Hotel Stars Beaune

... us we all agreed on just a quick stop at a nearby Abbey that was on the way back to Paris. Driving through the French countryside was beautiful but since it was another foggy day it was scary at times on those winding roads. We never actually found the Abbey but we did come across a Chateau. We didn't get out of the car since Angela's mom was nervous about returning the car on time. The ride back to Paris was pretty bleak and boring due to the rainy weather and the one ...

... hours. <br>I got to Dijon at about 1840. My guidebook said the tourist office would be open until 1900 so I could get a map but it closed at 1830. Luckily I had copied down the directions to the hostel from the internet just in case. I had to take two buses. However, the second bus' monitor wasn't working and it was only by chance that I turned to look at the name of the next stop which I thought was mine, and so got out. Lucky I did though because I found that the bus ...

... 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 ...

Today we left Paris and headed for Burgundy. Our first stop was the historic project Le Chateau Guedelon. It is a medieval castle, built using medieval tools and tradesmen, but started in 1997. It is an active construction site as stone masons, rope markers, carpenters, tile makers, and laboureres all work to build this castle. It was fascinating. Our guide explained the different techniques in building an ...

... 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 ...

... he has re named "euro poof pants".. they are hysterical I have to say and make the Aussie budgie smugglers look the height of sartorial fashion. Why on earth they make man and boy cram themselves into these hideous things I know not! I did question the pool attendent in my **** French but she merely shrugged and said it's "the law and forbidden to wear those long shorts"....I'm sure JP Gaultier ...

... Beaune the guide informs us that the wine is stored in passageways under the city, that there are 100 km of passages and millions of bottles of wine stored under Beaune. We were lucky to be on a mixed German-English bus. While the guide delivered the German tour through the Hotel de ville, we had a blessed 40 minutes to find the Marche aux vins which I'd read about in Rick Steves. The ...

... we arrived at a decent sized outpost with nothing else in the immediate vicinity, seemingly for miles. It was here we were to lunch. As we entered, I was confused. The décor seemed a bit more Boca Raton than Burgundy to me, owing to the abundance Rattan furniture and pastels in the color scheme. However, we were seated at a nice big table near a window with lovely views of that enchanting countryside. David and Lynn assured us the cuisine on offer here was as authentic Bourgogne ...

... THE mustard capital of the world. It was very exhilarating being where mustard was created. Well...not really but it was a nice little town/city. Luckily we were able to find the town center with more success this time. We spent a few hours walking around. My dad got scammed for some expensive mustard (see Nate's blog for more detail) and my folks and I had a Kir (Liz, you'd be so proud), which is a local specialty made with white wine and black currant liqueur ...