So Thursday was a national holiday here, but not a religious holiday, according to the powers that know, though, I am curious as it's called Fete d'Ascension and corresponds with the Christian holiday of Christ rising up ...but never mind that. So, as I said Thursday was a national holiday, so that makes Friday - a holiday, too. Don't you love this? Did I mention that there were 3 such occurrences in the month of May, whoohooo. Who needs to work?
Anyway,we took advantage of this opportunity to go to Bourgogne (Burgundy) and visit some beautiful wine country, saw some classic 14th century tapestries and cathedrals, the hospital in Beaune, looked for mustard in Dijon and met a great couple from Brussels who are Polish and from Luxembourg. And did I mention that we had some really good food and great and not so great wine?
We stayed at two B&Bs that could not have been more different, but were both very nice. The first one was run by a man who reminded me of Dad with all kinds of things going on, including that he had a vice in his driveway and a huge vegetable garden. He had added 4 bedrooms and baths and a kitchen and dining room to his house, in this tiny little village well off the beaten track. He had quite the gig going as he was connected with all the local wine houses, who offered his guests wine tastings if they were interested, he was also a local guide for travelers on foot or car, and I bet there were a few other businesses we didn't hear about!
The other B&B was a large chateau-like building in a compound of houses that apparently had been in the family for many generations, and a 35-ish year old man and woman were renovating the chateau as their business. The theme was the middle ages and the decor was middle ages shabby chic, very cleverly done. We slept in an exquisite chamber that had a loft for the bed -- up a steep ladder with a door from an ancient prison to keep you from falling down the ladder in the middle of the night. The tapestry hanging on the wall was new, but was beautiful, and all the trappings were gorgeous. It was so peaceful there, I wished we were going to spend the day in the yard reading and sipping, instead of sight seeing.
As part of the trip we took the tandem, and made a 65 km loop from the first B&B through Bourgogne. We started out on the wine workers' road through the vineyards. Here is a view from up above, after we climbed for quite a while.
I will write more later, but for now, I have a friend in from the US, and we are heading for Paris. Life has become very full for us, and while I am not surprised, it doesn't leave much time for the blogging obligations.... talk to you soon.
