Back to Beaune and in the Saddle...Again!

August 28th and 29th

Time to bid Paris adieu and get back to Beaune. We took the TGV from Gare de Lyon to Dijon and then the local TER from Dijon to Beaune and were back in time for lunch.  We unpacked and went off to do some laundry and take a short walk about town before dinner at Le Carnot.  Tonight we both ordered the duck breast (magret) with a creme de cassis sauce served over very buttery mashed potatoes.  Jay doesn't usually like mashed potatoes but I think he was close to licking the plate!  The rose wine we ordered from Provence was a perfect match.

A hot air balloon flew by as we were dining

Our first ride back on the bikes after a 4 day break was along the Doubs river from Baume-les-Dames to Besancon.  We drove to Besancon (a little over an hour) and parked at the Gare Nord Parking and took to the train to Baume-les-Dames and rode 40km back.  A few kilometers before we reached Besancon we stopped for a coke at a trailside cafe and had a nice little chat with the owner.  He told us we were only the second Americans to stop at his cafe in the last 3 years.  

I told Jay that we need to explore the city of Besancon a little more.  There is a vibrant city center and the citadel up on the hill has always fascinated me the way it dominates the skyline when you come into the city.  

After getting back we dined at our “go to” place, Le Monge.  The restaurant is named for a famous mathematician who invented "descriptiive geometry, the study of the mathematical principles of representing three-dimensional objects in a two-dimensional plane."  That's a mouthful!  Speaking of mouthfuls...Jay had Boeuf Bourguignon and I had the Oeufs en Meurette once more because I just can't get enough of that delicious red wine sauce!

Cute little 1948 Citreon we spotted as we rode by

Our lunch spot today with a steel factory on

one side and the church above on the other

Our new friends at the Bistro du Barrage