Dag 18: Beaune - St. Boil (56 km)
16 juni 2018 - Saint-Boil, Frankrijk
We took it easy this morning and planned to visit Beaune to see the Hotel de Dieu. Well, we were not the only ones with that plan. Visitors queud up at the entrance and there was a well visited and big regional market around Beaune's beauty hiding most of it. only the roofs were visible, but they are beautiful too.
Next we wandered through the vinyards of France's best wines, the 'grands crus'. When I was enjoyong a fresh orange juice at lunchtime in Meursault, a young asked me in English if she could ask me a question and where one could taste wine for free. I answered in Dutch which she didn't really like. Nelly has a better taste, also for wine, and gave a choice of solutions to the lady and her boyfriend. And off they went on their hired e-bikes. The next person that seemed to have confidence in me was an Asian young lady with an umbrella. Ánd a camera, but nobody to take a picture of her in front of the fontain. So she invited me take a photograph of her, without umbrella, but with fountain. She was much happier with the result than the Dutch lady that I saw 20 minutes later still looking for free wine.
In the seond part of the day we made more kilometers. At our last stop near a roundabout Buxy, with a cellar where one can taste wine for free, we suddenly heard sirenes. Some 20 cars with ads and motorbikes in yellow, seconded by blue gendarmes came along. A cycle contest for ladies, according to the pub owner. So we expected a group of cyclists to follow. Nothing. Yet chaos around the rooundabout was about to come. Security people in yellow blocked part of the roads that ended at the round about. Opened them, closed them, discussed if the runners should be allowed to take the round about at either side and let a small opening where a slightly panicking aged driver tried to snake through. In between more moterbikes and gendarmes showed up, stopped, went away, came back. And, yes, after ten minutes of organised chaos the first bicyclists arrived: 4 men, a minute later folloed by the peloton, also men.
Our break lasted longer than planned and we decided to stop at St. Boil where the campsite has a heathed swimming pool...... And the restaurant was fully booked......
O
Next we wandered through the vinyards of France's best wines, the 'grands crus'. When I was enjoyong a fresh orange juice at lunchtime in Meursault, a young asked me in English if she could ask me a question and where one could taste wine for free. I answered in Dutch which she didn't really like. Nelly has a better taste, also for wine, and gave a choice of solutions to the lady and her boyfriend. And off they went on their hired e-bikes. The next person that seemed to have confidence in me was an Asian young lady with an umbrella. Ánd a camera, but nobody to take a picture of her in front of the fontain. So she invited me take a photograph of her, without umbrella, but with fountain. She was much happier with the result than the Dutch lady that I saw 20 minutes later still looking for free wine.
In the seond part of the day we made more kilometers. At our last stop near a roundabout Buxy, with a cellar where one can taste wine for free, we suddenly heard sirenes. Some 20 cars with ads and motorbikes in yellow, seconded by blue gendarmes came along. A cycle contest for ladies, according to the pub owner. So we expected a group of cyclists to follow. Nothing. Yet chaos around the rooundabout was about to come. Security people in yellow blocked part of the roads that ended at the round about. Opened them, closed them, discussed if the runners should be allowed to take the round about at either side and let a small opening where a slightly panicking aged driver tried to snake through. In between more moterbikes and gendarmes showed up, stopped, went away, came back. And, yes, after ten minutes of organised chaos the first bicyclists arrived: 4 men, a minute later folloed by the peloton, also men.
Our break lasted longer than planned and we decided to stop at St. Boil where the campsite has a heathed swimming pool...... And the restaurant was fully booked......
O
