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.
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| European Mistletoe Trees |
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| A Tree House on the Canal |
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| Port Royal |
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| This is what the French do with leftover baguettes |
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| The best lunch spot yet |
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| 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.
