We’re back on the train heading to Paris, on our second to last
day. This morning we left Beaune,
drove 40 minutes to Dijon, and dropped off our rental car. I’m happy I was able to drive
competently in France, and got us everywhere in one piece. Allison is very proud of me as well, ha
ha. Let’s discuss Beaune, shall
we?
Beaune is the capital city of Burgundy. As you know Allison and I really like
wine. Despite how hard we try, in
the scheme of things we know little about it, especially French wine. It seems all French wine is labeled by
region and town. It’s assumed by
said region what varietal the wine is.
In Burgundy the varietal is typically either Chardonnay or Pinot
Noir. With that said, Burgundy is
very proud of their wine, and rate them by levels, which I’m not going to get
too deep into, but figure, good, better, great, the Beatles! We didn’t have any Beatles, because
that shit is owned by Michael Jackson, and we can’t afford MJ’s prices! We did have some pretty great stuff and
learned quite a bit from the few tastings we did. All of the Burgundy white we had was very good. I suggest if
you like wine, pick up any of their whites and you will like it, even if you
don’t like California Chardonnay.
The reds are a little more tricky.
Here are a few towns we liked for red; Beaune, Auxey Durresses, and
Pollard. That’s about all I
can type about that, maybe 10% of it was correct, but who cares.
Here’s a little about the town: it’s spotless and
gorgeous. And I mean spotless. France has a dog poop problem. In fact, as you get familiarized with a
town, you learn where all the dog mines are and naturally step over them. It’s everywhere, except Beaune, not one
piece of dung. All the buildings are much more uniform,
mostly grey, with nice shutters and flower boxes. It’s a fortified city and you can actually drive/walk around
on the Ramparts, which make for really nice walks and views. There is a wine shop at every turn,
sometimes two or three side by side.
There are also a lot of bakeries.
On a side note, we have learned all the French names for different types
of shops, but I’ve decided to keep this simple. Vineyards surround the town. When I say surrounded, I mean as far as the eye can see in
every direction. Yesterday we
bought some sliced ham, cheese, wine, olives and a baguette, hopped in the car
and started driving through the surrounding towns in search of a nice place to
have lunch with our spread. At a
little intersection in the middle of slope side vineyards, we found a nice little
area with a statue and picnic table.
No ordering, or attempting to use the very little French we know. It was just nice to enjoy each other in
the piece and quiet without distraction.
With all of the grand dining and sites we have experienced, that picnic was
nice and low key and will be very memorable.
In closing, we went into Beaune with high expectations of
wine tours and tastings, although we only did a few and felt a little
overwhelmed (and very underprepared), we had a great experience there and
learned some new info about French wine and how to choose a bottle. We also had a nice romantic picnic,
some amazing dinners and some beautiful sites. We’re almost back to Paris, and we hope to end this
honeymoon off with a few last days of relaxation and love, I’m not going to say
anything else in fears of tempting the gods of chaos. We miss everyone and look forward to sharing our stories in
person, and hearing about what we missed while were we were away. Thanks for following, and the
feedback. Thanks to Joe and Carrie
for looking after the house and the fat cat, it means the world to us. Thanks to Mom and Dad Boisvert
for the rides to and from the airport. I know it’s a pain even if you deny it. Thanks to Mom and Dad Nigro for the
amazing help with the wedding. And
thanks to everyone else who have been great friends and take as much interest
in our lives as we do yours. We’re
so fortunate to have the friends and family we have. Love you all…
Au revoir!
P.S. Thank you to my lovely wife Allison, you are the best
travel companion. You are
extremely easy going and relatively low maintenance ; )…and you talk little
trash about my poor grammar and spelling.
I appreciate your patience when I’m stressed out, or crabby about the
locals. You’ve been good about
photography and mediocre at navigation…I love you and look forward to our next
trip and the rest of our lives!
P.P.S. Get over it Jen Boisvert and anyone else who hates my
sappy stuff ; )
