Day 6 - Beaune, To Be Wild....

Today we hit the road to explore the Burgundy region, travelling to Beaune on the A6 : sitting on 130 km/hr as we breezed north. One interesting sideline was giving way to a tank being transported - but we had grown used to armed soldiers on the streets of Paris so it was no great surprise. In Beaune we first visited the Caves the Cordeliers, a winery in Beaune that was founded in 1244 and the monks produced wine as a sideline. The underground cellars were fascinating, and currently hold vintages dating back to 1921. We then adjourned to lunch for an excellent three course lunch accompanied by a bottle of a local Pinot Noir.All the businesses shut between 12 and 2pm so you can have a relaxing extended lunch without missing anything. After lunch we visited Hotel-Dieu : a hospice founded in 1443 to treat the poor and sick and partly financed by their vineyards. The tiles and architecture were amazing, and the sense of history overwhelming. We left Baune, and headed home. Getting lost (again) we found Brancion castle, a restored castle dating back to the 10th century. We spent an hour exploring the area, and then travelled to our original destination, Cormatin. It boasts the "finest Louis X111 apartments remaining in France". Unfortunately, for the first time in its tourist history it was closed while French TV recoded a drama inside, so our access was limited to the gardens. Still, it was a pleasant diversion. The trip home - programmed by the TomTom - was convoluted, to say the least. Again - long, winding roads that at times were single lane with stone walls either side. By the time we arrived home at 8pm we were ready to open a couple of bottles of French wines and cook dinner. So ended a very full day. Tomorrow is our last day her before the long drive into Switzerland - and hopefully internet access again.