Rain was forecast for 1000h this
morning, and it arrived pretty well on schedule, however it wasn’t real rain.
Due to the long day and late return to Dijon we decided to buy our first brekky
in the motel; and it was worth every €9. Rode away about 0805h.
It’s good to be back on the
bikes, when it’s all said and done this is a bicycle tour, even though we’ve
been doing a lot of walking as it’s more convenient. Today we enter the
Southern Burgundy Wine Region. It's famous for its Burgundy wines as well as
pinot noirs and Chardonnay, Chablis, and Beaujolais. The area is crisscrossed
by a network of canals and studded with grand châteaux, some now luxury hotels.
The capital is Dijon, of mustard fame, where we’ve been for the past three days
and really enjoyed.
Negotiating the peak hour traffic
was a breeze especially when you know that each and every motorist is fully
aware of you on the bike and extremely careful and courteous. Within 5 km we
were into the vineyards and seeing our first grape picking activity for the
Southern Burgundy Region. At 9 km we came across the first Chateau, de
Marsannay. It was still closed at this early hour. From then on, we were deep
within the SB wine region a veritable monoculture of wine grapes, apart from a
couple of very small fields of corn and sugar beet. The parade of pretty little
villages and scores of grand old houses gave me the impression that there a
good bit of Euro in French wine. Luckily, we didn’t have far to ride as there
was a photo opportunity around every bend. It’s a pity that the sun was so shy
today which made for a dull tinge on photos. Never mind, the memories of this
day will remain bright and colourful.
Arrived at the Hotel Beaune at 1420h. It looked very inviting, the reception
lady was helpful and cheerful. Nice to have undercover lockup storage for the
bikes (I don’t like leaving them on the street although they survived ok in
Dijon) and a lovely courtyard to sit and relax. Not that I ever do much of
that.
Took a wander downtown and decided that it was worth an additional day here so
upon returning to the motel Bob booked us in for one more night. Unfortunately,
our current room is booked so we’ll have to move in the morning.
Dinner was a traditional French affair, I had a brawn and salad entrée, poached
cod main with a cheese board to finish. All very nice.
A nice start near Dijon Port Canal
Harvesting of the wine grapes is in full swing in Southern Burgundy
Just checking the grapes are up to the standard required for making a good vintage for 2019; verdict - yes they are good!
An old classic
A very nice cafe cream
Stately old houses around every corner
Vosne-Romanee - a tiny village on our route today
The leaves are changing colour, a good sign that autumn is nearly here
Nuits-Saint-Georges, a lovely village
Chateau de Savigny-les-Beaune. Beside being a nice castle, it has a fantastic collection of all things motorised, including fighter aircraft
Entrance to Chateau de Savigny-les-Beaune
Hotel Beaume courtyard
View from our room
Entrée - brawn (French call it pressed ham) with salad and a balsamic dressing
Main - poached cod with a creamy mustard sauce on a bed of leek, accompanies by some steamed potatoes. Very tasty.
After dinner cheese board - brie coated in crushed mustard seeds, that was delicious, and a Camembert that I could not eat as it was too salty
Our dinner venue. All the wait staff were med; a little too blokey for my liking, but the food was excellent.
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