Exploring the Bourgogne (Burgundy) Region in France--Post 7 of 9

J in the Beaune market

The sun is shining again today when we left to drive to Beaune which is located at the center of the winemaking in the Bourgogne (Burgundy) Region. The city has huge annual wine auction held in the fall and we saw the area where it is held. Near this building is a 15th century hospital which is now a museum. It had the most interesting slate roof. Also, there are a number of colorful geometric tiled roofs! (I missed getting a photo of these though!)

 When we arrived, there was a market going on in the town square so of course we had to check it out! There were table cloths and linens for sale at several vendors; but, each vendor's stock was different. You could purchase soaps, olives, chilies, bags, breads, cheeses and of course wine!

The tile floor design in the bathroom--
It sure looks "quilt-like!"

I noticed two children's clothing stores, but, they were closed for lunch. So we went for lunch and after lunch we shopped at that store. (Remember lunch takes two to three hours!!! The locals enjoy their lunches too so many business close over the lunch period.) We purchased two cute dresses for the grands. M purchased several gifts as well.

J thought that he had made reservations for lunch at a particular restaurant; but, when we arrived, we found out we didn't have reservations. Fortunately, the staff recommended another restaurant nearby and made reservations for us. Lunch at Jardin des Remparts ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. We didn't know until we googled where we had been that we had eaten at a one star Michelin restaurant!

This was the set menu:
Starters: Burgundy Snails Ball, Fried Garlic Butter or Tomato Salad in gelatin with a light mayonnaise dressing.
Main: Chuck Beef cooked 48 hours in a red wine sauce with light mashed potatoes or Salmon with Asparagus spears and cream sauce
Cheese: Light Sheep Yogurt with Wild Herbs
Dessert: Blackcurrant Cream, Shortbread, Gingerbread Ice-cream or Raspberry Soufflé and Cottage Cheese Ice-cream

Blackcurrant cream foreground
Amuse Bouch center
Raspberry souffle background

Once we ordered we were given a quartet of amuse bouche. Three of the four offerings lived up to tantalizing our tastebuds. One. . .well, we couldn't remember what it was; but, none of us found it favorable! Those of us who chose the snails as the starter were wowed; both in presentation and taste! Later, we found out this was a signature dish of the restaurant! It was a first for B to eat snails and he thought that this dish was one of the best of the trip. M liked her tomato salad.

For the mains, M enjoyed the salmon, the rest of us enjoyed the beef. It was the potatoes that were more cream and cheese than potato that made the beef really delicious though! We all thought that the cheese yogurt was a little too light and would have been better with more sauce and actual cheese chunks. The desserts were both over the top wonderful. The soufflé was so light and area and at the bottom of the dish was a little raspberry sauce which coupled with the cottage cheese ice-cream was amazing. The blackcurrant cream on shortbread with Gingerbread Ice-cream was wonderful too! We also received another savoring of amuse bouche and this time, we loved it all! YES. . . .it took us probably three hours to have lunch and it didn't "feel" that long at all!

The wine we purchased--all for gifts

When we received our receipt, we also received a box that contained two little cakes. . .another WOW!!! What an incredible experience and yes, the wine and bread was wonderful too!

After lunch and shopping, we drove to a huge wine tasting venue that N was excited about visiting. N described what she wanted to taste. We tasted three white wines. Unfortunately, that was all we tasted. Our staff representative who had been friendly and helpful, disappeared. When we inquired about tasting the other specific wines, we were told that we could taste something "comparable," but, not the actual wine that we had inquired about. J had quite a discussion with the staff person which changed nothing. I have noted that sometimes in France, one can be treated "differently." I'm not sure if that has to do with being an American or if it has to do with not fitting into the "box" that the business has set up for the customer. In Oregon, we live in an area where we can visit many vineyards and taste the products too! We left this picture book establishment.

The rules of the different games

The front of the game box

As we drove down the hill, we saw a sign for wine tasting so we stopped. It was a small tasting room, staffed with one person who also took payments in another part of the building! This winery only sold wines that were produced in the area. We learned that a particular level/rating of wine that was highly touted at the former establishment was not available for sale because they weren't produced in the area!

The game board

We tasted wine, talked about wine and repeated that sequence a number of times.  Pricing at this location was easily $20 euros less per bottle than the prices were on top.  Service was terrific!
We purchased wine and complimented her on how well she conveyed her knowledge to us. On our way out, J commended the staff person on her wonderful service and recounted a bit of the reception we had received up the hill. Her eyes grew wide when he shared some of the differing selling points we had learned top side. Then a happy smile lit up her face when he shared how many bottles we had purchased which was none!

We drove back to Tavaux and dropped M off at the family home and visited the SuperU (grocery store) for a few supplies for our trip back to Paris the following day. I wanted a little finishing salt, a jar of rillettes de canard to bring to Oregon. The rillettes de canard is delicious on a toasted baguette!

When we returned to the family home, M had dinner prepared--as if we needed another meal! We enjoyed her green salad, stuffed tomatoes, potato salad, ham, sliced meats, bread, cheese and wine.

After dinner M introduced me to Marabelle--this game was her parents'! She won quickly and I had to take a photo of the board and of the box because of how many different games one could play and M knew them all although this seemed to be her favorite. She probably thought me to be crazy that I was so interested in the story behind the game and box!

Then she and N played checkers. They each won a game and we celebrated their draw with champagne and chocolate!