mideba

Oops, the owl is on Notre Dame. St. Michel has the beautiful gothic facade with many gargoyles. We visited a cathedral with an interesting crypt but I can't remember it's name - maybe Coco can help?

Today, we drove to Chateauneuf-en-auxois, listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France. It's a beautiful medieval village with an impressive chateau which can be visited. Just outside the chateau is a little gift shop with lots of miniture figurines all handmade and painted - they are absloutely gorgeous and make lovely souvenirs.

We then drove through some of the wine villages on the Cote d'Or and stopped in at Clos Vougeot to vist the wine museum - they have the biggest wine presses I've ever seen and we saw lots on our travels.

Back to Dijon to absorb some more of this elegant city and to get ready for an evening of fine dining and wine appreciation. We had reservations at Les Oenophiles. I highly recommend it - the food was fabulous as was the choice of wines on offer and the assistance given in choosing the most appropriate. My husband had the menu gourmand and I went a la carte. All our dishes were delicious and beautifully presented; my entree of langoustines and escargot in a chlorophyll mousse was quite unusual but very tasty. They have outdoor seating in the lovely garden but I really liked the elegant dining room.

It was a gorgeous warm evening in Dijon and being a Friday there were lots of people out enjoying themselves at the many restaurants and cafes the city offers - the walk back to the apartment was very enjoyable.

cocofromdijon

I'm glad you're back Miriam
I'd love to try les Oenophiles one day!

< We visited a cathedral with an interesting crypt but I can't remember it's name > St Bénigne (6th century to 10th century)! near the Archeological Museum...

mideba

Hi Coco,

Les Oenophiles was great. You should try it. The cathedral may have been St.Benigne - I can't remember.

Saturday today and we were back in the car but this time headed east towards Franche comte. I was very interested in seeing Louis Pasteur's house in Arbois. A tour guide takes you around the house Monsieur Pasteur lived in for most of his life (he was born in Dole) and gives a good description of the family's life and Pasteur's work. The laboratory is amazing, left just as it was when the great scientist worked in it. His broth experiment is still set up and shows no spoilage after all these years, thus proving his theory. This was one of the highlights of our trip.

After visiting La Maison de Pasteur, we were eager to quench our thirst with some Jura wines in a bar. I was able to finally taste vin jaune which I had heard a lot about - a yellow sherry-like wine, interesting but very different to any other wine I have drunk. In a patisserie shop, we bought the local delicacy of galette Arboise - very tasty.

Before heading back to Dijon, we drove through Dole - the birthplace of Louis Pasteur - a lovely medieval town.

Another walk around the city of Dijon as there is lots to see and the architecture is so beautiful. This city has a great feel to it - not to big yet plenty to see especially if you're into art.

We were excited about our dinner plans tonight. We had a reservation at Stephane Derbord. I highly recommend this restaurant. Our meal was fabulous - the food was delicious and copious - lots of extras in between courses - so much so that we left some behind and that is most unusual for us. We both had the menu gourmand with a lovely bottle of chablis. The canellonni with frog meat was amazing as were the langoustine brochettes and the dessert called le chocolat. This was the best meal of our trip. A must try.

georgiegirl

Thanks for the report. I am making notes because I will be there for 4 nights in September.
Salut Coco!

mideba

Georgiegirl, you will have a great time. Are you staying at Coco's?

Sunday was a sunny warm day. We left the apartment after breakfast and strolled aroud the streets of Dijon enjoying the city once more as we were leaving the next day.

Coco had informed us of a rollerblade race going on in the city this weekend so we checked it out for a couple of hours.

After lunch we drove down the Cote d'Or for the last time. I wanted to visit Chateau Mersault for the wine tasting activity. The cellars of this place are huge and after seeing the art exhibition upstairs, we were able to try some of the estates winesfor a small fee. A very enjoyable experience.

mideba

Today, we were leaving Dijon. We had spent a week here and could easily have stayed longer. There is so much to see and do in the area. We did heaps but still didn't get to some places I would have liked to see. Coco, I think that means I'll just have to return.

We were leaving France for the time being (Paris is our last destination) and heading back to Germany. It would be a long drive from Dijon to Cochem in the Mosel Valley so we left early. We had lunch plans with my husband's aunt who lives in Metz so that would break up the trip.

A few hours was spent in Metz catching up with family and feasting on a combination of French and Italian dishes.

Back on the road and headed towards Cochem, we arrived late evening to our hotel - Hotel Lohspeicher - a small, lovely family run hotel with a great restaurant.

We were too late for dinner in the hotel restaurant so we went out for a walk to explore the lovely town of Cochem and a grab a bite. We stopped in a bar and sampled the great wines of the Mosel before retiring for the night exhausted from our long drive and big family lunch.

cocofromdijon

>We did heaps but still didn't get to some places I would have liked to see. Coco, I think that means I'll just have to return.< I'm already waiting for you Miriam ;-)
See, gg is coming back! Here's what she wrote when she was in Dijon.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34780111

Please go on Miriam, I'm looking forward to reading the London part.

hausfrau

Enjoying your report, mideba - I live in Stuttgart and was so glad to hear that you were pleased with your visits to Bad Wimpfen, Tuebingen, and Burg Hohenzollern, three of my favorite places in Baden-Wuerttemberg! If it makes you feel any better, I prefer Bad Wimpfen and Tuebingen to Rothenburg because they have far fewer crowds and tourist shops.

mideba

Hi Coco, London is coming soon.

Thanks Hausfrau for your words - you made me feel better for missing Rothenburg. Bad Wimpfen and Tuebingen were highlights for me too.

We awoke this morning in the Mosel Valley - this part of the word is absolutely magical, almost unreal. The Hotel Lohspeicher does a fantastic buffet breakfast including sparkling riesling. After a hearty breakfast, we made our way to Burg Eltz - amazing - you just have to see it. We spent a few hours there doing a guided tour and walking around the grounds - it was a beautiful morning.

We drove to Beilstein and had lunch at Haus Lipmann - we sat on the terrace overlooking the river and just absorbed the beauty around us - the sun was shining and I couldn't have been happier. Food and wine were very good.

After lunch we explored the tiny town and walked up the tower of the castle for a wonderful view of the valley.

We spent the rest of the day driving along the Mosel river and exploring Cochem. That evening we dined in the hotel restaurant. This is a great place serving very fine food and wine - our dishes were not typically German but very delicious. The hotel owners are very friendly and gracious.

We went to bed full.

mideba

Next day, we further explored Cochem and visited the Reichsburg - the castle that overlooks the town. We had a great view of it from our hotel window.

Bernkastel was our next stop. This is a lovey town - the day was fine and warm and there were lots of people around. We had bratwurst and crepes for lunch and then sat outside at a wine bar in the marktplatz enjoying the local wines.

After a couple of hours in Bernkastel, we drove to a little wine village (don't recall name) to do some wine tasting - the hotel ownere's brother is a winemaker so we were interested in trying some of his wines which were very good.

After tasting some aged ice wine in an ancient cellar in Cochem, we decided to eat in the rathaus cellar. This was a unique and enjoyable experience and very reasonably priced. Walked around town for the last time and after coffee and icecream in a gelateria we returned to our rooms for the night.

We were boarding a plane the next morning so I had to do some serious packing.

mideba

We were sorry to leave Germany but we had a plane to catch. So we drove from Cochem to Frankfurt airport and thanked our lucky stars that we had left with plenty of time. The traffic approaching Frankfurt was terrible.

After dropping of the rental, we checked in and told we were too heavy. So much for my serious packing the night before! Dump the wine or pay up? We paid up - the wine is too precious.

Our flight with Lufthansa to Estonia was fine and the meal was actually quite nice - we got to have maultaschen again - yum.

We arrived in Tallin after a couple of hours. My husband's friend met us at the airport and drove us to L'Ermitage - a nice hotel about 5 minutes away from the old town through a park.

After check-in we walked to the old town and walked around a little - it was wet and cold so I was happy to delay our exploration till tomorrow. We decided on a meal at Balthazar - the garlic restaurant. All their contain garlic in some form, even desserts - garlic icecream! - I passed on that one. Our meals were great but not authentic Estonian, more mediterranean. We had coffee back at the bar in our hotel before retiring for the night.

cocofromdijon

ttt

mideba

After a walk around town and some shopping, we met my huband's friend for a guided tour of the old town of Tallin. The tour lasted 3 hours and gave us a detailed insight into the history of the country. A highlight was the walk up the highest tower giving a great view of the town and Baltic sea.

Today was market day in the town square - lots of people out and lots of great merchandise available at the stalls and very reasonable prices. We had afternoon tea at a cafe and indulged in the local marzipan. Apparently, marzipan was first made in Estonia. There is a marzipan museum to tour as well. Another highlight was a visit to an old pharmacy set up as a museum where they make a local brew of herbs.

Dinner that night was at Old Hansa - a traditional medieval restaurant with waiters in costume and live medieval music. It had a great ambience especially with the only light coming from lit candles. The bear on the menu was a little of putting however.

Estonia has some great shopping so we spent a couple of hours the next morning at one of the plazas. Later that day, our friend came past the hotel and picked us up for a day of nature and culture.

It was a lovely fine day and she had planned a drive and walk in the Estonian bog marshes. We walked on the boardwalk not in the marsh!

The Estonians love their sauna and our friends were no exceptions. They had only recently completed building their own sauna and couldn't wait to show us the Estonian tradition of taking a sauna. So after a few drinks and snacks, we undressed, donned on a towel and were guided by our hosts to the pleasures and benefits of a traditional Finnish sauna. This consisted of three 5 minute sessions in the sauna followed by beer in the cool room after each session. The piece de resistance was the whipping we received after our last sauna session. This was done with a birch branch especially bought for this purpose. A very unique and I must say pleasurable experience. What an unusual way to spend the evening with people I'd only just met the day before!

Feeling very relaxed and invigorated, we slept like babies that night.

HappyCheesehead

Hi Mideba!

What did you do in Tallinn the third day? I am just starting to consider my spring 2009 trip and was considering Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with a side to St. Petersburg. Tallinn seems as if if would be a lovely city to visit and I would appreciate any suggestions you might make.

mideba

Hi HappyCheeseHead,

our last day in Estonia was a wet and dreary one. We slept in, packed our luggage and had a late breakfast. We then returned to the shopping plaza to exchange somthing I'd bought the day before. We walked around the old town again and bought some amber jewellery and then returned to the hotel to checkout. So nothing terribly exciting, I'm afraid.

I'm sure you will enjoy Tallin. It is a very beautiful city.