In Search of the Perfect Coffee Eclair and Our Trip to Beaune

So much walking the past 24 hours! Yesterday we had over 15,000 steps, and today about 12,000. But the weather is wonderful so it's great to be moving outside.

After lunch yesterday, we wandered the city stopping to pick up a baguette, and vising the mustard store, Edmond Fallot. They had all kinds of different mustards (after all, this is Dijon) and we were able to sample several kinds. Couldn't try the chocolate one, but the ones we did try certainly had a kick. Then Greg was able to find a wonderful coffee eclair. Years ago when we were in France, buying an eclair was a daily event for him, and coffee ones are his fav.

A few random photos around Dijon. The Palais de Ducs in Place de la Liberation (very cool square surrounded with cafes) and a church I want to visit that has all these gargoyles on the front!

We stopped at a tiny but wonderful wine store called Les Clos Vivant. After talking with the guy there, we signed up for their 5 PM Master Class on red wines from Burgundy. So glad we did! It was fascinating, and we learned a lot - especially about how to read and understand the labels of the wine here. We tasted four different wiines and ended with a Grand Cru that costs 200E! Of course, we only had a small taste but it was fabulous!

In comparison to Dijon, Beaune is smaller, more charming, more touristy, and wealthier. Either city would be a good home base for a visit, but the train and bus options are better for us in Dijon. We headed right to the Hotel-Dieu Museum (Hospices de Beaune). I'd seen lots of photos but seeing it in person was wonderful. The tile roof, the hospital chamber, and the history of it all. They had nice audio guides to feed us the information about how it all came to be and on their focus to provide medical care for all people, including the poor.... back in the 1500s. Those nuns really worked hard!

We peeked into the Basilique de Notre Dame, did some window shopping, split a delicious chicken baguette sandwich, and took a few photos. (Again, Greg did not bring his camera so the pix are meh.)

The bus ride home was long and hot, and I nodded off quickly. But the views of the vineyards that I did see were nice, and there were several enormous mansions that I assume must have been owned by the wine producers.

Dinner out tonight. Hope I don't nod off in the middle of it. When will we adjust to this time zone?

P.S. Another quirky thing about our apartment here is that the ceilings are sloped. We are on the top floor of the building (we're basically in the attic), and the peaked ceiling is nice... but there are beams that are about 4 feet off the ground. This means when we get close to the walls, we have to hunch over. We're keeping track of how many times we bonk our heads. So far, Greg is winning 2 to 1. Each bonk is followed by about 5 minutes of swearing and head rubbing.