17th October 2015
Drive, drive, drive !
Today was another long driving day, so we did most of it on the toll-free
Autobahns until we got to France. We had
breakfast (Ingrid went down to the bakery and got some fresh bread before we
got going !), and then set off towards Stuttgart on wet and cold
day. Once again, great to catch up with
good trip friends from S America, and it was really good seeing Ingrid and Franz
again. I wonder where we will meet next
time.
I would have liked to go into the Porsche Museum (including a factory
tour) but it would have added a day, and at this stage we were starting to run
out of time because we had a deadline for getting back to England. So we ended up skirting round Stuttgart, on
to Strasburg, then heading south towards Basel, staying on the German side of
the border to avoid the French autoroute tolls.
We then turned west at Mulhouse and went via Besancon to
Chalon-sur-Saone, and then on to Ciry-Le-Noble.
As we neared Chalon the sunset was brilliant, with the sun almost
appearing to set fire to the trees on the horizon.
Ciry-Le Noble is a small country town and we went on past there up
increasingly narrow lanes to find Joel and Brigitte’s home. I had met them originally in Patagonia, and
we had travelled and camped together on and off for some time with them coming
up the east coast of Argentina before they headed back to the west coast from
where they were to ship their car home.
We had shared many bottles of wine together in the evenings, and had
shopped in the same bloulangeries and Carrefours in the day times – Little did
I realize this was going to continue in France !
We found their house just as it was getting dark, and were soon inside
with a choice of wines in front of us, and Brigitte bringing out small but
delicious appetizers from time to time.
Suffice it to say that by the time we had moved to the main meal of a
delicious beef fondue using local Charolais beef, there were several empty
bottles lined up on the floor, and we were feeling no pain ! I believe it was about 2 am when we finally
headed off to bed, with plans to go into Beaune the next day……to taste more
wine !! This travelling life can be SO hard sometimes !
After a VERY late and lazy get up the next morning, we finally set off
to Beaune on a beautiful sunny but freezing cold morning. Obviously this part of the world is all about
wine, and the vineyards were all turning brown in the autumn – Amazing views
with vines stretching from horizon to horizon, as far as you can see. We drove into Beaune, about an hour away,
alongside a major canal, part of the canal system that stretches across France,
and is now a major tourist location.
Arriving in Beaune, we finally managed to find a parking spot, although
getting out of the car was hard work for Joel – They don’t cater for big cars
round here !
We wandered around the delightful city of Beaune for a while, taking in
interesting statues and some of the sights around town. Eventually we found a little restaurant in
the sunshine where the food was excellent if a little pricey (it is a major
tourist centre !) and the service a little slow – The wine never even made it
to the table before we finished ! Good
job the food was tasty !
Afterwards we wandered through the streets until we found the Patriarche
Wine Cellars, or Cave, which Joel wanted to show us. Patriarche has the largest Caves in Burgundy,
with over 4 kms of underground
The cellars themselves were amazing to wander round in – Old, obviously
quite cool, and with all the wines stored along the walls, you really wouldn’t
want to trip and fall against one of the racks – That might be a very expensive
stumble ! And there are some areas
locked off where they have stored special wines that will be opened in 25, 50,
or 100 years, and the wine then sold with proceeds going to local
charities. You can also buy bottles of
wine from your year of birth, although obviously some of them will be better
vintages than others ! They actually
list how good each year is in order to help you decide !
On the way back to the car we went to the local boulangerie for some
supplies, and also a local coffee shop, and then, once Joel had managed to
climb in his car, we headed home along the side of the canal, passing through
delightful little villages like St Gilles, to name just one ! Once back at the house, once we were suitably
rugged up Joel and Brigitte took us down into their own cellar, and we spent
some time down there doing a little more wine tasting, and having a hilarious
time doing so ! Joel was as keen to show us some of his finer vintages as we
were to taste them !
Finally we returned up stairs to some more frivolity with a hat (which I
do not remember) and a delicious dinner that son Jeremy and his girlfriend had
prepared for us. Suffice it to say that
we weren’t quite as late to bed as the previous night, but we were certainly
feeling no pain none the less ! A great
two days with Joel and Brigitte who have made us feel so welcome in their
home. I think we might have to return
the favour when they come out to Aus, although it might be hard to match the
quality of their local French wines and food !
Thank you so much for your wonderful hospitality.
Pics are here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0383NattheimToCiryLeNoble?authkey=Gv1sRgCPyLgcmqk6ig1QE
and some here :-
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