Our New Friend, Clement
August 22nd
We had a quick break from biking to do laundry, get groceries, walk the route to my cooking class next week (so I won't get lost and end up late) and dinner at our local favorite bar. Bar 66 in the main square has a few high tables that we love because they are great for people watching. The only problem is that three of the tables are usually reserved for the owner and friends but tonight they were empty so we promptly sat down. A few minutes later our favorite waiter came by and placed "reserved" signs on the other two tables. Uh oh...we thought we might be in trouble but he assured us we were fine. As the evening progressed he told us the tables are usually saved for the usual customers and I told him I thought we had become usual customers. He said "local" usual customers with a grin. He finally told us his name, Clement, so maybe now we are considered "local" enough to sit at the special tables? Bar 66 specializes in giant charcuterie platters but we chose the caprese to start with and finished with the jambon persille pate. A nice ending to a low key day.
Driving Hints and Other Useful Information?
August 23rd
We drove to Dijon Plage today to start our ride out to Pont de Pany. Most days we either take a train to start our rides or drive to a place to start. Many times we are on the toll roads. In the past the toll booths could be quite a challenge because some you threw money in and others you picked up a ticket. So far this year it has been very simple. Each toll booth has a green T for the lane that is open and a button to push for your ticket. When you exit the toll road, again you look for the green T, put your ticket in the lighted slot and tap your credit card. This makes life a lot less hectic. There's no fear of holding up a long line of cars while you figure out what to do next.
Parking is always an issue so I am trying to put specifics in my notes this year. The Burgundy Canal runs right along the lake at the west end of Dijon so we wanted to park nearby. We found a parking lot adjacent to the trail on google maps in satellite mode and parked. There were actually several lots just like ours all along the lake. We started on what we thought was the correct trail but it wasn't along the canal so we turned around and discovered another trail adjacent to the canal. We were able to ride along the canal all the way to Pont de Pany. In the town of Fleurey sur Oche there is also a little parking lot next to a lovely flowered bridge over the canal. The canal was gorgeous and our 40km ride was just the right distance.
On our return to Beaune we were in need of caffeine so stopped at Le Carnot for a grande cafe creme. Coffee in France is interesting because you never know if you'll get a large cup or a small one. Sometimes a wait person will ask if you want a large (grande) or small(petit) but usually they just bring it to you. You can order a cafe latte but that's not usually how the locals order. They order a "cafe creme" which is coffee with some steamed milk. If you order a cafe au last that usually comes with a little pitcher of cold milk, not my favorite. If you drink your coffee black and you don't want a very strong expresso drink you can ask for an Americano. More often than not a little treat accompanies your coffee and when there is none it's a little disappointing. We do love our coffee breaks, almost as much as wine time...almost. 😂
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| Jay had a cafe latte and I, the cafe creme |
Dinner at Le Coq Blue was wonderful and chatting with two gentlemen from the south of France at the table next to us was very fun. They were English teachers who have taught in many unusual places...Morocco, Georgia (the country) and Albania to name a few.
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| Yet another Salade du Chèvre |
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| Jay chose the pork shoulder in Epoisse sauce...yum! |
Another great day in the books!
Bargeless in Burgundy
August 24th
Well it was almost bargeless...we only saw one barge in the port at Port Royal after our ride from Pouilly en Auxois. The ride was on a great surface for about 37km. We stopped to take a photo and a frenchman stopped to ask us about our bikes. He picked mine up and was surprised at how light is was even with my motor and batteries. Jay asked him if he had a motor under all his camping gear and he pointed to his legs! We all got a good laugh out of that one.
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These trees are a puzzle...we can't figure out if they are supposed to look like this or have a disease? |
We finally were able to have dinner at the little cafe down a few door on our street, Le Petit Paradis. They are usually on vacation when we are in Beaune so we were happy they came back before we had to leave. The food was tasty and the wine was a very good rose from Provence. The couple next to us was from Auckland, New Zealand so we had another fun evening of conversation with fellow travelers.
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| Jay's yummy salmon appetizer |
We are off to Paris tomorrow to meet up with my college friends, Barb and Darlene so need to get packed up for our 3 day adventure with them. I'm so excited to share Paris with them!
