Paris
We spent the first three days of our trip in Paris. It was Linnea's first visit to the city, and needless to say, it lived up to the hype! For Noah, it was a fond reunion after almost a decade.
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| We stayed with our friends Matt and Beth at their beautiful apartment in Montparnasse for our first two nights in Paris. From their house it was a short walk to the Jardin Luxembourg where we hatched our sightseeing agenda. |
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| Le Métro! |
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| We went out with Matt and Beth (sadly not pictured) to explore the hip Canal St. Martin neighborhood |
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| Very hip indeed; we waited at this bar for nearly two hours before we were seated at the delicious Cambodian place Matt recommended. |
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Inside a Jean DuBuffet sculpture at the
Centre Pomipou, Paris's Modern and
Contemporary art epicenter
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| The view from the Pompidou's roof afforded Linnea her first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower -- it does exist! |
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| For our final night we stayed at the lavish Prince de Galles Hotel off the Champs Elysées thanks to Sam and his generous deployment of precious Starwood points!! |
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| Our gorgeously restored 1920s room featuring inlaid wooden furniture and original tile mosaics. |
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| The best part: a terrace with a view! |
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| Feeling appropriately pampered and swanky, we gussied and headed out for lunch at Le Carré des Feuillants, a 2-star Michelin restaurant near the Louvre. |
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| We dined in the purple room with three other parties. All VERY serious eaters. (We did our best to keep up.) |
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| After lunch we walked/staggered across the Jardin de Tuileries and headed for the Notre Dame Cathedrale where we stumbled on a beautiful hidden flower market. |
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| So full and happy! |
On the road to Beaune
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| The next day we picked up our rental car and (after fighting our way out of Paris) hit the Autoroute southeast to Burgundy. |
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| Our first stop was Auxerre, where we enjoyed some excellent ice cream and toilets |
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| From there it was off to the scenic hillside village of Vézelay (after a brief encounter with the Police Nationale...) |
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| The view from Vézelay |
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| The Cathedral atop Vézelay is a popular starting point for pilgrimages to Santiago de Campostela... monks in sandals abounded in the mostly sleepy village. |
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| The next day, after spending the night in Dijon, we headed South through the C'ôte d'Or wine region to Beaune |
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| The rolling vineyards were even more beautiful than we could have imagined. The perfect weather didn't hurt! |
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| Our destination was lunch in Beaune where we enjoyed an unforgettable meal on the terrace of Restaurant l'Ecusson. |
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| Some (paraphrased) highlights: lobster with fresh vegetables, lemon basil sorbet topped with a nori chip. |
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| John Dory filet with fennel, Israeli couscous and squid ink reduction |
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| Macaron with lemon custard and chocolate swizzle stick. (Not pictured, our wines by the glass: a 2011 Meursault and 2007 Nuits-St. Georges. Wow.) |
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| Exhausted and elated |
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| After wending our way back through the vineyards and several chateau and cave tastings, we happened upon a gem of a tasty room: Moillard Grivot in Nuits-St. Georges. Overwhelming at first... |
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| ...but we learned a lot! |
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| Departing with "gifts" |
Heading east!
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| The next day we headed east from Dijon to the foothills of the Jura Mountains. (And made a few detours to stretch our legs on the way, like this 15th-c. abbey.) |
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| For a picnic lunch we stopped in sleepy Ornans, the "Little Venice of the Franch-Comté" |
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| Upon reaching Besançon, our destination for the night, we headed straight for the 17th-c. citadel overlooking the formerly walled city. Luckily for us, there was a mini Renaissance Faire going on. OK! |
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| En garde! |
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| Much to our initial confusion (that lasted way too long), the citadel also serves as a zoo. This monkey and Rod Stewart go to the same guy. |
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| The views from the citadel were stunning. Hold on, Noah! |
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| After checking into our hotel room in Besançon, we headed out for an al fresco Sunday evening dinner and drinks to enjoy the balmy weather. |
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The road back to Paris
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| Heading back through northern Burgundy, we stopped at the beautiful Chateau de Tanlay for a guided tour. |
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| From Tanlay, it was a short hop to Chablis, where we grabbed a bottle to go and headed to the river for an impromptu melon, white peach, and potato chip picnic. Who needs wine glasses? Not us. |
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| Half of a bottle of wine and feeling fine. |
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| The next day it was back on the road to Paris. With an hour to kill before returning the car, we headed straight for a photo op. |
Tune in next time, devoted blog readers, for our post on adventures in Berlin, England, and Portugal!!
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