Day 12 – Catching up and planning ahead.

Today was a catch-up day. There was some paperwork, some photos to go through, a little route adjustment for tomorrow and a visit from the cleaning woman. We also started to check on our options, as the French Air Traffic Controllers have indicated that they will stage a three day strike October 7th – 9th. The strike dates coincide with our return flight, so we need to anticipate the disruption.

We showered and dressed, then waited for the cleaning woman to arrive at 10:30 am. We’ve been keeping the house tidy, but a little boost was appreciated. When she arrived, we said hello and then she began. Sue and I stayed in the library while she was taking care of business. She did a wonderful job and she will be returning on Thursday to finish the remainder of the house.

Before doing anything else, we took a walk over to the boulangerie to grab a sandwich and a couple of goodies for the day. We also stopped to make a reservation for dinner at Kimm & Ridge.

We were both hungry and decided on individual panini sandwiches, a cookie for Sue and a croissant with raspberry filling for me. In case you’re interested, a filled dessert here is not like a filled donut in the US. There is usually just a thin layer of filling to enhance the flavor of the pastry.

With the nourishment level back in the ‘full’ range, we could go about our various tasks.

High on the list was contacting Air Canada regarding our flights. I was able to talk to a customer service representative regarding the situation. After going through our options, we decided to wait until the strike action is official. At that time, Air Canada will work with us to change our plans. If we make a change now, it would cost us an additional $2000. We will have to be vigilant to watch our notices from Air Canada.

We were planning to drive to Guédelon Castle tomorrow until we realized that it was closed. It’s a good thing that we checked the website for opening times or it would have been a long, sad drive. We’ve decided to move castle day to Friday and tomorrow we will instead visit the medieval town of Noyers-sur-Serein.

Since this is a stay-at-home day, Sue did a load of laundry while I was working on the computer. It’s a bit chilly today, so it’s not a ‘sit outside’ kind of day. However, it is a good ‘get comfy on the couch with a book’ kind of day.

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The last time we were in the Borgogne region, we passed through Chablis on our way to Beaune. We saw some great scenery, visited a couple of wineries and our main focus was on red Burgundian wines. We drove along the “Routes des Grands Crus” and admired the vineyards and wineries while cruising by.

This trip, our house is located in a perfect location for access to wine – imagine that. We have our own route that we consider to be the “Promenade des Vignobles de Chablis” or the ‘Chablis Winery Walk’.

As part of our day-to-day activities, we regularly walk by our neighbor Domaine Louis Michel, Domaine William Fevre, Domaine Pinson, Domaine Samuel Billaud, Domaine Laroche and Domaine Long-Depaquit.

Several wineries also have boutiques in town to pop into to buy or taste wine: Domaine Clotilde Davenne, Jean-Marc Brocard and Domaine Defaix.

If we hop in the car, we are very close to many additional wineries in all directions, including La Chablisienne, the large wine cooperative.

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When dinner time came around we headed over to Kimm & Ridge Restaurant. We were surprised to see that they already had a few tables seated and two large tables set up. One of the servers recognized us from our last visit and made a point of saying hello when we arrived.

Though busy, the noise level wasn’t too bad. We could talk back and forth at a regular level, even when the table of twelve arrived.

We kept it simple for dinner. I started with escargot and then had the grilled ham steak and roasted potatoes while Sue went with the salmon, though she was dipping her bread into the garlic butter and parsley from my escargot. We both finished with the pistachio creme brûlée. A bottle of the Pattes Loup Beauregard Chablis premier cru was our choice of beverage for the evening.

Everything was well prepared and delicious. We will definitely be back in the days to come.

Walking back to the house, the night air definitely had a chill to it. The streets were empty and the neighborhood was quiet. We closed up downstairs, washed up and then sat in bed reading before packing it in for the night.

It wasn’t an exciting day, but it was a pleasant day and that’s what counts. Tomorrow will be a new adventure.