Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Trip report, Part 3 -- Paris, Loire, and Burgundy

Part 3

This is the last of my three-part trip report giving some details on a Fall 2006 trip to Paris, Loire, and Burgundy. (Parts 1 and 2 were posted earlier and can be easily found by searching for drbb.) I apologize for taking so long to get Part 3 posted!!

DAY EIGHT
We hated to leave the gorgeous Loire Valley but the wines of Burgundy were calling us. We left Onzain in the morning after a coffee/baguette stop and drove about four hours to the peaceful little town of Vézelay. We wanted to see the famous cathedral here on our way to Beaune.

Morning: The Burgundian countryside was quite lovely in the Fall. Here as in the Loire the majority of grapes had already been harvested, but we did see a few vineyards where harvesting was going on. The approach to the village of Vézelay was dramatic – the town and the cathedral are on top of a rather large hill and can be seen for miles around. The route directions that I had downloaded from viamichelin.com were spot on until we got to St Pere sous Vézelay. Minor road construction required a little detour. Luckily a kind anonymous road worker had taken the time to post hand-written detour signs at every turn.

When we arrived in Vézelay we created on our parking spot off the main road and under a grove of tress and then walked a few hundred yards into the main square. The pedestrian road up to the cathedral is just that – UP. We stopped for lunch first at La Bougainville which is on rue St Etienne on the way to the basilica. It was a very simple restaurant featuring typical Burgundian food.

Lunch: Of course DH started with… snails! (See parts 1 and 2 for more on my husband’s love of escargots.) And I a terrine forestiere which contained fat beefy mushrooms, carrots, leeks, and other vegetables along with some hearty herbs. My second was a vegetarian plate – nicely cooked carrots, haricots verts, slices of zucchini, and snap peas topped with a creamy sage sauce. There were also mushrooms marinated in a vinaigrette and a spaghetti squash side dish that was flavored with nutmeg. Husband devoured a boeuf bourguignon with a rich wine sauce and a crusty potato galette. I then had some cheese – my first taste of the famed Epoisses as well as a local chevre and a fourme d’ambert. The Epoisses was very runny, very young and very strong. It smelled like a barnyard and took some getting used to. We then had a tarte tatin and a pain perdu with berry coulis for dessert. Total cost with sparkling Badoit and a 50 cl pichet of local red burgundy: 65 euros.

Afternoon: We were glad for the walk after lunch. The buildings of the town seemed to get older the closer you got to the basilica. The cathedral itself is huge, of black and white stone. Dark and musty on the inside as all old places should be. There were not too many people so it was quiet. There is a crypt which supposedly contains a relic of Mary Magdalene, the same relics that made this church a famous pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages. You can’t really tell what the relic is – a piece of bone perhaps.

Behind the basilica was a pretty green area and a vast overlook of the neighboring valley and St Pere sous Vézelay. There was a map which identified what was in the distance. We saw big fat Charolais beef cows grazing in the valley. When we got back to the car we found a parking ticket from the Commune of Vézelay. Our spot was legal but we had not deposited our coins in the machine and displayed the proper receipt. The ticket had an English translation which explained how our indiscretion was offensive to the village but could be rectified by immediate payment and placement of the receipt in the ticket envelope, and the envelope in a drop box at city hall. It went on to explain that non-payment would result in a ban from France for life as well as forfeiture of a limb or your car if caught. Not to mention the disdain of the citizenry of France. We meekly did our duty and drove quickly out of town.

The rest of our drive to Beaune took about an hour and was uneventful. Until we got into Beaune and the N74 referenced on the Michelin directions disappeared with another route taking its place. The ring road around Beaune is well-marked and we easily found our hotel Le Cep which is inside the old town on the southern side.

The hotel is on a narrow street, so one only has to park and then an attendant takes your car. We checked in and were shown to a pretty room which was called Montrachet. All the rooms have wine names. The room was large as was the bathroom, and we had a nice view into the inner courtyard. The public rooms downstairs were very pretty, furnished in antiques (the biggest armoire I’ve ever seen) and oriental carpets of red and gold. There is a also a little bar, and the attendant will bring drinks or coffee to you any time of day or night. There was a lovely old wooden table next to the old-fashioned casement window fronting the street and we spent an hour there each afternoon enjoying glasses of wine, DH reading his book on the wines of Burgundy and I writing in my journal. Cost: 252 euros per day plus 12 euros per day for parking. Breakfast not included. http://www.hotel-cep-beaune.com/

We unpacked and went down to the desk to learn that our 8 PM dinner reservation had been moved to 9. So we strolled through Beaune, window shopped, stopped at a café. Most of the old town is pedestrian. There is a little park on the Place Carnot with a carrousel for the kids. As in the Loire towns, there are gardens and trees everywhere, and every second story window has a flowerbox. I have read that Beaune can be very crowded with tourists but we did not find it crowded at the beginning of October.

Dinner: Our dinner reservation was at Ma Cuisine which has been praised in a number of reviews. It is very small and the owners also own a wine store next door to the restaurant. The restaurant was packed, the largest table taken by a local family with a number of children. My starter was a scramble of soft eggs, toped with chopped fresh tomato, fresh basil and slivers of parmesan. DH has a terrine of rabbit flavored with tarragon and accompanied by an onion confit. There was a little jar of cornichons on the table, steeped in vinegar and tarragon. We ate a number of those! We drink a 2004 Rully 1er cru. Our seconds consist of a sautéed chicken breast with a creamy sauce of morels and a plate of mignons de porc in a Dijon sauce. Our dishes were good but not what I would consider outstanding or memorable. My dessert was a simple dish of mirabelle plums stewed in a simple syrup, while husband opted for the raspberry sorbet. Total: 81 euros. This place was good, but I did not think it merited the raves that I had seen. We finished dinner at 11:30 and were exhausted after the long day and the drive. The cafes on the Place Carnot were still in full swing on a Friday night, but luckily the Hotel Le Cep was very quiet.

DAY NINE
Morning: It was market day in Beaune (I timed the trip so that we would be here for the big Saturday market), and the squares are crowded with stalls, tables, people, dogs. We stopped at a café for morning repast and watched the action before browsing. Everything imaginable was being sold – vegetables, fruits, flowers, cheeses, sausages, meats, fish, breads, linens, clothes, spices, house wares, CDs, bric-a-brac. The large building on the Place des Halles has been turned into a meat market, row after row of stalls. Several vendors on the street gave away sample of candy, cheese, sausage, and we tasted everything we could. We strolled first, seeing what looked good. I bought a heavy jacquard tablecloth embossed with sunflowers and in fall colors of burgundy, gold, and orange. I bought a dozen tiny white casserole dishes so that I can serve an amuse bouche at our next dinner party. DH also bought tablecloths for his mother and sister, then French nougat candy made with hazelnuts. Lucky that Le Cep was close by so that we could drop off our purchases.

We visited the Hotel Dieu after shopping, although the market was still in full swing. The displays of the old hospital were interesting, particularly the wards, the kitchens, and the chapel. DH was fascinated by the “stuffed” nuns. The beamed ceilings and carvings were beautiful as were the tiled roofs of the inner courtyard. See http://www.hospices-de-beaune.com/gb/musee/.

Lunch: The market was slowing down some when we exited, rain clouds threatening. We decided to lunch at La Concorde on the square which was more of a touristy, “fast food” type of place. DH claimed that he wanted to eat “light” but then proceeded to order three courses of onion soup, boeuf bourguignon, and crème brulee. I also ordered the onion soup which was made with a tomato base rather than beef stock. Then a crusty croque monsieur. We had a local wine. Total: 63 euros.

Afternoon: At 2:00 PM. the market was in de-construct mode. Street sweepers were cleaning furiously and the meat market was being hosed down by the local fire department. We toured the Musee du Vin which featured an interesting old B&W French film on making barrels. Then the Marche aux Vins (http://www.marcheauxvins.com/) where we tasted a number of wines (there are 18 featured, most were regional or village wines). You get to keep the tastevin cup after your tour. The best part of this tour was the look at the cellars. We window-shopped some more and decide to come back later to some of the wine stores. Also a large kitchenware store that featured Laguiole knives and corkscrews. We went back to the Hotel for a rest and a change of clothes.

We headed out at 8 PM to eat dinner at a restaurant called Les Tontons. It is small with one middle-aged gentleman serving all tables. Apparently either he or the chef is fond of the Eurythmics. My husband ordered… snails. A cocotte of snails in a rich bouillon of vegetables and herbs. He proceeded to a braised beef in mushrooms and beef jus served with a vegetable that we cannot identify. I had the gelee of volaille, leeks and fois gras served with a red beet sauce. Then a veal braised with carrots and potatoes. Cheese came next – a bleu de Bresse, a chevre, a Soumartrain, and Epoisses, though not as runny nor as stinky. This cheese really starts to grow on me. I slathered it on cubes of crusty French bread. Our wine was a Drouhin Beaune 1er cru Les Greves 2001, and it was perfect with the cheese. Husband finished with a buttery cake that had a sugar crust on top and a honey lemon crème on the bottom. Total: 84 euros. We called it a night and headed back to Le Cep.

DAY TEN
After morning café crème, we got the car and headed out on the wine road toward Dijon. It was a pretty morning though a little overcast. We saw the hill of Aloxe-Corton but did not turn off to the village. Since it was Sunday many of the stores and tasting rooms were closed. We drove through Pernand-Verglesses and then Nuits St George. All of these little villages have such character and it is clear that wine is the most important industry. We passed many vineyards, a number of them were marked with their names. Many have old stone walls, crosses, or other markers. Some are bordered by rose bushes. We stopped at Clos Vougeot to take a tour. Unfortunately they had just stopped selling tickets because it was approaching the all-important lunch time. So we decided to come back later, and we walked out into the vineyards. The grapes had just been harvested (pinot noir) but there were few stragglers on the vines and we tasted. We stopped at the Chateau de la Tour tasting room, one of the few that was open. The young woman was very knowledgeable as we asked questions about the differences in the vintages. We bought some bottles.

We leisurely drove through Chambolle-Musigny and Morey St Denis on the wine road, stopping several times along the road to look at the vineyards and hills. As at Clos Vougeot, most of the grapes had been harvested but we saw a few workers in some of the vineyards. We arrived in Gevrey-Chambertin and parked the car so that we could walk through the village. A procession of small trucks paraded through the town at one point, honking incessantly and with the young harvesters yelling and waving their shirts. We assumed that their celebration signaled that the harvest was finished. We saw them a while later in front of one of the wine houses, washing off their muddy boots and getting ready for their communal midday meal. Otherwise, the town was extremely quiet. Murals on building walls pictured grape vines and featured the names of the famous vineyards. We stopped the Domaine Hereszytn which had a beautiful courtyard with climbing roses. There was an older woman there who spoke no English coming out of the tasting room but she made the universal sign of “closed for lunch” and said she would re-open at 2:00 PM.

Lunch: In Gevrey-Chambertin at the Rotisserie du Chambertin. The Michelin guide indicated that this restaurant was a little pricey but I had read that the dining room, a converted wine cave was not to be missed. Indeed the cave is a large whitewashed room with a vaulted stone ceiling. Beautiful heavy paneling comes halfway up the stone walls and the room is carpeted and quiet. There are heavy starched linens, silver and exquisite china. This does not look like your average rotisserie.

A very tall, thin young woman in black served all of the tables. She brought us an amuse bouche of little croque monsieurs and gougers while we looked at the menu., We chose a 2002 Aloxe-Corton Domaine Rapet Pere & Fils. It smells darkly of leather and earth with cherry notes on the palate. A second amuse bouche is served – a tiny bit of smoked salmon with fresh dill and a dill sauce. To start, I order a ravioli of chevre in a creamy sauce with escargots. DH ordered …. snails. 12 large escargots in a very garlicky parsley butter.

We decided to order the featured entrecote for two. It arrives charred (over a wood fire) on the outside and rare on the inside. It smelled wonderful as it made its presentation on the carving board and then was carried back to the kitchen to be sliced. It was served with a square of potatoes parmentier, crusty and cheesy, some steamed swiss chard, and tiny cubes of sautéed carrots. There is a show of bringing the béarnaise in a sauce boat to the table. Two small pools are spooned on each plate on either side of the entrecote. I think that this was the best steak I have ever had. Full of flavor and perfect with the tarragon-y tang of the béarnaise.

Husband then orders dessert – thin slices of roasted, sugar-glazed pineapple with a side of creamy panna cotta. I decide on cheese – an Epoisses, a crottin de chavignol, and a Delice de Pommard with a crème de moutarde. The cheese is served with a very dense dark sweet bread and a little bunch of grapes. By this time I’m really starting to love Epoisses! Another two hour lunch ends with coffee and tea and an array of gourmandises. Total cost: 145 euros.

Our afternoon included a return to Domaine Herszytn where we tasted a few wines and bought two bottles of Gevery-Chambertin 1er cru. Then to Clos Vougeot where we toured the pressing rooms. http://www.tastevin-bourgogne.com/AnChateau/Chateau/ I had no idea that the presses were so immense. We also saw the rooms where the Confrerie des Chevliers du Tastevin hold their annual post-harvest dinner and awards celebration. We drove back through Vosne-Romanee (I searched in vain for the famous Romanee Conti vineyard) and Aloxe-Corton and then into Beaune. We dropped off the car and spent a quiet hour at the bar in the hotel.

Dinner: After our entrecote feast in Gevrey-Chambertin, husband decided he wanted to eat “light” so we walked the streets and looked for something simple. A very casual restaurant the Piqu’Boeuf near the Place Madeleine was open. We decided to give it a go. This was not classic French dining by any means. Paper napkins – egads! We ordered a Pernard-Verglesses red. Again, “light” become three courses for DH as cannot say no once he gets the menu. He ordered a goat cheese salad, a pizza “royale” and a dessert. I ordered an oeufs meurette and then a chicken breast in mustard sauce. It was OK. Total: 67 euros.

DAY ELEVEN
Our last full day in Burgundy. We headed south, first to Pommard. I had read (Fodor’s Short Escapes in France, also bought this used, through amazon.com) about a walking trail here that goes through the vineyards and we decided to take advantage of the pretty morning. We parked the car in the main square of Pommard and walked for about 90 minutes on some little paved roads through the fields. It was very quiet and bucolic.

We departed Pommard for Chateau Meursault. We stopped here long enough to taste a couple of wines and make a few purchases. Unfortunately our ability to bring back bottles has been severely compromised by the TSA regulations forbidding liquids in hand luggage. We have resigned ourselves to carrying a few bottles in our checked bags. The chateau’s main building is very pretty but we did not take the tour as it involved tasting numerous wines and who could resist? We had lunch reservations for a grand tasting at La Table de Olivier LeFlaive and we didn’t want to overdo it before we got there.

Lunch: We drove to Puligny-Montrachet and walked through the little village before locating Olivier LeFlaive’s little restaurant. The tasting lunch included some simple dishes – the highlight is the chance to taste 15 wines (usually 14 but they threw in a bonus wine on this day!) including Grand Cru and 1er cru LeFlaive wines . The young man who led the tasting is Pascal Wagner who speaks excellent English and German. We share our table with a young couple from Germany who also spoke very good English and who come to Burgundy several times a year to buy wine. There were little silver buckets on the table for spitting out the wine but this something I could not bring myself to do. Luckily all of this lasted about three hours, and I was able to pace myself by taking only a few sips of each wine – until we got to the good ones.

There were about 24 people in the room at various tables. Pascal went to each table to introduce himself, to give you a list of the wines to be tasted today and to explain about the order of the wines. Each person has four glasses of different wines poured at a time. We started with regional and village whites along with a cold terrine of vegetables and fois gras. We were then served a chicken stew with carrots over rice, simple but with herbs that nicely complemented the wines. White 1er crus and a Grand Cru were next. Pascal was passionate about the vintner’s art and went into as much detail as you might like regarding terroir, the effect of the hill’s slope and angle, climate, this year’s weather compared to last year’s, etc. Red wines were last. Then a course of cheeses, followed by coffee and chocolates. Patrons asked for ‘seconds” on wines that they wanted to taste further. We bought several bottles – 1er cru Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet that were very reasonable. The lunch & tasting itself was 48 euros per person. I really enjoyed this experience – I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get a comprehensive tasting of the white wines of the Cote d’Or area south of Beaune. http://www.olivier-leflaive.com/index.html

After our tasting, we followed the small back roads around to the west and then to the north, past Château de La Rochepot and several small villages, getting back to Beaune about 5 PM. I had a desperate need to finish some shopping for gifts. There are a number of very nice stores selling chocolates, mustards, gingerbread, as well as numerous stores selling wines and wine paraphernalia. We then decided to stroll through the northern section of Beaune. There is a huge Patriarche & Fils in that section of town as well as Bouchard Aine & Fils. We walked on the ring road and then went through Porte St Nicholas. The city walls are very old. We continued walking through cobblestone streets toward the center of town, stopping to see the Bell Tower and the cathedral.

Dinner: We changed for dinner and then walked out to the Place Carnot to stroll for a bit. We watched the carrousel and the children as the sun started to set. It was a very peaceful ending to a wonderful stay in Beaune. The we walked to L’Ecusson. http://www.ecusson.fr/ This was a wonderful restaurant with great food, excellent service and all the attention to detail that makes the French dining experience so unique. It was a superb good-bye to the cuisine of Burgundy. We ordered a 2002 Savigny les Beaunes 1er cru by Tollot-Beaut. My starter is a thick carrot soup, almost more of a puree, flavored with grains of mustard that give it an unexpected piquancy. There were ultra thin slices of fois gras floating on top which were warm from the soup and had the consistency of butter. DH’s fresh crab dish is delicious, served cold with a light dressing and the taste of cucumber and mint. My plat was a “galette” of poulet fermier, a cake of shredded chicken that had been sautéed on the outside and set on a round of buttery mashed potato. There was a drizzle of a red wine reduction so dark and thick that it was almost black. It was sweet and tangy at the same time. Husband’s plat is a filet of beef. also with a pint noir reduction. We had a unique dessert, poached pears served on a bed of wheatberries that have been cooked and are sweet. The pears are delicious but all I could think of when I tasted the wheatberries was eating Sugar Smacks when I was a kid. Total: 92 euros.

TO HOME
We left Beaune at 9:00 AM to drive to the Lyon airport. The roads were well-marked and the signs for the airport made it easy to locate. We turned in our car. Air France to Paris and then to Atlanta and then Delta to Baton Rouge. Happily a boring, thought exhausting flight home.

What a great trip – we felt that we got to experience three very different parts of France, all unique, beautiful sights, wonderful cuisine, and great wines. We had no problems, stayed in great hotels, and enjoyed all of the sites. Each trip that I take convinces me that the pre-trip research pays off in spades! Happy traveling….

My pictures for all 3 parts of our trip are posted on shutterfly.com. To view go to http://www.shutterfly.com/action/sha...C/project/view .