Nothing sets you in motion, in earnest, like a day of forced inactivity…to wit, yesterday’s rainy day. Today dawned crisp, dry and bright - so we got moving. After some croissants and tea for breakfast, Lynn and I drove to Beaune for their big Saturday Market to start our day.
If you haven’t seen a French market, here’s what is involved: hundreds of merchants drive into town about 7:00 a.m., and begin setting up temporary tents and shelters, then unload and display all kinds of products that each merchant specializes in. The tents are set up along the usual old town streets, so no traffic can drive there anymore, all is devoted to pedestrian shoppers. The tents hold the produce guys, the fashion ladies, the hat guys, the model car guy, the belt guy, the flower ladies, the cheese vendors, olive sales, etc. etc. etc. Other spots are devoted to antique vendors, old books, photos, etc. The market is a huge deal that comes to town every week, so you can buy fresh produce, meat, cheese, shoes, sweaters, table cloths…basically anything you need. It’s a huge social event, too, for friends to meet and talk, kids to play, and tourists like us to try to speak some French, meet dogs, and take some pictures!
This one was so fun: not too crowded, and not too spread out. They even had a huge assortment of fresh meat, cheese and edibles merchants set up inside a big building in the center of town, which I’d never seen before in other towns. We shopped, were hustled by some boy scouts to buy a local scout calendar, and had a ball. Lynn found some neat souvenirs. Part of our shopping experience involved talking to the French mailman, and checking out his electric delivery bike. THIS may be a valid post-retirement activity I could volunteer for!
We bought all the meat and produce we will need for the coming week, a new bottle of wine, and some fresh strawberries that smell like they were just picked. IMPORTANT: If you don’t bring your own shopping bag or basket, you are out of luck! Lynn had her big yellow one we bought many years ago at a market in Hossegor, France, so we could easily haul all our treasures out to the car.
On our way out, we bought a fresh-made "crepe Nutella" from a lady who was making the crepes fresh at her tent. Personally, I love watching the crepes being made by a real expert: pour the batter on the griddle. spread it around using a little wooden dowel on a stick, then turn it using only a long spatula. Attach Nutella and fold, then voila, a crepe Nutella treat for Lynn and John!
We bought all the meat and produce we will need for the coming week, a new bottle of wine, and some fresh strawberries that smell like they were just picked. IMPORTANT: If you don’t bring your own shopping bag or basket, you are out of luck! Lynn had her big yellow one we bought many years ago at a market in Hossegor, France, so we could easily haul all our treasures out to the car.
On our way out, we bought a fresh-made "crepe Nutella" from a lady who was making the crepes fresh at her tent. Personally, I love watching the crepes being made by a real expert: pour the batter on the griddle. spread it around using a little wooden dowel on a stick, then turn it using only a long spatula. Attach Nutella and fold, then voila, a crepe Nutella treat for Lynn and John!
We made our way back to Villers-la-Faye, and (surprise!) it was lunch time already…so we attacked some of the food we just bought. Lynn made my favorite: Jambon et Formage sandwiches (ham and cheese!) on baguette, with fresh tomatoes and emmental cheese. After that kind of lunch, there’s nothing to do but go for a long bike ride, right? The weather was perfect, sunny and about 52 degrees. I headed out with a plan to ride to a little town southwest of Beaune, to scope out a bike trail reputed to run through some pretty villages. That didn't work out at all, as my path was blocked twice by a huge 10K running race taking place through the town of Sauvigney-les-Beaune, which I was going to use as a shortcut. The entire town shut down because of this race, with no way to get through or around it…so I got lost and just rode wherever the road took me. 
Great time, saw wonderful sights, and spent several hours on the bike with LOTS of climbing. The countryside reminded me so much of the Western North Carolina mountain riding I’ve done, verdant river bottom, with grazing horses and cattle, changing leaves on the trees along the road and on the mountains, and big stands of rock sticking out of the trees up on the mountains…we call them “balds”. I took some pics to remind me, but they never show the scene as beautifully as being there live.
While I was riding, Lynn was visiting a nearby village Nuits-St.-George. I'll let her tell you about that visit...and seeing two versions of her favorite car, the Citroen 2CV!
LYNN: It was too beautiful a day to stay in while John rode…sooo off I went to a town nearby called Nuits-St.-George. I am not afraid to drive in France, but it is always an experience - I carefully watch out for drivers coming towards me that may need more lane than I can give them LOL but I got there…circled the pedestrian inner core first to scope out parking and found it was easier to park on the outer periphery road that so many French towns have and walk in. And there were 2 Deux Cheuvaux in the lot near me….I really want to drive one someday! It was a lovely town and since I was there around 3 on a Saturday afternoon, one would think there would be plenty of time to wander and look in shops but OH NON …they all started closing up around 4 and they weren’t going to be open on Sunday at all…and the hair/nail places not till Tuesday…this French work ethic takes a little getting used to. But it was a pretty walk and I got some beautiful pastries for our dinner.
JOHN: After awhile I was frazzled, so called Lynn for a pickup, to avoid the last long climb into VLF. She met me at the beautiful valley overlook we scoped out yesterday (where the local villages have their recycling receptacles set up!), just as several hot air ballons came floating by, trying to land. 5 or 6 expensive cars came storming up, with a van and trailer, all filled with important-looking people dressed for a formal event. We deduced they were the spouses or associates of the passengers on the balloons…it is traditional to have a champagne toast and small party at the end of the balloon trip, I believe. Anyway, the balloon these folks were following didn’t land as expected, so in a few minutes they hurriedly drove away, following their balloon to its expected landfall somewhere else. A big white balloon DID land near us, behind a rise in the vineyards. We couldn’t see how successful the landing was, but I watched it skimming the ground for at least a quarter mile while I was still on my bike, before it came to rest just out of sight. Scary-looking way to land! It eventually stopped, and the balloon canopy collapsed…no ambulances appeared, so we assume they landed safely! I applaud the courage and romantic spirit of the ballooners. It would be such a spectacular way to see the expanse of this wine country, but personally there’s no way I’d ever have the guts to go up in one of those things! 
After such an active day, what could we do but have some wine and some supper? Lynn made a great meal, and we finished off some white wine we bought during our wine tour in Amboise. That was a fun “trigger":, reminding us of lots of memories of the fun we had with our friends on the early part of this trip, only about two weeks ago. We have a week of this trip still ahead of us…lots of stuff still to see and do. Thanks for reading along with us.
More Photos if you insist, at this link:
TRIP PHOTOS
More Photos if you insist, at this link:
TRIP PHOTOS
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