Castles and Churches 

September 14th

Riding down to Cluny from Cormatin and just beyond had some interesting features.  The main one of course is the Cluny Abbey.  We rode over to the visitor center and discovered the entrance was way on the other side of town.  Getting through the narrow cobbled streets with lots of pedestrians and cars was tricky and then we started to climb up a hill and by then Jay was done so we opted to settle for a great long distance photo of the Abbey from the bike trail rather than a tour.  We will try again another time.  The trail just beyond Cluny starts climbing up and down for about another 5 miles before reaching a tunnel that is not recommended for most cyclists so we stopped short of that and made our way back to the car in Cormatin.  

Cluny Abbey

As we approached our parking spot we looked to our right and had the most magnificent view of the Chateau Cormatin.  We're not sure how we missed it going by the first time?  When we arrived back at the car there was a swarm of some kind of insect all around the car.  I ran/rode for the hills to escape them and Jay bravely walked back to move the car away from this infestation.  We loaded up the bikes just a short distance away where no bugs were to be found which was a bit of a surprise, albeit a pleasant one.

Chateau Cormatin

On our drive back to Beaune we passed through the little village of Sercy and almost missed another incredible Chateau, the Chateau Sercy.  It is very picturesque and we put it on our list of castles to visit in the future.  I think we will have to stay another month to visit all the places we've ridden and driven by but didn't have the time to stop.

Church next to Chateau Sercy

Chateau Sercy

Because this was our last night in Beaune we revisited the Bar 66 for a last aperitif before enjoying great salads at the Brasserie Carnot.  We sat next to the lovely British couple we had met at a wine bar the night before. It's such fun to chat with people who love to travel and share their experiences.  They were going back to the UK the next day but since they drove they had loaded up with good wines to take home.  Lucky them!