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Wine roads & Bacchus Lunch

October 11, 2006

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We now have a wine cellar under our table in our camper! I can just hear Rene cracking up, as if we were not over full as it was. But how does one get past this region without adding to ones collection despite the lack of room? We do not even drink that much wine, but it was so tempting and delicious.

We decide to finish the Cote de Beaune route as well as part of the Hautes Cotes de Beaune roads. The Hautes Cotes de Beaune is up higher and has a very different feel to it and is much more woodsy, less orderly, more dramatic and with views down to the vineyards & villages below like Pommard,Volnay
and Beaune.

We walked and we rode and we basked in the beauty of this sumptuous sunny day. The endless vineyards and medieval towns and buildings hold us sway as we drive. Mozart can not see from her perch in the camper, so interestingly she is consumed with her books about the tales from the Odyssey at the moment. It is funny to see a six year old sitting in an ancient vineyard, fancy restaurant or outside a tasting cellar lost in the stories of Homer. She likes the tasting rooms and caves and likes to smell the bouquet, pours out our glasses for us and gets a big kick out of the spitting it out into the tasting bucket.

We walked up one hill towards a chateau that we never found, but enjoyed the sights nonetheless including a part of a castle that looked like a chess piece in the middle of a field with those unique white Burgundy steers. Our timing is totally off for lunch since we tend to  leave late and have a late brunch and the French seem precise on there lunch times, so we missed what looked like a fabulous place to have lunch..again. But, we ended up going to a wonderful little cellar and tasting room next door and bought some delightful Burgundy Chardonnay. We liked the sweet man who did the tasting and sold it to us  and Mozart liked the love birds in his courtyard.

We could not seem to find even a Patisserie when we wanted one as we started getting to the famished point,which led to the very best part of our day, our Bacchus lunch! As we wandered in an ocean of ocher, crimson, green and orange vines,I just decided to stop right next to this part of heaven and make our own lunch. We were low on supplies as we planned on doing major shopping at a hypermarket in Lyons our next stop,but I remembered we had some tortellini that I could put on.

I realize it it not quite a real Bacchus lunch without wine and goodness knows it was tempting to open one of our great bottles in the wine cellar under the table as the day and situation called for it. But, we had to still make it to Lyons to sleep for the night and we knew that would not happen if we imbibed. None the less it was a true gift from Bacchus as we were surrounded by colorful vines and managed to make a small feast out of very little.

While the pasta cooked, DaVinci and Mozart explored and raced in the vineyard closest to us and came back with a few clusters of Pinot. Mozart had picked a pear on an ancient tree in one of the first vineyards we visited across the street from where they got their hair cut. So I cut that up to go with the grapes and we used that plate  as starters and desserts. I found a can of corn and added that as a veggie to go with the pasta along with one tomato to cut up for those who like that..I would have loved to have had some cheese and bread, but we did end up really enjoying what we did have. I am sure the views helped.

Afterwards, DaVinci went over to some workers who were tending the vines to see what they were up to. He was itching to work with them I could see as he really enjoys the process of the work. They carry their pruning shears on their necks handle side down so they can have their hands free but have them nearby if needed. They did not speak a word of English, but they managed to communicate well in vineyard speak. They gave him a souvenir of some little clips that they were loosening. Mozart tagged along and took it all in.

It was a long lunch and we were ready to move in permanently ,but alas it was time to move along, so we sauntered down more vineyard roads. We even saw a windmill in one of the vineyards which was quite a surprise. I can’t believe we came across a windmill right in Paris and now one in Burgundy. I wanted to see the ones in Spain, but probably will not get there this leg.

Finally when we hit Santenay, we had to stop our wine tours for now and head to Lyons. We finally found a Patisserie there and got some dessert. It was six o’clock, so we hooked up our nuvi “Florence” and let her lead the way back to the A6 fast toll road to our campsite there. We made such good time we even had time to stop at the hypermarket nearby and pick up our much needed groceries. Albeit, we were the last people in there and they are open late. We hope to just upload some things here if we can find connection, and then head to Provence.

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