Paris to Beaune

26-9-07. We had our last day in Paris yesterday. A blast, with lots to see. But we're kind of happy to be in the countryside now.

Yesterday we started with croissants and cafe, of course, then on to the Place de la Concorde. Marrie Antoinette lost her head here.

We decided to skip the Louvre and its crowds, and opted instead for le Musee de Orsay. Basically, it picks up where the Louvre left off - with the impressionists. Cool stuff, lots of Monet, Van Gogh, Gaugin, Talouse Letrec, etc.


After, we made a quick stop on the Left Bank for some shoes (oh, so many shoes....), then hopped the metro to Monmartre. Sacre Ceoure, and a quick pass by the Moulin Rouge.

Then, back to Marais, our favorite area of Paris - narrow streets instead of wide boulevards, quaint cafes and bistros. We stumbled upon a tiny little restaurant called Page 35. Wow. Amazing meal - Jeff had Bouef Bourguignon, Melissa the Confit de Canard. Beet Salad, Chevre Salad, Creme Brule, Ahhhhh. Must go back...

We called it an early night (back to the hotel by midnight) so we could get up this morning for the Renault Scenic that we rented for the rest of the trip. Driving out of Paris was a little crazy, but after a few kilometers we were in the beautiful Burgundy region. We pushed through to the heart of the region, Beaune, snapping picture after picture of Chateaus that we passed.

Beaune is a beautiful little walled town, narrow streets with gourmet markets and soooooo much wine. We settled into the Hotel de Rampart. Ancient exposed wood beams and crumbling brickwork. First stop, the wine cellars of Marche de Vin, where we toured the old caves with our own tastevins (little silver wine tasting cups) and tried no fewer than sixteen wines.

The rains came again, but we soldered on, wandering the town and its shops, eating cheese and baguette. After a nice dinner we were done for the day, and happy to settle in to our hotel for the night. Tomorrow, on to Annecy and then Chamonix for the night.