We reserved five bikes from Montreal and arrived at 10AM at the bike shop in Beaune. All five bikes fit perfectly. Two minutes with a map orientation and off we went. Three KM through Beaune and then onto a bike route through the 1re cru wine region of Burgundy. Breathtaking as you might imagine. We packed our lunch, baguette, melon, peaches, etc... And after passing through three towns, including Pommard, we stopped for lunch at the town fountain in Meursault. Here is a picture of our feast on the cobblestone road.
Along the way we stopped for a break and were invited to eat lunch inside at the table of the vineyard owners. So on the way home we stopped to eat our melon and get a tasting of her wine. We spent over one hour at the vineyard and each of us had a wine glass and we tried five wines.
We learned to look at wine, smell wine and then taste wine. The kids could identify the earthy and fruity smells in the different wines. By the end Sam and Iris each found their favourite wine and we left with three bottles. Before leaving we went into the wine cellar to see the barrels and the bottles. Some of the wine is exclusively for their family and has been stored in the cellar (cave) since the great grandfather made the wine in 1912. The most amazing thing was spider webs around the bottles. We are already saving one bottle to drink at Isabel's bat mitzvah.
Then we biked back to Beaune and returned the bikes, we walked around town, found flan, ice cream and coffee. We walked in and out of various tourist shops and liked what we saw, but not the prices.
Back at our Gite we relaxed and swam. We planned to BBQ and so did our hosts. Just before dinner three young ladies showed up by bike. We had cheese and wine and everyone ate together at the outside table. Marian was especially excited to eat our "American style" hamburger and white bread bun. Here is the BBQ
Finally we found three non-smokers. They said that it is a stereotype to think that everyone in France smokes. Perhaps I should compartmentalize the stereotype and say that everyone in the county side seems to smoke. The educated city folks know better.
What did we learn today?
1. Steven checked another item off his bucket list, biking in France. Even 22KM satisfied his criteria because the conditions were so perfect.
2. The kids loved the adventure, they need to be challenged so they feel like they are in dependant and able to succeed.
3. We learned a lot about wine tasting and growing wine and how wines are labeled.
4. We learned that the grapes are hand harvested and that the kids can come back when they are 18 years olds to learn about wine and work in the fields during harvest. The best wines are still crushed by bare feet.
5. We learned to have a great adventure some days and not to expect that everyday can be perfect....but today was pretty close to perfection.
Jonah feeling empowered after biking uphill without having to get off his bike and walk. It was not an easy climb.
Tomorrow we visit the Citadel with three sections, zoo, historical section and park.
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