The Trip.....Day V: Aneccy to Beaune

Day V
Travel day again but not until the afternoon. Woke up and got wife a croissant and I grabbed a baguette which i chewed on. We bought some Gruyer cheese which I nibbled on as well. We had seen a huge, well lit church on the mountain behind the town so started to go exploring. At that edge of the town there is a huge (8 story) chateau which just kind of looms up behind some shops but it also blocked the view of the church so we started walking up guessing in the general direction. Very long, steep hike... several wrong terms. Chateau looked boring so we did not even stop....just kept going up...and up... a little sweaty. On one narrow street we hit a narrow stairway cared out of the hills and we see part of church at the top. We went there and it is this huge cathedral, “Our lady of the Visitation” sitting on this hill with a commanding view of the town, the lake and the lakes valley. Worth the walk. There is a bus of English tourists. There is a man begging at the door. There is stained glass. There are 2345 images of Mary and Jesus. It looks to me like an old church. But what a view. Maybe we could tear it down and build condos? Or a miniature golf course?

I of course am an ugly American. Based on my own review of my behavior there is a chance that I invented ugly American. I think it would be funny to get a t-shirt which said in French “Stupid, Ugly, American.” At least there would be no surprises for anyone. It is a much slower and gentler life. The thing I am impressed most about so far is the sustainability of the lifestyle. The stores do not open til nine. They close from noon to two for lunch. They stay open till when they feel like. They seem to go to the store and buy what they need for that day. They seem to eat locally a lot. So maybe if we put a big amusement park
We then ran back to the hotel and grabbed some baguettes to eat on the train. The first stop we Lyon which was a major train station. Lyon seemed a little scary from our angle but we hung there for an hour and figured out how to head for Beaune. I read of lot of newspapers and was able to get the most recent Guardian and Herald Tribune which made for a sweet ride. As we got out of the Alps the trip looked more and more like a ride from St. louis to KC on Amtrak through Missouri’s wine region. Not a bad trip, but not beautiful and awe inspiring like the Alps. Apparently the palin/Biden debate is this evening. Much speculation..

We hit Beaune...pronounced like Daniel Boone. The station was not much and the town looked like even less from that vantage. We got our bearings with a map and then started lugging our bags the kilometer or so to our hotel which also did not inspire. Happily it surprised. We had a delightful room, with CNN in English and a working internet connection. We had a little back porch and went exploring the town which is deep in the heart of the Burgundy wine region. The whole town sits on top of these wine caves full of Burgundy. The town itself is a total tourist trap but tastefully so.

All along the way I have been buying and smoking various Cuban Cigars. Generally these are purchased at news stands with a TABAC sign and are somewhat suspect as to how they have been stored. The Cuban Partagas brand is my favorite. Nice salty wrapper from that carriebeann rain off the ocean. In Beaune they advertised cigar “caves”. These turned out to be that same little cabinets I saw in Aneccy and Genva and Cambridge. Cuban cigars are not generally the treat that they used to be. Post communist Russia I think they mised a step and there are so many knock off’s that the percentages always favor a good dominican. Still, a real Cuban Partagas knocks me on my ass.

That night we had dinner at Bleu... something or other. I was expecting some signature meal with Bleu Cheese but was instead treated to being bathed in an aquamarine, swimmin g pool like light theme which was...odd. Food was good and I had chicken coquette and I do not remember what Sandy had. We did polish of a nice bottle of burgundy though. Which was sweet. We made some calls reminding people to TiVo the VP debate.