Beaune, France

Started our time in Beaune (the wine capital of Burgundy wines) with wine tasting and class on Burgundy wines, vineyards and grapes. We tried many of the Premier and Grande Cru which are the top of line wines in Burgundy. It expanded our appreciation of French wine.  I always hated California Chardonnay's but French Chardonnay is a wonderful wine without that nasty oak taste.  

Beaune is a delightful village founded in 1443. It is a very walkable village which is a good thing because driving the narrow, winding streets of cobblestone is not an easy task. Parking is a nightmare and hard to find a spot. We walked everywhere. It was very cool and rainy for several days but still a nice historical village full of wine shops and restaurants.

We stayed in an 18th Century town house.  It was 4 floors with steep stairs to each floor with one room on each level.  The ground floor was the kitchen, two floors of bedrooms, and the top floor was the living room.  We got our work out walking stairs every day.

The French countryside is gorgeous. It's dotted with tiny villages, each with a church. Vineyards are everywhere.  Every small plot of land has grape vines. We loved exploring.

It was harvest season.  People were all over the vineyards picking grapes.  There are processing facilities in every village. Trucks and tractors rule the roads during this time.  Slow going was exactly what we wanted so following a slow truck was perfect for us. Pictures do not do this countryside justice.

We are not museum people but on a rainy day in Beaune it's the thing to do.  This is Hotel Dieu which was a hospital founded in 1443 and now its a hotel and museum. It is famous for its red blanket beds that line its great hall and for the crazy tile roof design. The museum is a collection of the medical facilities, surgery rooms, pharmacy and living quarters of the nuns that ran the place.  Lots of gothic art and tapestries.

The French countryside and wine is what we came for and Beaune provided us a beautiful trip. We hope we can leave the rain behind when we go the Spain to meet up with friends and tour the country. Au revoir France.