After a quick breakfast on the Catherine, the Ramblers boarded the bus for our trip to Beaune, a distance of 50 miles or so. Since we hadn’t got up extra early, all we saw of the Quai des Marans and Macon was either from our ship or the bus window. The town itself looked interesting with a tall church spire visible in the distance. However, before long we had left Macon behind on our way to Beaune.
I had coaxed the senior Rambler in coming along on the trip to Beaune. There wouldn’t be much walking involved as we had seen the famous Hospice on our last trip. The plan was to find a cafe on the square next to the hospice and people watch while the others took in the Hospice.
Since we had visited Beaune and the very famous late medieval Hospice two years ago, I’m not going to include any information about it today. I wrote at length about its history and included several photos in an earlier blog.
After we reached the historic area of the town which was a fair walk from our bus stop, the Ramblers sought out a table at one of the cafes facing the historic center of Beaune. Because of the narrow streets in the historic area the buses can only stop outside the tour destination. In some of these towns, this involves a fairly lengthy walk, but this time our stop wasn’t so far from our destination.
Although I usually don’t take pictures of local people when we travel as it seems to me an invasion of privacy, I couldn’t resist a photo of this French family obviously embarking on day’s tour of Beaune. They were a very attractive group and they stopped almost directly in front of us while maman sorted out the baby. Hope they had an enjoyable day.
In the right hand corner, you can see some shops and directly across is the Hospice tour exit. Leaving the senior Rambler to enjoy his Orangina, I headed there to buy some souvenirs. The shops in Bearne are noted for their fine wines (too bulky for me), their black currant liquor, and mustard. The story goes that dijon mustard was actually developed in Beaune but Dijon gets all the credit.
Beaune is right in the middle of the Burgundy wine district and hosts the largest wine auction in France every year. Wine has been produced in Burgundy since Roman times. When you ride through the surrounding area, the most prominent crop you see is grapes. Of course they will produce delicious wines at the many wineries of the area. Thus Beaune gets a significant amount of tourists however its shops sell more upscale items besides high quality and expensive wine.
Yes, I did buy mustard and some black currant liquor in Beaune. This Rambler tends to buy tasty edible gifts. Unfortunately the last time I forgot to pack the mustard and honey in the check bag. Mustard and honey are considered liquids by the customs police, who knew?? All were confiscated because they are not permitted in a carry-on. So if you want to bring back mustard or honey from Provence, please put it in your checked bag.
After a pleasant morning in Beaune, our next stop for lunch and wine tasting would be at the Chateau de Chamirey on our way back to Macon, Our bus route took us through the center of the ancient town of Mercurey which has been settled since the Romans ruled here. It was probably named for the Roman god Mercury 2,000 years ago. Grapes have been raised here for even longer. After the Romans left, the area became a hub of Christianity and Mercurey still has an ancient church which was probably built in the 11th century. It is named after a young Roman nobleman who was martyred for his beliefs in 178 AD.
Many Grand Cru estates can be found around Mercurey; our bus went to Chamiray, but the other two busses visited different Grand Cru estates in the area. The Chateau itself is a very impressive 18th century building and the owners have remodeled the original 18th century winery, adding a beautiful tasting and lunch facility close by the Chateau. It was here that we would enjoy a tasting of their wine as well as a typical French country style lunch.
The Devillard family has owned the Chateau de Chamirey for 5 generations, producing its first bottle in 1934. Since then the family has expanded operations in the area and now holds 37 hectares almost half of which are designated Premier Cru, producing both white and red wines of excellent quality.
Our bus pulled up before the impressive gates and we got off the bus, fortunately only a short walk from the Chateau. There we were met by a smiling guide. Although most of the passengers on the cruises we have taken hailed from English-speaking countries like Australia , South Africa and Canada, not to forget Great Britain, this time there was a large family group of Brazilians on board. Since their command of English was limited, most times they had a guide who spoke Portuguese, which no doubt made things much more enjoyable for them.
Our guides took us first to the expansive vineyards which surrounded the Chateau and winery on all sides. As it was the middle of August, the vines held heavy clusters of grapes. We never have been offered a taste of the grapes, probably because they are varieties more suited to wine than the table.
The Chateau itself was not open to tourists, as I expect it is the family home. Our next stop was the tasting room and then lunch with paired wines. Incidentally, the Chateau also offers lunch among the grape vines however this seems to be done with smaller groups, not 30 plus river cruisers. All in all, a very delightful day in the beautiful Burgundian countryside.
AT 4:30, shortly after we returned to Macon, the Catherine set sail for Lyon, heading back on the Saone to its confluence with the Rhone. The Catherine would spend the rest of the cruise on the Rhone ending at the historic city of Avignon.