Minotel Des Ducs Dijon

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 ...

... easily but finding parking made us take one too many turns around the first wine hall which made me eager to get out of the car. It was only 10:30am so we had to wait 30 minutes until the next tour. Finally we we paid and were handed fancy wine glasses with the emblem of the place engraved (we tried to keep them but we weren't allowed). Angela's mom picked this as stop number one because it was advertised as a learning experience and not just a drinking experience. The ...

I only stayed for one night here because there was nothing in particular that I wanted to see, I just came to see what it was like. I caught the train back to Paris and had to use a different train station because Paris has several, all of which have trains going to certain places. My metro ticket should have expired but the other morning it had worked so I tried it again. After a couple of goes it was accepted, Yes! Machines can be foiled, and then 'stole' my way to Gare De ...

... 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 ...

... which was lit up quite spookily. Beaune is a place we would definitely like to come back to and to explore properly. <br><br>We only had time to walk around a small part of the town, but it seemed quite sleepy: the bars were closing up at about 10.30pm. We trooped back to the campsite and had a late beer sat by the Bongo. Toppling into the van to sleep we were both shocked at how warm it still was - sleep seemed ...

... pas et, sur le conseil d'un chauffeur de bus, je prends la Liane 5 (nom de la bus, apparemment) vers les Galeries Lafayette, correspondance avec la 4. Mon hôtel est vraiment creux en banlieue dijonnaise ; après presque trente minutes, j'arrive dans la zone industrielle, et j'ai encore à marcher dix minutes pour arriver au Hotel Stars Dijon, un 1 étoile qui me coûte 35&euro; par nuit, mais où j'ai une chambre à moi... petite gâterie de fin de parcours ...

... some nice dinners, relaxed, I showed her a bit of Dijon, we visited a church that I hadnt been to yet which was a lovely little find. Saturday night was Homecoming back in the homeland of Stillwater. Of course I was having serious Homecoming-withdrawls so having her around was awesome ...

... it was expensive and I stuck out like a sore thumb. Basically, do your research on Belgian beer before you go and you might want to go to a bar just off the beaten path. There are a lot of pubs and bars in Brussels to where you can find authentic beer so no probs there and ordering it by the pint I'm sure is cheaper than that sampler for 12 euros that I ordered at that bar off of Grande Place. Also, you can always buy a brewsky to take back to the hotel at a ...

... your groceries for you. In the kitchenette down the hall, I have my own fridge, so I bought yogurt today...for some reason it tastes SOOO much better over here. I also bought some pain aux raisins...YUM! Sunday Yesterday we went back into centre-ville (i.e., down-town Dijon) to do a little more sightseeing. In the morning it rained, so after a quick walk through the market, Courtney and I headed to the renowned Musée des Beaux-Arts. After that we did some window ...

... rainstorms before, but I didn't expect this in France. What hit me was extreme and was the sort of thing that makes people stop and come to the window to watch. If they did they would see a drowned rat on a bicycle sporting a florescent top. I didn't put my waterproof bottoms on and when I realized I should have it was too late. Stopping to open my pannier would have drenched everything else. I had to continue and ride it out. Oddly, I ...