Day 15 - Beaune/Wine Country

Au Revior Paris! You were magical.

But we were more than ready to leave the city behind and slow things down for a bit. We've been to London, Amsterdam and then Paris - that's a lot of noise and hustle. So we took the 3.5 hour train ride to the heart of wine country, Beaune.

As we stepped off the train, I literally sighed. The town is quintessential French country. Beautiful beige stone buildings, pastel shutters, narrow cobblestone streets, church bells chiming and songbirds cheerfully singing - I instantly fell in love.

We hauled our bags down the winding roads, passing homes with ivy crawling up their facades, a man leaning out his window thoughtfully smoking a cigarette, the roar of the city far behind us. After a short scenic walk, we arrived at our luxury apartment. Our reception greeted us outside and welcomed us into a large but cozy mansion. He showed us their wine cellar to use at our disposal, their espresso station and longue area to take siesta in the afternoon if we pleased. Then up the creaky stairs, we were shown to our room.

Large bright windows shone on our kitchenette, small living area and bedroom. A bottle of chilled champagne was patiently waiting to pop. Flowers and gauzy white curtains blew a lavender scented breeze.

We were left to settle in and make dinner plans. We walked around the corner to a spot that had a casual pub atmosphere and sat down for a bite. I had my first taste of the region's wine, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was very good. The meal was good as well, however the service was rude and unwelcoming.

Determined to not let it ruin our first impression of Beaune, we went back to our room and popped that champagne, got comfortable and watched Netflix. We drank the whole bottle and fell asleep hopeful for the next day's adventures. So far day two has been wonderful, the shops are closed now for their afternoon break, so we are back at our room and doing the same.

Until tonight my dears!

-Keely