Des Remparts Hotel Beaune

Yes it is true. We worked our way up to Beaune, and just like in the Rhone, have not been dissapointed at all. We explored the tiny towns of Pommard, Volnay, Mersault, and Satenay, and got to try some amazing wine from all places. We even tried a place in Pommard and then headed over to his son's winery in Mersault (the son's was actually better than his Dad's stuff!) The only word of caution if you come wine tasting ...

... for a week and Angela and I were ready to get out of the city and taste some wine!<br><br>Friday night we ate at a local place near Angela's and my building that we have been eying for a while. Its a little Italian place which proved to be an excellent decision. Friday night we stayed at the time share Angela's mom had on the outskirts of Paris in order to minimize the commute in the morning since our goal was to leave around 7:30am. You read that right, 7:30am. To ...

... been travelling another line and wasn't going to stop at where I needed to be. The hostel never bothered to tell me that the bus deviates from line 4 after 2000. This stop however according to the bus route map was only a street away from where I needed to be. Phew! A little sweat on the brow there.<br>Then I spent an hour looking for some place to eat after being directed by the receptionist that there was Pizza 'just across the street'. Being at an intersection; there were ...

... Cube' we had left Belgium for ran out, leaving us with a fridge only functional when on the move. This time we had a much longer drive to France than previously -some 350 miles. Off we set, stopping on route at Frankenberg/Eder and Thalfang, reaching Clermont-En-Argonne (49.07'15"N 5.02'13.8"E). For 5eu on a spotlessly clean aire we have electricity for 24hrs, as muc water as we want, toilets and showers. The only drawback being no cafe/bar within ...

... kitchen and pharmacy, all run by nuns.<br><br>After touring the hospice, we did a little shopping (OK, I did a little shopping and Attila did a little waiting). In trying to pay for my purchase, I discovered a compatibilty probelm with the chip in my Visa. Apparently France hasbeen using the chip for quite some time and some of the readers are not compatible with our new chips in North America. Anyway, it ...

... easy enough to get this right on the motorways, ********* junctions of smaller roads! But the mistake lasted only a few seconds and the surprised French driver who alerted us to the mistake was really nice about it, slowing down gently as I eased (well, lurched) to the right side of the road, and not even offering a corrective beep - very polite indeed in the circumstances.<br><br>The last stretch of our day's journey ...

... us a great dinner, and we proceeded to play drinking games with wine. Somehow we managed to drink like 17 liters of wine ... yikes! This also allowed for a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday to my mom. Saturday we got up at the crack of 10:00 and headed out for more drinking around noon. When we left the house (up in the mountains) it was sunny and beautiful ...

... The foods of Burgundy are my absolute favorites when it comes to French cuisine, so we went to a restaurant on the main square for some coq au vin (chicken in wine), boeuf Bourguignon (beef Burgundy), and escargots Bourguignon (snails in hot garlic butter). The restaurant looked perfectly French with high, red wine walls; vintage poster ads; and a big, brassy chandelier hanging in the center of the room. The place was packed, the kitchen was slow, and I had had better ...

... in which the vineyards are situated. Premier Cru (often written as, 1er Cru) appellations account for only 12% of all Burgundy and will bear the village name and the actual vineyard name. Finally Grand Cru, which constitutes just 2% of the total, will always carry the name of the actual vineyard. The two main grape varietals grown here are Pinot Noir and C******nay. A limited amount of Gamay and Pinot Blanc is also grown and sometimes used for blending. The total average ...