We arrived in Beaune to find it small (compared to Paris!) but quaint and pleasant. The weather was perfect, and streets were filled with more locals than tourists. Wine and all things related to wine seem to be the town's livelihood. We knew we'd like it :) That night, we had one of my best meals (if not the best) of the trip in a Wine Cave (shop). Traditional southern French cuisine, escargot burguignon, beef burguignon and a tasty chocolate tart along with 3 different glasses of the region's red wine. I don't think I've had food like this ever, anywhere else! Quoc had a salad, and their version of the duck confit which he loved. We sat at a communal table, where we met an Australian couple who were extremely good company. The electricity went out momentarily during dinner, and suddenly, the whole restaurant burst into the same French song, as if planned. Later, it was explained to me that it's a well known drinking song, sang whenever someone drops a glass or an accident happens. Curious but fun!
We rented bikes the next morning, based on the recommendation of our guide book. Once again, Rick Steves was right on! The rental guy was a curious fellow, quiet, melancholic sounding but warmed up nicely after we mentioned we like Salvadore Dali. He recommended and drew out our route for wine tasting and got us free admission to the Dali exhibit in one of the vineyards.
Off we went. I had to remind myself that I'm not on my mountain bike. Once out of town, the view was breath-taking. Miles and miles of grape vines with little farm houses dotted the hills. Our route was for bikes only, and we stopped quite often to take pictures. After stopping at the first two vineyards and obtaining a premier cru bottle of Pommard pinot noir, we stopped along a bench to have our picnic. Having forgotten glasses, we drank out of the bottle (no one else seemed to mind), chewed on a freshly made baguette, along with goat and camembert cheeses and pate campagne (country styled liver pate) oh and a leg of chicken. Simple and delicious!
Onto the next town, sweeping views, cool air, and so we obtained another bottle- premier cru chardonnay. And we ran into that pleasant Australian couple again. It was a small town. They too were biking and drinking. Surprise we didn't get into an accident, drinking and biking :)
My friend Anne (an osteopathic physician from Lyon) drove down to meet us for dinner that night. I had frog legs with garlic and parsley- yum, and Quoc had some prawns dish and again good wine.
It was sad to leave Beaune. We were relaxed there, among wine connoisseurs, and where French food was perfected. People are nice and we were out of the self-imposed fast paced sight seeing frenzy. I wish we had more time there. But off we went, onto the only night train out of town. Next stop, Venice, Italy.
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