Beaune

Eventually, time came to leave the Dombes region. Since Paris was a long way and Burgundy was about half-way, it made perfect sense to stop overnight in the lovely town of Beaune. The historic and tourist district of Beaune is within a walled enclave centered around the beautiful Hospices, established in 1450 as a hospital for the poor. The most distinctive feature of the Hospices is the gorgeous roof made of black, brown, yellow and green enamelled tiles arranged in geometric patterns. Too bad we did not have enough time to visit the building.

An interesting anecdote about the Hospices is that it owns some very pretigious vineyards and every November since the French Revolution, a wine auction is held to raise funds for the Hospices and its affiliated institutions. This town is all about serious Bourgogne wines!

So, while Mario, Vicki and Kate were tasting and shopping for wines, the kids were shopping for ice cream and candies, and Michael and Alan were exploring the surroundings.

As we've seen in so many of the French towns that we visited, the architecture of the old town is very charming.

We eventually all regrouped for dinner in a lovely little restaurant that featured, you guessed it, absolutely delicious boeuf bourguignon.

And after dinner, we were treated to a festival evening in an old church featuring a wonderful pianist accompanying the showing of three silent movies by Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. What a nice surprise to finish a lovely, but too short visit in this jewel of Burgundy.