Ermitage Corton Beaune

... really got what, but it all tasted good.<br><br>Our trip to Burgundy would not be complete without a stop in Nuit-St. George, where we again employed the "look for the sign of whoever is open" tactic and were not dissapointed. We got to try some excellent Pinot, C******nay, and even some Aligote (a white that they mix with Creme de Cassis for an aperitif) from some of the local producers. <br>Now its up to Champagne!

... operating room, and the pharmacy but my favorite was the courtyard. The most incredible tiled roof ever! It was so colorful. I have never seen anything like that. In a way it makes me think of Germany but its completely French.<br><br>It was an unusually cold day in Beaune so after touring the Hotel we looked for a warm spot to eat lunch. The first place we came to had a 20 minute wait so we looked into option 2. Tracy and I walked around the square where the market had ...

... however those ticket bays looked angrier and more modern, and as I knew it would, wouldn't let me OUT of the metro so I had to wait until someone entered and while the doors were still open get out.<br> I had about five hours to spend in Paris but I wasn't feeling too well so I went and put my head down in the nearby park, yet it was too cold and windy so I spent the rest of the time in the train station. The bad thing about the French trains is that they won't announce ...

... distance. (Or anything else, come to that!).<br><br>18th July 09 Giffaumont-Champaubert 48.33'15"N 4.45'55"E<br>Free parking at a leisure park on a huge lake.<br><br>20th July 09 Piney, near Troyes 48.21'30"N4.20'05"E<br><br>21st July 09 Sens 48.11'53"N3.17'24"E <br>At last we have arrived in Burgundy. At the moment our intention is to explore the Bourgogne unti our return in October. However, plans can change....<br>Sens is a pleasant town with a ...

... The Hotel Dieu had two wards, one for the poor with small beds made for two, and the other for the rich with larger beds and "skylights" in the draperies so they could admire the ceiling art. The Pauper's Ward had a large chapel so patients could pray and prepare for death. The patients in the rich man's ward were more likely to survive and therefore had no chapel to repent. Both ward were served by an ...

... 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>

... lost in these caves. After learning all about the Burgundy region and its wines, we were able to taste two white wines and six red ones. I only ended up enjoying the last red which was naturally the most expensive. It was a Grand Cru which is apparently a type of wine from the best fields in the area. Lunch was also served in the caves. I sat with Em, Josselyn, Bev, Mark, Will, Keith, and Karli. It was a very diverse and entertaining crowd; we ...

... most impressive, cleanest, and coolest wineries I've ever gone to. Thanks Bryan and Bryan's poppa! Anthony then directed us to Aloxe-Corton, where we had some more tastings. He also said that if we told other wineries where we came from (LJ), that it gave us some credence, and that wineries would be more open to allowing us to taste. This area is not really and area that you can go around and taste, like in Napa ...

... all of assorted reds and whites. With day one in the books, David and Lynn dropped me at my hotel where I bid adieu to Andrew and Jill. As it turned out, they ended up not continuing the tour the next day as Jill wasn't feeling well. After a brief rest, I set out to see what Beaune looked like in the daylight. I was able to thoroughly cover the town in less than an hour. Each turn provided charming views of rugged stone buildings lining the quiet avenues. The center square was ...

... and enjoying the sun. A lot of the tasting rooms were situated in massive chateaus or in underground cellars, which were worth the trip alone. The countryside was stunningly beautiful and with rivers, old buildings, and lush vines visible in every direction. We did a loop, which was about 20km, and in that area there was 200 wineries to choose from. The roads were dead and we took a packed lunch with us with olives, fresh bread and pastries ...