Feature Article: Burgundy, France - The Original Wine Country - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
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We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Feature Article: Burgundy, France - The Original Wine Country
Burgundy, France - The Original Wine Country by Cheryl Pendry
If the only time you've heard Burgundy mentioned before is as a dark red color, then you wouldn't be alone. Before our recent road trip around Europe, that's about all I thought of when I heard the word, but once I started my research, I soon discovered that it's also the name of a region of France and one that we'd be spending a fair bit of time in during our vacation. It's one of 22 regions in France and is a huge place, even larger than the whole country of Belgium! Despite its size, covering 12,000 square miles, it's hardly packed with people, as it only has 1.6 million inhabitants. That helps to explain why, during our time in the region, we spent a lot of our time on isolated roads that seemed the only sign of life in an otherwise deserted countryside. There were many occasions that we commented to each other that it felt like we were the only people out and about, a very pleasant change from so many places in the world.
Burgundy is pretty much in the middle of France, albeit slightly to the east of the country. It’s just to the southeast of Paris, and we were lucky enough to sample a few parts of this beautiful region.
The first place we discovered was the region's capital city, Dijon, famed of course for its mustard. Not being a mustard lover myself, I was more interested in exploring its medieval city, much of it thanks to the Dukes of Burgundy. They built up one of the most powerful states in the 14th and 15th centuries and they left behind a wonderful legacy. The starting point for our tour was the Notre-Dame cathedral, a Gothic church dating from the 13th century. From there, we made our way down towards the Place de la Liberation, the real centrepiece of the city. It's here that the Dukes of Burgundy held court, although the buildings here, that loop round in an impressive semi-circle, date from the 17th century. They were built to house the Parliament in those days and today it's home to the Museum of Fine Arts.
We loved our walking tour of this city. Literally every corner we turned down, we saw cobbled streets dating from years gone by. We felt that we were getting a taste of the real France here, as we watched people out about their business, dining out on the pavements outside restaurants, and enjoying the city. It had a lovely, vibrant feel to it and we felt that those living here really seemed to love spending time out in their city center.
From here, it was off to the Abbaye de Fontenay, a little to the northwest of Dijon. It’s the oldest surviving Cistercian monastary in the whole of France and was first founded in 1118 by St. Bernard. The Abbey thrived until the 18th century, when it fell into disrepair and was turned into a paper mill. Today, as well as seeing the abbey itself, you can also view the paper mill that was set up here. As we wandered around, it was all too easy to be transported back to the days when the abbey was in full use. You could imagine the monks taking prayers in the cloisters or sleeping in the dormitories. We were lucky enough to visit this place at exactly the right time as it was almost deserted, which added to the spiritual feeling here.
As we headed to our next destination, we made a stop at the pretty village of Semur-en-Auxois, complete with a 13th century castle in the middle. There's a lot that remains from many, many years ago, as we noticed when the road we were driving along suddenly turned to cobbles. The Notre-Dame church is another superb sight here, again dating from the 13th and 14th centuries. We left here, feeling very glad that we'd taken this unintentional diversion.
Our final stop in Burgundy was Beaune and there was one reason that I wanted to come here, the Hotel Dieu, or God's hotel. As the name suggests, it was once home to a hospice, which was established in the 15th century. Not only is it fascinating to see how people were treated back in those days, something I would never want to go through, but it's set in a beautiful building. The real draw here is, surprisingly enough, its roof. It’s not often you say that, but it’s true here. The building's roof is made from geometric multi-coloured Burgundian roof tiles, which are exceptionally striking.
The town itself was a lovely little place, very typically French, complete with an open air market and lots of patisseries, offering wonderfully tempting treats. Of course, we couldn’t resist and had to enjoy one while we were there!
Burgundy turned out to be a real treat for us. It's not somewhere that I knew much about before we went there, but it's definitely somewhere I'd recommend to anyone. Although I did try to speak French whenever and wherever possible, we found that the vast majority of people speak English. It's a place of contrasts -- some lovely quiet areas of countryside with stunning views, along with some towns and cities that still have their historic hearts well and truly intact. One of the guidebooks I bought before our trip described Burgundy as "arguably France's richest province -- historically, culturally, gastronomically, and economically" and I'd thoroughly endorse that as a good description of the region.
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
Although I did try to speak French whenever and wherever possible, we found that the vast majority of people speak English."
Thank you SO much for mentioning this! It always frustrates me that so few articles written about international travel do not mention whether the author speaks the local language and/or if the locals speak English. It's not that I expect the world to accommodate me in speaking English, but especially when traveling off the beaten path it is helpful to know in advance how much a potential language barrier is going to come in to play.
Thanks Cheryl for great article on Burgundy. The descriptions were fantastic and you make me feel as I was there. Although, I have been to Paris a few times, I have never been to this part of France and is where I would love to visit one day and explore regions of France like this, Provence, Brittany and the Cote d'Zur.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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