Visit to Bourgogne - Part 1 (Saturday)

We spent last weekend traveling around in Bourgogne, which is about 3 hours away from Paris.

Our first stop was in Beaune, one of the cities in Bourgogne famous for its wines. After a yummy lunch in a restaurant (where I had chocolate ice cream for the first time in Paris), we went to see "Les Hospices," which was a hospital from 1443 until 1971. More than 500 years!

Les Hospices de Beaune (also known as Hostel-Dieu de Beaune).

Rooftops of the Hospices.

Inside. On the right, those are all the beds for the patients, separated by curtains. They're really short by today's standards.

Surgical instruments from long-ago -- a wee bit frightening...

Rooftops.

A moment in life.

Afterwards we went to the Reine Pédauque for a wine-tasting. The cellar was mysterious, humid and dark, with mossy walls. (No photos from inside because my camera does not cooperate with near-darkness.) Their lighting fixture was made of empty wine bottles :). I found the following sign in one of the aisles:

Meursault Charmes

Ce grand vin, comme vous Mesdames, est proprietaire de multiples...charmes

(This great wine, just like you, my Ladies, possesses many...charms)

Katie and I at the wine tasting.

We tried 3 wines -- St. Véran (white), Ladoix and Mercurey (both red), and 2 liqueurs -- de cassis (black currant) and de la prunelle sauvage (wild plum? sloe??). (I think culinary vocabulary has been one of the bigger language challenges. Host family likes to have unusual things for dinner and they are often quite amused when we don't understand what it is even after they translate it into English.)

Notes from the tour of the cellar:

--Wine tasting involves three things: looking at color against the light, smelling the wine, swirling it around and smelling some more, and finally tasting it.

--Most wines are kept for around 2 years, some up to 8, and several very expensive ones even longer.

--1947 was a very good year for wine in Bourgogne. They are now super-expensive (500 euros, if I heard correctly...I actually thought it'd be more). The Americans used to be at the forefront of the market (I'm not sure which...just for the 1947 wines?? See how awesome it is to understand half the conversation?), then the Japanese, and now apparently the Russians.

Au revoir, Beaune...

We (well, at least Mariana and I) wished for our hotel to be in the middle of nowhere, and it most definitely was. It is a good feeling to be out in the fields, surrounded by thick fog and complete darkness!

Waiting for dinner at the Bergerie.

I don't think anyone can resist munching on French bread, so it is gone as soon as it appears (which reminds me of the sentiments of Winnie the Pooh regarding honey :)). The rest of dinner included endive salad with sauce, potatoes, chicken and fish, then munster cheese and bread, wine, and an éclair for dessert. After everyone was warm and happy, we learned several (naughty :)) French songs from our professor-turned-tour-guide.

The next morning Mariana and I wandered near our hotel after breakfast, in the cold, peace and quiet.

Chenôve.

On the road again... Sunday adventures will be another post.