Celebrations in Beaune

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The day dawns with a wonderful blue sky. Today is a day of celebration. We’re not sure what to expect from our American neighbours but we expect to hear the Star Spangled Banner boom out at any time. Perhaps the Stars and Stripes will be unfurled from the balcony above our apartment. Who knows what to expect. In our apartment the celebration is of a different kind.

First up a delightful, but simple, breakfast. Then the card and present opening. The day is starting slowly but we have to pace ourselves. It could be long day.

Washing clothes while traveling can be an irksome chore but we have to be presentable while spending time in a fashionable area such as Burgundy. We are fortunate to once again have a washing machine. This time the online manual is in French. We choose a suitable cycle and some hours later we have a clean but very wet collection of clothes. Just as well the temperatures are reaching thirty today. Drying shouldn’t be a problem.

It is early afternoon and time for a quick excursion into Beaune. We have a birthday party to plan for. Parking is free on the inner ring road and from our parking spot it is a short walk into the town centre. On this Tuesday the town is reasonably quiet but getting quite hot. The ice cream goes down a treat. We discuss the restaurants we have visited and decide on a nice one near Place de Fleury. We’ll come back later.

Back at the apartment we join our neighbours for an afternoon drink and nibbles. We exchange traveling experiences and share brief notes about our families. We keep politics out of the conversation. Our neighbours have been coming here for a few years and have some good suggestions of sights and restaurants. They mention a few mid range restaurants starting at about 200 euros for a meal out (even a 400 euro meal out was mentioned). We both had a silent gulp and then mentioned we had seen one we liked in Beaune. We think our new friends are retired oil magnates. We enjoyed our drinks and nibbles session where we celebrated 4th July, a date that has a strong meaning for us all.

We bid our neighbours goodnight and head back into Beaune. We have a choice of outside or inside. We chose inside. The flies have sticky feet and tend to bite. Sitting outside next to a smoker spoils a celebratory meal. We choose inside. What a delightful meal. Full of delicious flavours. So far we have not been disappointed by the meals in France. We complement our meal with a very nice local Beaune red wine. What a wonderful way to celebrate a group member’s birthday. There are no surprise guests this year.

We arrive back at the apartment ready for a good sleep. Tomorrow we’ll explore some of the local countryside around Beaune.

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