Monday 28th September
After a very lovely sojourn in Beaune we are now safely esconsed on the train to Paris.
Ewan has never been to Paris and has avoided it on the grounds that it is only for shopping. It took me some time to persuade him to spend three nights there with Jude and Graeme who know it well. Then we will be on the plane to Seville in Spain for our last couple of weeks.
Following Liz's arrival late on Saturday night we had one day to show her the wonders of Beaune.
After a walk around the ramparts, we all squeezed into the Fiat Punto hired from LeClerc supermarket for the princely sum of 5 Euros per day plus 15 cents per kilometre. (However you work that out they are never going to make money from that enterprise!).
Our first destination was the Chateau de chateauneuf and the tiny village surrounding it called Chateau Neuf. The Chateau is able to be seen from the main freeway from Dijon to Beaune, perched high on a hill so we wanted to investigate.
It was a beautiful Chateau and Castle originally from the12th-13th centuries and with various additions and maintenance through progressive owners.
As we wandered through the rooms admiring the huge fireplaces and the views in particular, Ewan emerged from a room and told me to have a good look inside.
Intrigued I went in to find the tomb of a man surrounded by mysterious black-hooded men and. ...the piece de resistance! ....a dog sitting at his feet! All very lovely! The man Philippe Pot had been responsible for the design of the Chateau during its early days and had designed his own tomb. I wondered whether Ewan's interest was a suggestion that if he died I would have to send the dogs off with him, just like the Egyptians. But apparently not according to him: one way or the other I am stuck with those damn dogs!
As you can see from the photos it was a lovely Chateau which had been carefully restored. It had all the characteristic of a charming fortress. turrets, flower boxes, old stone walls and views of the surrounding valleys so you could see the enemy s arriving.
The town, which was built at the same time, was also beautiful and very peaceful. The were some blocks of land which we added to the list of potential places to buy in France, and some impressive walled veggie gardens that seemed very productive. After a wander around in the sun and the serenity, we had a bite to eat for lunch - quiches and crepes - and squeezed back into the car
On the way home we took the 'D' roads - the narrow winding country roads - and wove through the valleys and tiny villages some of which we had ridden through. The grapevines had just started to change into autumn colours and no doubt they will be stunning in a couple of weeks.
Once home Ewan decided that Liz needed to taste some (more) of the local wine so they set off for some wineries. Jude and Graeme pedaled off to catch up with some friends and I went to the Laundromat!
On their return, with Ewan and Liz looking decidedly merrier, we set off for some sustenance, and yet more wine. This is Burgundy after all! A delicious dinner at Dame Tatin restaurant - the Menu de Jour - completed our last day in Beaune.
The next day we had to show Liz the quirky delights of Cafe de L'Abattior so we packed our bags and rattled them across the cobblestones for a quick lunch. A huge pot of terrine again plus camembert melted on crisp toast for entree, followed by chicken and ratatouille and berry creme anglaise. We actually refused the cheese platter this time - all of us groaned at the thought of more cheese!
We dashed to the station and caught the train to Paris to start our whirlwind visit. Our thoroughly enjoyable time in Beaune was over but now we were headed for the delights of Paris.
Your confused correspondent who is now using a mixture of French with EngIish and Spanish to communicate!
Dianne
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