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Morning
has come and you have slept soundly. Yesterday had been busy and
exciting, much like the other days. At last night's gourmet
dinner, everybody agreed that they would leave at 9:00 this morning.
You are torn between the comfort of this 16th century room and the
anticipation of another glorious day riding. So you quickly pull
on your clothes and head down to breakfast. There is the usual
assortment of bread, jam and croissants, cheeses, eggs and hot and
cold beverages. But today you are confronted by a strange
contraption next to the eggs. It turns out you have to boil your
own eggs in it. Everyone gives you advice about how many turns of the egg
timer are required to cook the egg. They have all failed to cook
theirs long enough and want you to succeed. But this morning,
eggs were not in the cards and yours is too soft as well. Not to
worry, everything else is fresh and tastes scrumptious.
What
was supposed to be a 9 o'clock departure turns into 9:30, but no one seems to
care. The day is still young and we have all day to ride 40km
(24 miles).
One of your fellow adventures was out early and has discovered a
market close by where lunch fixings can be secured. At the
store, some people go inside while others stay with the bikes.
The only thing this store does not seem to have is baguettes.
So a couple of people head off to find the boulangerie. They
return a few minutes later, bread in hand, and report that today is
market day in the town square. Everyone agrees that this is
something that shouldn't be missed. The vendors have everything
from hardware to fabrics to jewelry to baked goods and are happy to
bargain with us. At 11, are you finally are riding into
the countryside. Spirits are high after this unexpected
diversion. How the time flies!
Yesterday,
the hillsides were covered with vineyards, but today, there are only
white cattle, green fields and again, few cars. Ahead, there is a
small town and a sign for a Chateau. None of the material you
have mentions this place, but you decide to take a look.
When you reach the chateau, it is small and needs to be restored.
But the old pear tree by the road is full of ripe fruit and everyone
gets an unexpected treat.
The
pear whets your appetite and awakens your hunger for a lunch long past
due. It's not hard to find a peaceful picnic spot. Bread,
a variety of amazing local cheeses, fresh fruits and wine purchased
while wine tasting yesterday rounds out the picnic. People
recount the fun they had trying that Grand Cru; how we smelled it and then held
it in our mouth while the flavor changed; what complexity; what
finish; ahhhhh. Suddenly everybody is laughing about how we are
all becoming connoisseurs.
It's
already after 3 and you have only ridden 15km! The scenery
continues as before and you pass through town after town, through the
lush fields dotted with cows and medieval buildings, stopping
occasionally to regroup and look at this church or that view. At
6, you arrive at your next stop; a Chambre d'hote (B & B) in a former
15th century cloister. You are warmly greeted by the owner,
Madame Lequime. Madam and her husband have lovingly renovated
and imaginatively redecorated the large rooms we are in. She
serves us tea and cakes before we clean up and go off on our own to
explore the town.
Tonight,
some of the group has decided that they need the comfort of pizza and
go to a local Italian restaurant, but you and the rest of the group go
to the recommended restaurant which serves typical Burgundian food.
The sommelier, who helps us make perfect wine selections, is very friendly and you find out that he lives in the
same building you are staying in. What a small world.
After the fabulous dinner, there is some discussion about which of the
dinners thus far was the best. In the end, you decide that it is
impossible to pick the best. They have all been superb, but
different enough that each qualifies for that distinction. An
after dinner walk leads to thought of the day and anticipation of
tomorrow. Can it already be 11?
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