Monday, August 1, 2011

Beaune


Just past Dijon on the Burgundy path sits the delectable and tiny town of Beaune. Beaune is Dijon on an even smaller and even quieter scale, leaving us no choice but to slow down and take time with our strolling and sampling feasting.


Here we had to-die-for-Dijon chicken...

See?


With this view to boot!




Though most go to Beaune to sample wine, the city's medieval hospital is an undeniable highlight of the short trip. 




Up close the painted tiles don't look like much, but together they form one heck of a show-stopping roof.
No private rooms in this 'ole place

Seeing this gives me a new appreciation for modern-day medicine...

...especially because it appears as if Absinthe was used for medical treatment in former times. Then again, depending on who you ask it may still be used.




And then it was time for dessert...

No, not the barrels...the wine, silly. 
March aux Vins charges 10 euro for unsupervised (and by unsupervised I mean unlimited) wine sampling. All wines are, of course, regional. Trucking through the caves on our own was a whole new experience for me, and we certainly made the most of it.

Wines on offer were displayed in stations and visitors are able to move from station as slowly or as quickly as they like. Only a handful of others were visiting when we were so we had the run of the place.




When fully satisfied with our dessert we made our way back to the train station to spend our last evening in darling Dijon. We didn't go back empty-handed, though. Souvenir tasting glasses, mustard jars, a handcrafted ceramic vase, and more mustard weighed us down. No complaints here--this day is one I don't ever want to forget. Is there any way all of my mustard can help with that?