Day 23 - The Little Black Dress In Burgundy

We're staying in Le Richebourg Hotel & Spa just outside Nuit Saint George. It's a very nice place with huge rooms and comfy beds. We're finding that while traveling in early January comes with a few issues, there are some definite advantages.

Admittedly, the weather can be terrible, we're getting freezing rain right now and some places you'd really like to visit can be closed. That's only two things--the benefit list is far longer: No crowds means you can get the impossible reservation at that restaurant you've always wanted to try; servers are not stressed and tend to be really patient and nice; prices are incredibly low, a last minute call can get you a rate significantly lower than the ones listed online; and my favorite thing is that you can leave your options open and make plans as you travel instead of having to button everything down before leaving home.

Today we drove in Beaune, a lovely town about twenty minutes away--through vineyards and farms. We visited the Notre Dame Basillica, the Hotel Dieu, and the biggest, most complete wine bookstore I've ever seen.

Our wine tasting tonight started off a little rough with Frank asking the guy which of his wines were made with the Savignon Blanc grape. Brows very high and eyes very narrow, the man explained that in Burgundy only the Chardonnay grape is used for white wines. He relaxed and his English improved as we proved to be more than total duffers wasting his time, but at the end he did made clear that only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes are used in this region. We liked his wine and left happy.

Not many people saw the LBD today as the coat stayed firmly in place. If they had seen it, they'd have admired the burgundy cashmere sweater Jordan gave me and I wore in tribute to the area. With the sweater I wore warm jeans, walking shoes, lots of t shirts, and my heaviest scarf.