Barging Through the Burgundy Countryside

We drooled over grapes almost ready to be picked.

The Millers and McLean’s took Paris by storm.  Then the Hayes’ joined us to go barging thru the Burgundy countryside.

Once we were all together at the Paris train station it was off to Dijon.  Since we hadn’t been on board Rabelo in days it was time to market.  First stop was Grand Frais which has beautiful produce, a butcher, a cheese section, and extremely important…a boulangerie.  But we weren’t done.  We were missing some key items, so the next stop was E. LeClerc for wine and other sundry bits and pieces.

A pretty view walking thru a town.

With only 4 full days on Rabelo we wanted to show our friends as much as possible.  But sightseeing had to be balanced with the appropriate amount of time cruising.  After all, they can tour Burgundy on their own by car or bicycle, but most people don’t have the opportunity to see the countryside on a private barge.  Our days were full of cruising, touring, eating, drinking, eating, drinking and most important of all…being with great friends and time filled with laughter!  Lots of laughter!  What a wonderful way to enjoy our friendships!

Enjoying our fabulous dinner of fresh mussels on deck.

I felt like a cruise director with every day carefully scheduled to maximize our time together.  Our first morning we went to the Gaugry cheese factory.  Among the various cheeses they produce is Epoisse.  After touring the cheese factory it was time to move Rabelo.  We cruised to a village where we were able to walk around and see examples of the tile roofs famous in Burgundy.  We also viewed buildings from mediaeval times.  We enjoyed watching the children converging on their school.

The cheese factory Gaugry

Our friends came prepared.  They promised to be more than just "eye candy."

Who says I never allow anyone in my kitchen?

I found this little guy up on a building in a village we walked thru.

We were flashed!  It's always good to get off the boat and walk along the canal for a while.

There was a beautiful mosaic around the building of Moillard winery.

Clever painting on the exterior of a building.  One might think we were in the wine country.

 Our second day we spent the morning cruising, had lunch at Le Charlemagne which is a one star Michelin restaurant (which I would pass on in the future), went to Maillard to purchase some wines for Rabelo (without tasting) and then had a wonderful treat.  Thanks to our captain Julian we were able to get a private tour and tasting at the winery Domaine Gros Frere et Soeur.  Their grape vines are neighbors to the Romanee Conti vineyards, which are considered the most expensive red wines in the world.  Where we ate lunch a bottle of Romanee Conti was priced at $8000.00 U.S.D.!  What we bought from Domaine Gros Frere et Soeur was expensive for us but certainly not in that stratosphere.

We visited the famous Romanee Conti vinyards.

The redone floor in the tasting room of Domaine Gros Frere et Soeur.  Notice the grand piano behind our group. 

We had a fabulous tasting in the cellar.

Colette Richebourg of Domaine Gros Frere et Soeur was kind enough to guide us thru our tasting.  Since she spoke only French Julian was our translator.  Never have we seen a cellar or tasting room such as hers. The cellar we tasted in is over 300 years old.  In 2008 they added the lit flooring.  We asked what the hail did to their crops.  In the Cote-d’Or, the Cote de Nuits section lost 10% of their crop.  In Cote de Beaune they lost 70% of their grapes.  Since 1880 the winery has been in their current location.  Before that they were next door.  When I asked how many years her family had owned the winery she told me I would have to go to the cemetery to count the generations.

Our third day was Friday the best day to explore the covered market in Dijon, and I was on a mission.  Off we went by car for a tour.  From there we took our purchases (including the mussels that we wanted for dinner that night) and went for lunch at Au Clos Napoleon in the town of Fixin, which produces fabulous red wines.  We must like this restaurant because it is our third time having lunch there.  What isn’t to like when the food is excellent and the setting amongst the vineyards idyllic?

I counted out my Euro's to make sure I had enough to make the purchases we wanted.

They had some very old wine.

Ancien Vendangeoir des Moines de Saint Vivant de Vergy.  This is in the courtyard of Romanee Conti where I peeked in the gate.

Back to McDonalds.  Trying to stay connected.

Gotta love 'em.

Rabelo is changing her colors and looking goooood.

After touring the covered market, lunch in a vineyard, it was time to go cruising again.

Our last full day together was Saturday and we needed to keep the barge moving.  That allowed us to relax on board when we choose to, and walk along the canal for miles and miles.  There were so many happy pictures to choose from during the short time the McLeans and Hayes' were with us I could have filled a scrapbook.  I have included just a taste of what our few days together were like.

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Back to Paris to Play With Friends

This little piggy went to market.

The Dijon covered market viewed from the upstairs balcony.

Our cooking class with Alex Miles in Dijon was fun, informative, and I came away with new recipes to try.  

We returned to Paris!  We were meeting our friends Kathi and Bob for a few days of fun before they returned with us to Rabelo.  We took the Fat Tire Bicycle Tour of Versailles.  To begin our tour we were taken to the Versailles market.  The market is worth a return visit.  We could have spent the day exploring all the indoor and outdoor stands overflowing with fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, wines, breads…the list is endless.  We were given 40 minutes to buy what we needed for our picnic.  We eventually had to divide and conquer.  We bought f

ruit, melon, cheeses, pate, many baguettes, salamis, and of course a couple bottles of wine.  With that we were ready to ride…10 miles around the magnificent grounds of Versailles.  Why ride rather than walk you might ask?  The gardens and parks are spread out over 2200 acres.  The bike ride, tour of the grounds, visit inside the chateau and picnic lunch were a highlight of our quick extended weekend in Paris.  We would highly recommend this day to all our friends.

Entrance to Versailles

Domaine de Marie-Antoinette


One of the perks of taking a bike ride around the grounds of Versailles is seeing where Marie-Antoinette used to hang out away from the public eye.

We enjoyed a picnic with Versailles in the background.  It was great fun and we had a feast!  We learned we're too old to be sitting on the ground for any length of time.

After the bike ride we went inside Versailles for a quick viewing…along with LOTS of other tourists.

The Royal Chapel in Versailles was built to glorify one man:  Louis XIV.  The chapel is the only nod to Christianity in the entire chateau.  Louis XIV considered himself the Sun God because he gave life and warmth to all he touched.

The War Room

The famous Hall of Mirrors.  Versailles gets 5.3 million visitors a year.  It is very popular and very crowded.

Tom is practicing to be the new Louie XIV.  We're in trouble now.

Our terrific guide Anya is giving Tom instructions on how to be Louis XIV.

Back in Paris the Eglise Saint-Jean-L'Evangeliste caught my eye.  The doorway as well as other areas are covered with mosaics of round glass beads.

How is this for a metro entrance?!?  Bob and Kathi are relaxing for a moment.

It is worth visiting Galleries Lafayette (even if you aren't a shopper) just to admire the architecture and dome.

Galeries Lafayette wall detail.

Bob and Kathi introduced us to O Chateau where we relaxed at the wine bar and then enjoyed dinner.  If you go there say hi to the server "Lisa" from us.  She was delightful.  This is a great place to end a long day of sightseeing.

I've mentioned it before, but I wanted you to see what is happening to the Paris bridges because of the "love" locks being placed on the bridges. The practice of placing locks on the bridges must stop!

While we are cruising thru France, meeting an American is like meeting an old friend.  It is so good to hear our language being spoken.  Whether in the metro, a hotel, restaurant, or on the street within 5 minutes we have exchanged life stories.

I love hearing from you so I hope you will take a moment to write.

DIJON: The Capital of Burgundy

In the Musee des Beaux-Arts are the Tombs at Champmol.  This is a corner detail

We decided to hang out in Dijon for three weeks.  We are always rushing: city to city, town to town, village to village, with no time to catch our breath.  I thought we would be able to get caught up on things that needed doing.  I wanted to finish my painting of the Blue Rose.  We needed to paint the exterior of the boat.  I had writing that needed to be done, and photo’s to edit.  Then I hoped for time to explore Dijon properly, go for nice walks along the canal, begin reviewing my French, and just slow down and relax.  I don’t understand.  It didn’t happen the way I had hoped.  Day to day living keeps us extremely busy. 

What have we been doing you might ask?  We have had a lot of rain showers; we go to Ikea, more rain, Ikea again…  We checked out the covered market a few times.  We have visited most of the hardware stores within a 30-minute drive. We are tied up in front of a large apartment building with a park in front.  We get to watch the world watching us.  Old people hobble by, some with canes, middle aged men on scooters, people on bicycles, parents and multi generations of families, some pushing strollers, joggers and rollerbladers.  Occasionally we see a drunk or two.  There are fishermen here every day, all day long.  We are recognizing faces.  Elderly men and women (sometimes not so elderly) come sit on the same park bench every day.  We now get smiles and greetings from some.  There is a sweet old lady who always sits next to our boat.  I wish I could invite her aboard for a cup of coffee.  Eventually (hopefully) my French will get to the point that I can do that.

Tom and I went for lovely walks.

The covered market in Dijon was designed by Gustave Eiffel

We face a small island in the middle of this marina.  The island houses many types of birds.  They are talking, fishing, arguing, floating, all there for our relaxation and amusement.

Many hotel barges begin and end their charters here.  We met an American couple cruising on their own barge, and had them over one evening.  They were a wealth of information.

It’s been a while but it finally happened again.  A very angry French woman was banging on our hull.  I couldn’t understand what she was yelling about although I certainly understood the word police.  Admittedly we ran our generator longer than normal.  We were helping another boat charge his batteries off of our engine.  The next day we had barely turned our generator on when she came by to yell again. This time captain Julian was there.  After their exchange of words she hasn’t been back.

There is a small parking lot at one end of the marina with a tiny open market on Wednesdays.  A fish lady from the Dijon covered market was selling her fish there.  Delicious!

We discovered how puppies are trained in France.  Instead of doggie treats, they get bits of fresh baguettes as their reward for good behavior.  Too cute.

The other day Tom and I worked on painting the exterior of our boat.  As we painted we listened to the people speaking.  The older men spoke with the stereotype deep voice that I can’t even begin to describe.  Younger women have a sing song voice.  There was a constant hum of voices as it was a busy day around us.  Some people couldn’t resist making comments as they strolled by.  Unfortunately I couldn’t figure out what they were saying.

We ARE in Burgundy which means wine.  Thanks to our friends David and Judy we were able to visit Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine Pere & Fils.  Christine and her daughter Clementine took time off from their busy schedule to let us taste many of their wines.  We enjoyed their wine enough that we returned to Rabelo with 15 bottles.  They produce 20 different varieties of wine since their property extends to almost 50 acres over a wide area in Cote de Beaune.  We asked whether they have been affected by the strange weather we have been experiencing, especially the hail.  Unfortunately depending on the region they lost 25-80 percent of their crops.  As bad as that is, this is the third year in a row where their crops have been seriously damaged by hail.  Many of the wineries are facing the same problem!

Wine tasting with Christine and Clementine at Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine Pere & Fils

My private culinary school on board Rabelo didn’t work out, but I met chief Alex Miles (from the Bronx) who teaches cooking in Dijon.  I’m looking forward to taking his class soon.  Meanwhile Alex and his wife Elizabeth have been very warm and welcoming.  They invited us to a concert in a private home, we’ve gone for tea to celebrate Alex’s birthday, they’ve shown us around the covered market as well as part of Dijon, and we sat at an outdoor wine bar attached to a Michelin restaurant where we enjoyed wine (of course) and a few small courses.  We definitely need to try Loiseau des Ducs restaurant for a special meal. 

I wanted to do a walking tour of the town of Dijon.  With my guidebook in hand we started following the “Owls Trail” around town leading us to the important sights.  While we didn’t do the whole tour, we managed to see some interesting sights.  Musee des Beaux-Arts was worth visiting. 

View of the amazing Tomb at Champmol

Below the tomb are these carvings.  This shows the mourners procession.

Pedestrian Street in Dijon

Arch at one end of the pedestrian street.

Fountain with cute kids and frogs checking me out.

Lovely park

We walked from Dijon to Velars-sur-Ouche. 

A picturesque canal running thru Velars-sur-Ouche

This fishing spot is reserved for the handicapped…seriously?!?

Dijon town center

This is how mail is delivered

As I am writing I realize why we’ve been so busy here in Dijon.  Our time has been filled with many activities from exploring the area surrounding Dijon, wine tasting, shopping, working on the boat, eating, eating, cooking and eating again.

I love hearing from you.  If you get a chance write and let me know what is happening in your world.

Bastille Day 2014

The French love a good celebration.  Tom and I love helping the French celebrate.  Bastille day in Paris is great.  The city throbs with excitement.  How can it not with jets and helicopters flying overhead and every type of military vehicle on the streets.  It's the biggest block party imaginable.  We put on our best walking shoes and joined the millions of people crowding the Champs-Elysees.

The parade starts with nine fighter jets trailing the french colors red, white and blue.

French colors flying at the beginning of the parade.

I won't bore you with the many types of airplanes and helicopters flying by.  Suffices to say it is exciting to watch.

The horses are beautiful.

The doggies are not always well behaved but certainly fun to watch.

There were many military vehicles on parade.  Not one had a scratch or a spec of dirt.

 Following are pictures of some of the uniforms.  There are too many to include here.  Each group has a different color and style of hat.

French Foreign Legion

Airforce

The firemen are the most popular of all.  They are cheered as they marched by.

In the evening we went out again for the greatest fireworks show.  They are displayed around and on the Eiffel Tower

After having experienced the metro in the morning trying to get to the parade, we knew better than to take the metro back to our hotel.  Too many people were trying to ride it.  Instead we walked for over an hour to return to our hotel.  I can't even imagine how many miles we walked that day.  It was definitely worth it.

I always enjoy hearing from you.  Stay in touch.