. Blandine couldn't be kept away by a troupe of hungry lions. I tagged along, despite grave trepidations. Village Montseveroux turned out to be a rather charming place...

... with a church and a château. I covered the church in the previous post. Here are some pics of the château, where the festival was to be conducted.

Blandine's Farm - 45

Chez Blandine - 45

The church of village Montseveroux

On the other side of the Rhone from Blandine's village, atop the ridge of the river, is an inconspicuous  village called Montseveroux. It's main claim to fame is that every year it has a festival of folk dances from around the world. Blandine and I hopped over to see that festival - more on that in the next post. But in the process we discovered that village's adorable 12th century Church, the Church of Saint-Martin...

Apremont-sur-Allier - beau village

Still in the Burgundy region. We drove over to the historic town of Nevers, which is frequently mentioned in The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas. The town itself was a bit disappointing (Never say Nevers again), but close by is the village of Apremont-sur-Allier, which is worth a visit. It is on the official list of 'the most beautiful villages in France'. It is not terribly historic, but it is bursting with quaint old cottages all covered in roses, and a river runs through it. The river, by the way, is l'Allier, which gives the village its name.

Lock on the Loire

On the way from the town of Nevers to the village of Apremont sur Alliers, we stopped for coffee at a rather pleasant spot: it is where one of the canals of the Loire crosses the river Alliers on an aquaduct! It was rather interesting to see a canal crossing a river on a bridge. It was also a fabulous place for a coffee break.

The crossing point of the river Allier and the lateral canal of the Loire...

Never say Nevers again

After Vézaley, still in Burgundy, we took a longish detour to the historic town of Nevers. Actually, we wanted to see the beau village of Appremont-sur-Alliers which is just a few km from Nevers, but since we were going all that way, why not check out the town, we thought. Blandine recalled that the Duke of Nevers had played a significant role in some of the Three Musketeer stories by Alexander Dumas. She thought it might be interesting to see his stamping grounds. In the event, Nevers turned out to be a rather sleepy and boring old town. It does have some historical monuments, but nothing to go gaga about. But still, if you are an Alexander Dumas fan, you might like to check it out.

Firstly there is the ducal palace (palais ducal), where one presumes the old Duc of Nevers used to have his digs. It looks very impressive from the outside, but the interiors are a disappointment. The administration of Nevers have completely gutted the interiors and turned it into a very bland and modern office space.

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A lonely little church on a Burgundy hill

All the way to Vézaley in Burgundy, we kept getting glimpses of a lonely little church on the hill.

We were intrigued. We asked around. The locals told us it was the church of St. Aubans des Chaumes, and there was a narrow rural road to get there. We took the road. It was well Worth the visit...