Sister City #1: Chambolle-Musigny, France
Thoughts on being welcomed by strangers:
For a town with just over 300 inhabitants, you might think the citizens would be suspicious of outsiders.
All they knew was that 10 years after the last visit they could remember, a young man from Sonoma was coming to their doorstep and wanted to talk with them.
But when I did make it to Chambolle-Musigny, we were soon having a typical lunch, drinking local wine, and reminiscing about trips to Sonoma.
Interview with Jean-Pierre, who invited me to his home to drink home-made wine, eat home-made salami, and to talk about his home.
The village lies in the heart of Burgundy’s wine growing region, the home of grand crus known throughout France and perhaps the world.
Dijon, just to the north, is the closest city. Nuits-St.-Georges, is considered the closest big town with 6,000 inhabitants.
For France this is not unusual, but despite its relatively small, rural population, “Ici c’est le centre du monde,” was one of my host’s refrains. Here is the center of the world. They were proud of where they live.
In this episode, I got the chance to speak with several of Chambolle’s citizens: three statesmen of the sister city organization Lucien, Regis, and Henri, who sat with me for brief interviews, as did Henri’s granddaughter Pauline.
They each told me more about their stories, about what it was like growing up in this town – even what it was like to find love here.
The point of this voyage to visit sister cities is an effort to strengthen the bridges between our communities, to show how connected we really are.
What I didn’t realize was how strong these ties, although somewhat weakened by covid and time, were.
Chambolle-Musigny Welcoming committee! From left to right: Lucien, Pauline, Regis, Henri.
One night we had dinner at Lucien’s house. Four other friends and neighbors were there including the mayor, François. At first, they began talking about typical small-town political decisions: parking, schools, building codes. But then, as we approached dessert, I asked them if any had been to Sonoma, and if there were any stories they remember.
This launched the conversation into the stratosphere with each one trying to outdo the other, recalling everything from homemade signs welcoming them to the plaza, to trips to Yosemite, to raucous moments of fun.
For them, Sonoma is a real place, a part of their cultural landscape that they hold dear to their hearts.
Many of them had been there three or four times and wish they could go back again soon.
More than anything else this helped solidify the importance of these sister city connections to me. It highlighted the power that a cultural exchange can have on people who might otherwise never meet, and it left a lasting impact as I recall my time in Chambolle-Musigny.
I hope you’ll enjoy this episode, one which attempts to tell some of the stories of this exchange, to rekindle the spark of friendship between our cities, and to pay tribute to some of the people who helped make it unforgettable.
Salut,
Francisco
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Standing in front of the city sign, below which is a familiar name.