The Cluny Abbey

June 30th

We took a couple of days off riding to catch up with laundry, groceries and mundane chores because the weather was a little too unpredictable to ride.  So today we drove to Buxy for lunch at a favorite pizza place located on the bike trail. The pizza was fantastic as usual and we were happy to have enough for our dinner as well.  Afterward we drove further south to the town of Cluny to visit the abbey there.

The Cluny Abbey is considered the greatest monastery of its time. Founded in the 10th century, the order of Cluny restored the rule of Saint Benedict and benefited from the protection of the papacy. It extended its influence across Europe to the point that nearly a thousand establishments were attributed to it by the end of the 13th century. (We saw one of the Cluny churches in Gigny where our friend Daniel grew up). At the Cluny site, nearly destroyed during the French Revolution, only the great transept and the bell tower of the 12th century abbey are still preserved.  The remainder of the abbey was rebuilt during the 17th century.  It's massive and impressive to visit.

The Tour de France will be passing through both Cluny and Buxy en route to Dijon in a few days so we drove the roads back where they will ride.  We have actually ridden the distance between Cluny and Buxy but on the bike trail which sometimes parallels the roads the Tour will take.

The Beautiful Burgundy Canal

June 28th

It seems we never tire of riding along the Burgundy Canal.  The section between Pont d'Ouche and Pont Pany is always a lovely ride.  The only problem today was there were a lot of bugs around because it's very still and humid so stopping to have lunch along the grassy canal side was not an option.  We rode into a small village and found some shaded steps to the church and planted ourselves down for a quick bite.  Of course we passed by many locks and lock houses and once again saw the hotel barge L'Impressionniste on its way to Dijon.  A nice roundtrip ride for about 43km got us back to Beaune for a relaxing afternoon.  Rain is predicted for the next few days so we will take time off from the bikes to explore the area and perhaps do some wine tasting.

A Tour de France

June 27th

We left for our ride from Saint-Rémy (just outside of Chalon-sur-Soane) and continued west through Givry on down to Buxy where we ran into a large group of cyclists.  They were part of an organized tour, Ride the Loop, that enables the participants to ride the exact route of the Tour de France.  All of their meals and lodgings are included as well as transfers to each of the starting points each day.  No e-bikes here so I guess that leaves me out?  Apparently there are several organizations that do this every year as a fund raiser for whatever their cause might be.  Each person in the group had to raise a substantial amount of money just to sign-up and then pay for and ride the route.  Pretty impressive!  We had a good chat with a few of the riders and organizers who were from all over the world.  A very friendly bunch!  Our ride was 40+km or around 25 miles which seems to be the pattern this year.  We have ridden further on occasion but this distance agrees with me and my body.

The restaurant L'Ardois has always been on our list when in Beaune.  The food is always excellent and the courtyard seating has great ambiance.  Another starter of Oeufs en Muerette was the best yet and the Cote du Nuit Chardonnay went very well with the black cod served with risotto in a curry sauce that we both ordered for our main dish.

An American Bar in Beaune?

June 26th

Riding along the Burgundy Canal from Pont Royal to Venarey-les-Laumes there are 40 locks.  I can understand why we didn't see any boats along the way because the locks are so close together and they look like they are manually operated.  In any case there are still several lock houses that are occupied.  I didn't take photos of all of them but I couldn't resist taking a few. We also rode through several groves of European Mistletoe trees that for some reason make me happy. It was a gorgeous day for a 45km ride and a refreshing drink at the cafe with a view of the port at the end.

European Mistletoe Trees

A Tree House on the Canal

Port Royal

This is what the French do with leftover baguettes

The best lunch spot yet

Our typical picnic lunch

Speaking of refreshing drinks, we walk by "The American Bar" everyday and finally stopped in for an aperitif.  The drink menu is extensive listing the different brands of hard liquor but when I asked for the carte du vin she brought out a huge book that I couldn't lift so didn't bother to open. Jay ordered a favorite scotch, Bunnahabhain (pronounced boon-a-hob-bain) and I ordered Chablis which was wonderful. Our drinks were expensive and cost more than both of our meals at the local burger place we decided to go to for dinner.  I guess American Prices at the American Bar.

Notes about Burgundy wines:  We have learned about the Climats (plots of grapes) in Burgundy of which there are 1247 and recently learned there are 6 major wine regions and each one has a specialty. They are: Cote Chalonnaise (balanced red and whites), Maconnais (king of Chardonnay), Chatillonnais (sparkling wine), Chablis & Grand Auxerrois (mineral whites), Cote de Nuits (great reds) and Cote de Beaune (the heart of wine-growing in Burgundy).  Even though there are many different tasting wines in the region they all come from 2 major varieties...Pinot Noir for the reds and Chardonnay for the whites.  Two other varietals used here are Gamay for a red and Aligote for the a white wine.

 A little bit of Soul

June 25th

Today we rode along the peaceful Doubs River from Baume les Dames to Besancon for about 40km and took the train back to our car.  The trail along the river is smooth for the most part but there are a few times the route takes you along a small road and/or through a little village. 

European Mistletoe Tree

The Citadel in Besancon

The Soul Kitchen is a little restaurant run by Mathieu who puts on an incredible one man show with delicious and authentic French cuisine clearly homemade with love, excellent wine and great service.  For only 32 Euros you get an amazing meal of either the traditional menu that features beef burgundy or his special menu of the day.  We decided to have one of each and mine was a totally vegetarian menu that was outstanding.  The wine was a wonderful Cote du Nuit Chardonnay and was very reasonable as well.

Tarte Epoisse

Zucchini Gaspacho

Risotto

Panna Cotta with Fruits