2017 trip to Burgundy part I

I'm recently back from a trip to Burgundy which was most enjoyable. I haven't been at this time of year since 2008 and had forgotten how nice it was to be there in the summer, with green vines everywhere and glorious weather.

G and I travelled down to Beaune last Friday and found the flat where we were staying, a new place handy for the station and very close to centre ville. There was some excitement getting the key, and I began entertaining visions of staying at Le Cep instead, but eventually it was all sorted and we had to lug our cases up only two flights of creaking wooden stairs. Then it was a quick trip into town to get our bearings and locate the essentials i.e. Petit Casino for 6 litres of water, a bottle of Ricard and some ice cubes. The man in Petit Casino clearly approved of the ice cubes.

There's nothing like a cold glass of Ricard on a hot summer evening after three trains and a lot of dashing about. Tissues duly restored, we headed out for dinner. We had decided to book Caveau des Arches and for the first time we were in one of the two main rooms instead of the little room with two tables to which ACC refers as "the prison". Being in the big room certainly made for some interesting people-watching opportunities.

We were there in the hope of drinking lashings of Coche-Dury but sadly it emerged that the wine list online was inaccurate and there was none to be had. An attempt to drink something from Maison Fatien also ended in failure. We ended up drinking a half of white Chorey 2014 from Domaine Arnoux which was very pleasant and unusual since one doesn't see much white Chorey around, and then a Volnay 2011 Clos de la Barre from Comte Lafon, which was delicious and cost about the same you could get it retail in the UK.

At this point I have to confess that although many photos were taken on Friday and Saturday, I managed to lose my phone on Saturday afternoon so lost them all. One was of the chicken with an Epoisses sauce and fortunately I see I have a photo from a previous occasion which will have to do - it was virtually identical. Epoisses stomach happily filled, we departed and made our way round the ramparts. It was now just after 9pm and the sun was setting.

Our destination was the wine bar La Dilettante, where we found ACC and Baron McGuffog newly arrived from Corsica, complete with suitcases and jaunty straw hats. We joined them for a couple of glasses and then walked back through town to the flat. I was intrigued by the video projections at the church which were spectacular but also slightly eerie, being completely silent. The video below has a piano accompaniment but if you turn the sound off, you can imagine how surreal it was. The church bit is at the end, but it seems there were a whole load of similar projections around town which I didn't know about. Another time!

I was amazed at how quiet Beaune town centre was at 11.30 on a Friday night, a stark contrast to noisy old Bloomsbury, with its football fans staying at the Holiday Inn and three a.m. karaoke parties in the McCann Erickson building. Walking along Rue des Tonneliers, it was so quiet that one could hear the conversations of residents inside their houses, as they had their shutters open. It later emerged that the birds of Beaune had much to say for themselves, and a great deal of squawking went on outside my window at about five o'clock. However, I didn't mind being woken up as Saturday was the day of the Elegance des Volnay festival, the reason we were there in the first place.

To be continued...