Campanile Beaune

... is that everything closes for lunch from 12 to 2. They are serious on their lunchtime here, and when its raining and there's not much sightseeing to do in the small towns, well, lets just say we were lucky to have enough wine to get us through it. We also tried a proper french dinner in the town of Beaune, a 4 course meal for 12 Euros. Caity got Rabbit and Tom got Veal, or so we thought. We still aren't sure ...

... was very nice and explained so many things to us that it was a bit overwhelming at times. I found it very interesting though as he related everything to our 5 senses. I didn't really buy the sound aspect buy the idea of taste (obviously), touch, smell, and sight all play a role in decoding a particular wine. We tested our sense of smell in one room while he discussed the numerous colors wine can take depending on age in another. Along the way we got to taste a few ...

... platform until 15 minutes before and my train was very long, it took almost five minites to get to the last carriage. It was the secnd TGV train I have been on (the first was from Luxembourg to Paris. They are the fastest trains in the world. I have been told that the most recent trial had the train travelling faster than a plane (however the rails couldn't handle it). <br>From Paris to Dijon it only tok an hour and a half, the Ice trains in Germany would have taken at least ...

... so we rode in. Pastis and a (small) glass of rose for 2.20eu. Bit of a difference to Troyes where we were charged 8.10eu for a beer and a cold cafe au lait.<br>The site is fre but requires tokens for electricity (3eu for 1 hour) and water (3eu for 100 litres).This is pricey by French standards (the usual charge for 100ltrs of water - where not free - being no more than 1eu) but not too bad for such an attractive site.<br>One novelty spotted - a large BMW ...

... medieval Phillipean castle and explained the evolution of castle defenses. It was thoroughly enjoyable, though it would have been better had it not been 30+ degrees on the dry and dusty construction site.<br><br>After leaving Guedelon, we headed for our home base for the next two nights, the city of Beaune. Beaune is a small city of 25K in the heart of Bungundy. After checking into our hotel, we ventured into ...

... of a young virginal Kev who had not experienced such nightly actitivies before. <br> The first at the helm was Rich who with expert double d-cluthing gently stroked the tutti<br>frutti of the accelerator pedel and teased the engine throttling the life out the 998cc <br>much to the concern of Kev. IN full forseto tones Kev was heard to exclaim "dont break it<br>don't break it.......I not had a go yet". Finally all of Kev's dreams were fulfilled as<br ...

... to say the least, but the next thing I knew... <br><br>...it was quarter-to-nine, Friday morning! We had blithely planned an early monring kick-off - but so much for bold plans! Still, by 10.15 we had hit a Carrefour supermarket for munchies, filled up with diesel (still seeming delightfully cheap!) and been amused by a regrettably named German coach in the supermarket car park. Soon we were heading south once more. <br>

... bumping down. Those wheels are working hard. Its much colder too as though we've gained altitude; still clear. The wind is stronger too. Finding the camp site was fairly easy thanks to a town map and signposts. Its small and the ground is incredibly dry. However it is an almost original walled city with lots of old buildings and a few American tourists. The tourist was even open at lunchtimes. This is the old capital of winegrowing Burgundy so there are also ...

17th - 18th November 2006, Beaune, Burgundy, France It had started raining the night before and as we drove the short distance to the French border, it had no intention of stopping. Our electrical problems of a few weeks prior (see our entry for Cefalu) had raised its ugly head again and we were having trouble getting the car started and were concerned that it may stop altogether. So, we took the first exit off the freeway in France and went in search of a ...

... following the stone pathway between the two structures. There was ample outdoor seating tucked into little nooks between substantial shrubbery and a few fountains, all of which was lit beautifully with small lamps hugging the footpath. It was far too cool to seriously entertain the idea of dining alfresco but, it did look tempting. I entered the one-time residence, a grand mansion, and was greeted by the maître d'hôtel. He showed me to my table in one of the back rooms which ...