Day 35-37

Day 35-Ervy-le-Chatel to Vezannes- 23kms
JP goes to the bakery for fresh croissants & bread for our breakfast & lunch. We make our own coffee  & I eat the rest of my strawberries I bought at the market yesterday. We start in a light misty sprinkle but not enough to need the rain jacket. More grain fields then while we stop for a break a heavy shower passes thru. We are under shelter but put on our rain gear when we get going again. Down to the canal Bourgogne which we follow for around 3 kms. Boats on the canal for the first time. This canal is 242km long with 189 locks.  We see canola being harvested, off with the heads and straight into the truck, not like in WA where it is cut then lies on the ground to finish off. Up thru the village of Roffey, past the church of St Jacob at Bernouil, then a gentle slope down to the village of Vezannes. Here we enjoy a complimentary bottle of Chablis. We are now in the Chablis appellation area. We chose not to have an evening meal here at €25 each and instead eat what we brought with us. There are other non-pilgrim guests here in a big old farmhouse.

Day 36- Vezannes via Chablis to St-Cyr-les-Colons. 25km
Weather is overcast & threatening rain as we set off. Up the hill and over the TGV train line. Some markings are now on a small square of concrete in the ground and are not always easy to find. Jo is good at finding the way. Fields of maize, lucerne, canola, wheat, barley & oats. Sometimes we follow the GR 654 white on red markings. Gradually upwards, upwards along very stoney farm paths. We come to the vineyards of the Chablis area. The ground in which the vines grow is so stoney you wonder how it can be worked. We gradually descend into Chablis and arrive just as the rain starts. It quickly passes so. We can enjoy the market & get some supplies. While we have our lunch there is another downpour but we are warm & dry. Here when we ask for l'eau du Maison (tap water) we meet a sense of humour and are brought l'eau du Chablis. We pass thru the village of Courgis, along the stoney road, down thru the vineyards then a very steep climb to Prehy where we feast on plump ripe rain washed cherries from an overhanging tree. We descend share again, clay sticking to our boots, then steep up againto St-Cyr-les-Colons. We stay in The municipal gite which has great facilities assisted by a bottle of Chablis.

Day 37-St-Cyr to Arcy-sur-Cure. 22km
Gently upwards as we leave the village behind us. Thru woods & across fields then down into Cravant thru the Porte d'Arbaalt, between the watchtowers of the old ramparts. Here we join an English couple at a bar for coffee. We also buy food for the way, check out the church which is covered in scaffolding and enjoy the beautifully restored half timbered Vakwerkhuizen building. We pass the memorial to the 4500 French & Scottish soldiers who died here on 31July 1423. We see our first sunflowers in bloom, protected by an electric fence which gives me a zap when I touch it with my walking pole. Down into Accolay, past the large ceramic vase on the corner.  Here we have lunch by the river Cure. We cross the bridge, thru the village and follow a path through shady oak & beech forests, alongside but above the river Cure. A couple of donkey's nod as we walk by. In Arcy-sur-Cure we stay in a house just metres from the church, very old. Up 2 flights if very steep, narrow, winding stairs like climbing through a cupboard door, to our spacious, airy room in the attic. Mind your head on the beams.