We had to make the call to hang out in town again. My back just couldn’t take the cobblestones and climbing stone stairs today. It was very disappointing as I was looking forward to visiting the castles and singing songs while we drove along.
Jan and Dave thought about going back to Dijon, but ended up visiting some other places in town instead. They even took a ride on the tourist train and visited the Hôtel Dieu.
Sue and I took a little walk around town, only walking where the sidewalk or streets were flat.
View along the ramparts.
That might sound funny, but we did find an awesome little patisserie along the way. We picked up sandwiches, pastries, little bear-shaped spice cookies and gougères and had our own little picnic.
Mmmm… Chocolate eclairs!
We even had a bottle of wine from our hotel stash. They were nice enough to let us put it in the refrigerator to chill for a bit….so it wasn’t a total washout of a day.
As this will be our last day together for a few days, we booked a table at Caves Madeleine for a semi-farewell dinner.
The restaurant is very small and we were seated at a communal table. It wasn’t exactly what I was planning, but it actually worked out fine. We had a really nice dinner and two bottles of delicious wine.
As an added bonus, the people next to us were very nice and when there was a break in the action, we got to share a little chat with them. They were from Korea and just arrived that morning after a twenty hour flight. The poor guy looked dead tired; the woman was just excited to be there. The ice-breaker: a Scorpion’s song playing in the kitchen that the woman and I both liked.
At times it was a little bit loud, but once people started eating it quieted down. Our servers were a delight and although very busy, were friendly and attentive. They were pleasantly surprised when I asked if we could include them in our pictures.
Oh, our meals. Sue and Jan had a chicken quenelle, while David and I had the roasted pollock fish. A bowl of mashed potatoes for us to share was brought over and then the forks did their job – yum!
We took a pleasant walk back to the hotel, said our good-byes, exchanged hugs and parted.
Jan and Dave were headed to Avignon in the morning, while Sue and I are staying in Beaune. We’ll meet back up in Paris after the weekend.
For our next adventure, we grabbed a train to visit Dijon. Ok, so technically we just bought tickets for the train, but I swear, I could have been the engineer – I ate my share of Good-n-Plenty growing up.
After purchasing our tickets, we caught the next available train for the thirty minute ride up to Dijon. While Beaune is considered the wine capital of Burgundy, Dijon is considered the capital. It is a fairly large city, with an old town that we centered our walk through.
I wanted to follow the Owl!
Dijon adopted the Owl (Chouette) as a symbol for the city and uses it as a guide for tourists The Owl’s Trail (le parcours de la chouette) uses the owl to mark the trail of roughly twenty-two sites around the old town..
We made a brief stop at the Tourist office to get a guidebook and then off we went – to lunch. We stopped at a Brasserie that was recommended by the guy at the info office. And then we were off.
Jan and Dave went to the Palace of the Dukes and the museum of Beaux Arts, while Sue and I went back to follow the Owl.
Before we went back to our starting point, we stopped into St Michael’s Church and the Musée Rude.
So finally, we made the Cathedral of Notre-Dame our first stop. It dates back to the thirteenth century and while maybe not as ornate as the cathedral in Paris, it still brings in parishioners and tourists.
The original Owl is carved on the corner of the Église Notre-Dame. Local tradition says if you rub the owl with your left hand and make a wish, your wish will come true. Not wanting to be selfish, I made a wish that included all our friends and loved ones. I hope it comes true! PS…I avoided that pesky dragon too!
Old town Dijon was really interesting with its mix of extravagance and simplicity. The Duke’s Palace is quite a contrast to the old wooden houses of the everyday individual. The following pictures will give you a glance at what we enjoyed.
By the time we finished walking around, we were warm (the weather was beautiful), we were tired and one of us was hurting. We met back up with Jan and Dave and decided to head back to Beaune.
We made our way back to the train station and only had to wait a few minutes for the next train. Thirty minutes later, we were back at the Gare de Beaune and made the short walk back to the hotel to crash for the evening.
It was a very nice day, but a tiring one. We showered and just rested for the evening. How tired? ‘We skipped dinner’ tired!
Today we celebrated David’s birthday. It started as a nice relaxing day in Beaune and finished up with a scrumptious dinner. Let me tell you about it…
After a few busy days, we decided to just relax in town today. Actually, my co-travelers knew my back was hurting and wanted to give me a chance to rest it a bit. We split up for the day with Jan and Dave exploring on foot, while Sue and I took an easy stroll before taking a ride on the tourist train in the afternoon.
Since we had until 2:00 pm for our ride, we stopped for a nice lunch. The location was called Restaurant Le Fleury and was on a side street that had shade to sit in. I intended to have a hamburger, but ended up with a steak that was delicious. Sue had a chicken dish that was also “trés yummy” as per Sue. We had some wine and ended up very happy we had stopped there.
We had just enough time to stop back at the hotel before scurrying over to catch our ride .
The train ride lasts about forty minutes and is just a loop around the center of town with a side trip over to the vineyards that are located in the original town. Not fancy, just relaxing and seeing the sites.
After the train ride, we went back to the hotel and I rested up before getting ready for dinner.
The big birthday dinner was at a restaurant called 21 Boulevard. It was just a short walk from the hotel on this delightful evening. We were seated in a vaulted wine cellar room, which provided suitable ambience.
The dinner was delicious and we had some great wines. When dessert was being prepped, I saw our waiter lighting up a sparkler. He and the hostess then delivered them from behind Dave while many joined in to sing happy birthday. He was surprised, which made it all the better.
As we were leaving, a couple diners wished him happy birthday.
From the restaurant, it was just a five minute walk back to the hotel. Nice day, great evening and then a good night’s rest.
Burgundy’s Route des Grands Crus or literally, “Road of great wines”. Is it just some wine street in France or is it an enchanting road through and along some of the best vineyards in all of France? As stated in a favorite French movie – “it’s all about perspective!”. I’ll describe it and you can decide for yourself.
In the Bourgogne or Burgundy region, as it’s known to many people, the French vignerons grow grapes that are well known to most wine drinkers – mainly chardonnay and pinot noir. However, while those grape varietals are grown elsewhere, they do not produce the same magnificent wines. There’s no magic involved in making the wines, but there is the terroir, which is unmatched anywhere in the world.
What is terroir and why are the French hoarding it?
Terroir is everything about growing grapes, besides the grapes themselves. It’s the soil, the amount of sunshine and wind, the position of the vineyard, the slope of the vineyard, the amount of rain, and the temperature. These all factor into the growing of the vines and the grapes they produce. It’s that certain something that is everywhere, but not quite the same anywhere. I’m not a scholar, but you can read more about terroir if you are interested.
Back on topic, back on topic. So the Route des Grand Crus…
This fabulous area in France that grows these wonderful grapes is called the Côte d’Or. It’s literal translation is the “Golden Hillside”. It stretches from Dijon in the north to Santenay in the south. It’s a 60 km long route that winds its way through and between 37 wine villages centered by churches with soaring steeples, wineries and distinctive chateaux with their tall turrets and beautiful gardens.
Not to be overlooked between and around every town, village or hamlet are the vineyards growing grapes that will become some of the best and most expensive wines to be enjoyed in the years to come.
We are visiting in late September. The harvest has been completed, so the vineyards or Climats as they are called in the Bourgogne are resting, having done their job. Now the winemakers take their turn to craft the grapes into wonderful wines.
We four started our journey by driving north from our base in Beaune to the area known as the Côte de Nuits and more specifically, the village of Gevrey-Chambertin. It’s a small village, but boasts some mighty fine wines.
After a short walk through the village, we stopped at Domaine Philippe Leclerc for a little breakfast tasting.
Before our wine tasting, we took a short tour – not of the winery, but rather of the eclectic Antique Winemaking Equipment Museum and wine caves in the cellar.
With our tour complete, we went back upstairs for the wine tasting. They produce red wines of both ‘Village’ status and Premier Cru. They’ve had a tough couple of years with both drought and frost issues. Sadly, I wasn’t really overwhelmed or even whelmed by the wines. But, we did like the man who led our tasting. He was straightforward and burdened with their wine problems.
Perhaps some of my tasting issues were that the wines of Gevrey-Chambertin are very earthy and tannic with not much forward fruit. I usually drink them with a meal, so tasting them without food was not optimal.
There were many people riding bikes along the route and all I could think was “I’m gonna get to the next tasting first!” Sorry, just a brief digression.
Leaving the village, the next one we came to was Morey-Saint-Denis. We drove through the narrow, twisting streets before continuing on to the next village of Chambolle-Musigny.
The wines of Chambolle-Musigny are some of my favorites. To my palette, they tend to be a little softer, more rounded and have a bit more forward fruit.
Just a little bit down the road we came upon Vougeot, home to the famed Clos De Vougeot.
My excitement was building as Vosne-Romanée was only 3 km away. It is the home of the Domaine Romanee Conte, and some of the most sought after Burgundy wines in the world. This would be the most incredible almost wine tasting I have ever participated in. While we couldn’t taste their wines, we did stop to see their vineyards.
At the Romanée Conte Vineyards
Before exiting Vosne-Romanée, we were ready to get some lunch. We went to a very unique place called La Cuverie de Vosne. They have a wine bar, an organic grocery store, hotel rooms and conference rooms. We opted to taste a wine and shared a charcuterie board and a cheese board. It’s really a great place to relax and unwind with excellent wines and good food. We did stop in the store before leaving to take a peek.
Yes, those really ARE big zucchini on the table.
Back on the road, we headed off towards Nuits-Saint-Georges passing by more wonderful vineyards. Some people find beauty in trees or flowers or rainforests, I just think that vineyards are right up there with the other flora.
Aloxe-Corton arrives a bit down the route and was our first stop in the Côte de Beaune. We made a point of passing by and gazing up at Corton Hill. It is the home to so many awesome white wines.
We cruised by Savigny-Les-Beaunes on our way back to Beaune. We couldn’t stop everywhere along the route, but we saw enough vineyards and wines for one day.
So, just a wine street in France? Hardly!
A pilgrimage route for lovers of red or white burgundies? Definitely!
Everyone we encountered along the way was extremely nice and went out of their way to make us feel welcome. Tasting fees at the wineries can cost anywhere from €5 to €75. The higher fees usually included tasting of Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines. There is an anticipation that you will purchase a bottle or two of wine, so many times the fee will be waved if you do buy a few bottles.
After resting up for a while, it was time for dinner. Dinner this evening was at Ma Cuisine. It’s a cozy little restaurant serving traditional burgundian dishes and they have a 20,000 plus bottle wine cellar. Unfortunately, Jan was a bit under the weather and wasn’t able to join us.
Sue and I both had the boeuf bourguignon and Dave had a salmon and cod dish. I also started with a seared duck foie gras, while Dave had a terrine. Sue just got an extra plate and sampled from both our plates.
Browsing through the wine list, we did manage to find one or two we liked that happened to pair well with our meals. A Chassagne-Montrachet and a Nuit St. Georges – Lucky us!
We took a pleasant stroll back to the hotel talking about our day and savoring the meal we had just enjoyed.
We started off the day with breakfast before checking out of the hotel. We loved Chablis and can see ourselves returning to see the things we missed.
After packing up the car, we walked over to the main road in town to explore a bit of the weekly market. We think the townsfolk hid on Saturday, awaiting for this day. On market day, everyone was out in the sunshine and socializing with their neighbors and friends.
There were vendors selling just about everything. Meats, cheeses, vegetables, prepared foods, sausages, breads, homemade pastas, raviolis and fresh fish were abundant. You could also find kitchen utensils, linens, clothing, leather belts and wallets, jewelry, and handcrafted decorative items. Still not what you’re looking for? How about chairs, mattresses, wicker baskets and candy ?
Needless to say, we really enjoyed perusing the stalls and watching the people. It was a wonderful social event.
Alas, it was time to go. The drive from Chablis to Beaune takes about two hours and cuts through some pretty scenery. You can get there faster on the highway, but you miss enjoying all the little towns. It takes a little longer if you mess up the GPS directions too!
Chablis Vineyards
Some of the roads that pass through the small towns and villages can be pretty narrow, even for just two cars. You’re going 90 km/h then 70km/hr, then 50 km/hr in the distance of 200 meters. But we got the hang of it pretty quickly.
The road less traveled.
When we did arrive in Beaune, we made our way through a couple of narrow cobblestone streets before getting to our hotel. We stayed at Le Central Boutique Hotel. It is literally in the center of town and puts us in a position to easily walk to dinner and see the sights of the town.
Our hotel in Beaune
The hotel has four floors and about thirty rooms. There is a lounge and outdoor seating if you’d like a drink or just a place to relax.
Once we were checked in and our car was parked, we took a nice walk around town then found a cafe with a bottle of Rosé with our name on it. In the meantime, Jan and Dave found a place for a bite to eat.
Chilling on a sunny afternoon
We ate dinner at the Brasserie Le Carnot. It’s a small place just a short walk from the hotel. It was a simple little place and cute on the inside. Our waitress spoke just a little English, the food was delicious and we had a very enjoyable evening.
Before the crowds arrive
We returned back to the hotel early to get a good night’s sleep. We have a full day planned for Monday, and the rest will do us good.
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Ps…. Some people noted that the small pictures are hard to see. You can tap on the pictures to enlarge them.
We woke up once again to some rain. Luckily, it passed by early and things were drying up by the time we were ready to head out. We have three wine tastings planned for the day and our first one was a breakfast tasting that started at 10:30 am.
The first tasting was at Domaine Laroche, which just so happened to be right across the street from our hotel. However, the tasting room was up the street and around the corner. We gathered with the rest of our group, met our tasting leader and then headed over to the winery for a brief tour.
Domaine Laroche BoutiqueOur tasting leader
The building was originally a monastery for Cistercian Monks back in the Eleventh century. They prayed on one side and made wine on the other side. I presumed they were praying that the wine turned out good.
Inside, we saw the barrel cellar where wine from the current harvest was beginning the macération process. It was like watching the grandkids taking their first steps.
Just five days old
Then we went into a room which contained a 15th century wooden wine press – that still works! Currently it is more for ceremonial purposes, but it was interesting to see.
Next we walked back over to the tasting room to taste some wine. We tasted their range of wines – Petite Chablis, Chablis, Premier Crus and Grand Crus. We enjoyed them all, with the Chablis Saint Martin and Premier Cru ‘Les Clos’ being favored by all of us. As a special treat, we were able to taste some of the freshly pressed juice that was just starting the fermentation process. We ended up buying two bottles of wine for the room and getting a free tasting pass for Maison Champy in Beaune.
Tasting room was set up like a Chemistry lab.Newly pressed juice
Our next stop was a lunch break. Jan and Dave stopped at the corner grocery store, while Sue and I bought sandwiches at a small bakery. A nice ham and French cheese sandwich on a crunchy, fresh baguette was a perfect lunch.
We started with a tour of the facilities. They had just finished their harvest and pressing last week, so the smell of the grape juice lingered in the air. It’s like a seductive perfume pulling you in to some forbidden place – luckily we were invited, so we didn’t get into trouble.
Stainless steel tanks and the press in the background.
We walked through the pressing room and then went down to the barrel room where the new crushed juice was just relaxing.
The barrel room
After the tour, we were all ready for the tasting. Our tasting consisted of five wines of increasing levels of the Chablis appellations, one Village, 2 Premier Cru and 2 Grand Crus. All of the wines were exceptional.
Since we had some time before our last tasting, we walked over to the Collegiate Church of Saint Martin of Tours. It’s really a cathedral, but because they don’t have a bishop, it can’t be called a cathedral. Such silly rules!
Back in the olden days, people would nail horseshoes to the door for good luck. Many of them are still there today – ten centuries later.
Very old horseshoes nailed to the door.
We had one last stop for the day and this time, it was just Sue and I. The tasting was at Domaine William Fevre. This is another renowned producer and we were not disappointed. In total, we tasted eleven wines, all exceptional Premier Crus and Grand Crus and they were all excellent.
William Fevre tasting roomIf you’re happy and you know it, raise your glass!
Now before you get all excited, the tastings were literally a splash of each wine, not a full glass. But we had a chance to compare the wines from each of their climats (vineyard parcels). And yes, there is more wine being shipped home.
Our final dinner in Chablis would be at Les Trois Bourgeons. It’s a small restaurant, opened by three Japanese friends, that has delicious traditional Burgundian food with a little Japanese touch. It was delightful and very reasonably priced.
This must be the place!
Honestly, I wish we were staying here for a few more days. There are so many interesting towns and villages nearby, plus it just feels relaxing.
After our visit to Provins, we continued on to the town of Chablis. It rained most of the way there, though not as hard. Along the way, we drove through mostly agricultural lands. There was an abundance of corn, sunflowers and hay fields as we wound our way through one small town after another.
Eventually, the farmland changed over to vineyards, so we knew we were getting close. Then the town names started to look familiar on the direction signs – Tonnerre, Auxerre and finally Chablis.
We stayed at the Hotel du Vieux Moulins (Hotel of the Old Mills). It is a property owned by Domaine Laroche and is a guesthouse located along the Serein River and at one point it was an old mill. These days, it is a very nice hotel, complete with a Michelin starred restaurant next door and a self-serve honor bar with delightful Laroche wines.
Hotel and common areas
While the hotel’s common space was great, our rooms were equally nice, spacious and comfortable. We had a large bedroom, two bathrooms, a sitting room and a lovely patio with a great view of the Grand Cru vineyards.
Our room
Arriving in the late afternoon after a stressful rain-plagued drive, we went to the lounge and enjoyed the first of what would be many wonderful Chablis wines. The honor bar was not stocked with mediocre wines and their prices were great. We went for the cost saving bottles rather than glasses.
After chilling out for a bit, Sue and I walked over to Chablis Wine Not, a wine bar that also serves meals, charcuterie and small plates to go along with the wines. It was a wonderful way to end the day.
Charcuterie and cheese platter
We ordered a nice bottle of Domaine Billaud-Simon chablis and paired it up with some tasty Iberian ham, a selection of cheeses, fresh crunchy bread and Japanese chicken bites. Everything was delicious, including the dessert of Creme fraîche with apricots and nuts.
It was a feast fit for a king that they were willing to serve to peasants – and we’re glad they did!
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For our first full day, we had planned on a day trip to Auxerre and Noyers-Sur-Serein. However, Mother Nature was still in a rainy mood, so we decided not to drive and then trudge around in the rain. So as far as Auxerre and Noyers-sur-Serein were concerned – we said: “Next time!”
The weather did clear up later in the afternoon, so we were at least able to get out and explore the town.
Again, it was like being transported back in time. The buildings and streets date back to the 15th century, with the area itself first being inhabited over 1100 years ago in the year 867. Lots of cute little shops and restaurants line the streets, along with some very good wineries.
The town was not crowded at all. In fact, it felt like everybody left for a few days. We expected crowds of tourists, but we were told it has been a quiet end-of-the-season.
Some sights from our walk around town.
Dinner was highly anticipated. We dined at Au Fil du Zinc, the fancy-pants restaurant next to our hotel. And let me tell you, it met and exceeded our expectations.
It was a seven course Chef’s tasting menu that we paired with a bottle of Domaine Nathalie & Gilles Fevre 1er Cru Chablis and a bottle of Gevry-Chambertin Red Burgundy. Both paired perfectly with the courses.
Forgive me for not remembering each specific course, but I was too busy enjoying them. Here is a run down of the meal:
After breakfast, we checked out and bid adieu to Épernay. As it’s a fairly long ride to Chablis, we thought that breaking it up would be good. We decided to stop about midway at the Medieval village of Provins.
Provins is said to be one of the most beautiful medieval towns in France, with its architecture and well preserved ramparts that were constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries. Walking along the winding streets among half-timbered buildings makes you feel like you stepped back in time. Of course, nowadays you don’t have to watch where you walk as there aren’t many animals that parade through town.
In the olden days, Provins was a center for international trade fairs. Today, it relies on tourist dollars to keep the coffers filled.
Port to enter the village.
Sadly, we had a rainy day. Not a light drizzle, but intermittent downpours. And though it wasn’t brimming with people, there were still some tourists shuffling down the streets looking miserable – just like us.
We did duck into a nice cafe for a bite of lunch. The food was good and it gave us a chance to dry off a little bit.
Cesar Keep
We only spent a little over two hours there as we still had a ways to drive to get to Chablis. The town really is quaint and charming, it would have been much nicer on a sunny day, but you can’t win them all. It was definitely a good choice for our midway stop.
Paris was delightful, as always. Lots of fun, lots of people and a museum or two, plus some delicious meals. However it was time to move on.
We booked a ride from Paris to Reims to avoid any possibility of a rail strike affecting our plans. We used Daytrip for the ride as they did a splendid job for us in Italy last year. The driver arrived right on time to pick us up at our hotel and off we went.
The journey took about 1hr 45 min and was comfortable, with pleasant scenery. When we arrived in Reims, he dropped us off right at the Hertz office, which made things easy.
We had to wait a few minutes as they were closed for lunch, but once they returned, the paperwork was quick to complete. We ended up with a mid-sized Citroën that was really nice – great deep blue color too.
Driving from Reims to Épernay was fairly quick and easy. The only thing you need to get used to are the roundabouts. They keep the traffic flowing, but can be a pain if you’re not sure of your exit. Once we arrived in Épernay, the real fun started – parking the car. It took several trips around the block to find a space and then a tense few minutes to parallel park, thanks to the traffic.
We stayed at the Hotel Jean Möet, which was both nice and convenient. The rooms were comfortable and very clean, with a nice big walk-in shower.
Hotel Jean MoëtExcellent shower
Once we were checked in and situated, we took a walk down the Avenue of Champagnes.
Avenue de Champagne
We passed by some of the more familiar big champagne houses – Moët et Chandon and Perrier-Jouët and then stopped at Domaine Collard-Picard. Most have tours available, but we just opted to enjoy our own tasting with a glass or two as we stopped and soaked in the ambience.
The staff at Domaine Collard-Picard were very friendly and explained what we were drinking. The Brut Rosé was mouthwatering and refreshing. They have a nice courtyard area where you can relax with your champagne.
Domaine Collard-Picard
We stopped at a Cafe to grab a little something to eat. Sue and I thought we’d share a charcuterie board, but it turned out to be gigantic. Much bigger than we expected, as it was supposed to be a snack. Jan and Dave both had pasta dishes, as they weren’t planning on going out for dinner later.
Dinner was at a local restaurant called Le P’tit Champenois. The restaurant wasn’t fancy, but they were quite busy and the food was good. We enjoyed our meal and then took a slow walk back to the hotel.
Sue’s pork chopTom’s duck breastWe both had the Tiramisu Speculoos
The next morning, Wednesday, we took a ride to visit the Abbey and tomb of Dom Perignon in Hautvillers. It was just a 5.5 km drive from our hotel. Driving over, we were provided with a beautiful view across the vineyards. When we arrived, our first stop was a visit to the Abbasant Church of Saint Sindulphe of Hautvillers. It was a simple church, not too large and inside was the tomb of Dom Perignon – the friar who discovered champagne.
Conveniently located right across from the Abbey was the Caveau ChampagneJM Gobillard et Fils. How better to pay our respects to the discoverer of champagne than by toasting to him. I’m sure he’d appreciate it!
It was a nice tasting room and started our afternoon off right. Their champagne is very good and reasonably priced. We all enjoyed it.
Our new Patron Saint
Next, we made a short drive to the town of Monthelon for a tasting at Domaine Julien Chopin. Along the way, the scenery was beautiful.
Vineyards on the way to Monthelon
The day was beautiful and we had our tasting, which included a meat and cheese board in their courtyard. They are a small family run domaine and their champagnes were delicious. That always spells trouble as case number one was ordered for shipping home.
Our tasting board.The courtyard
We had a chance to see a little bit of the town as we walked back to the car park.
Church in Monthelon
We returned back to the hotel and once again had to anguish over parking. This time, as I was getting my parking permit from the machine, Parking Enforcement Staff (they travel in a pack of three) came down the street and were going to ticket us. A little bit of charm helped avoid the ticket and the woman even helped me to get a parking permit from the machine. That was a close call.
A last minute reservation glitch forced a change to our dinner plans. Our new place was the Brasserie de la Banque and probably was the better choice for us anyway. The building was formerly a bank and the interior was beautifully redesigned. The meals were all superb as was the wine, and the prices were very reasonable.
It was a great way to finish up our brief stay in Épernay. Tomorrow, we leave for Chablis.
No manic Monday here… just an interesting day of art, a visit to to 12th arrondissement and finishing off with dinner at Willi’s. Quelle belle journée!
We met up in the hotel lobby after breakfast. The plan was to take the Metro, so we walked over to the station to begin the journey. Our first stop was at the Grand Palais Immersif for the ‘Éternel Mucha’ Exhibition. The Grand Palais Immersif is located close to the Bastile and near the Gare de Lyon.
We arrived a little early, so we walked around for a bit. In that immediate area, there were the Arsenal Boat docks, the memorial statue where the infamous Bastille prison once stood, and an outdoor art exhibit related to women’s equality, domestic abuse sufferers and minority women.
After walking around, it was time for the doors to open, so we moseyed back to line up at the entrance.
The exhibit told the story of Alphonse Mucha’s artistic style, from his place in the Art Nouveau movement to his creative graphic arts style. I had often seen and admired his work without knowing much about the artist.
The exhibit started off with a multi-media presentation in the main salon. It featured many of his works along with the story of how his style evolved and changed over the years.
Pull up a pillow or grab a seat.
After the main presentation, we walked through halls and small rooms where specific features were highlighted, such as his studio, models and photography. Following along the path, you next came up to a display of various examples of his posters -be they for shows or advertising products.
Sarah Bernhardt loved Mucha’s styling.
There was then a display of some modern instances where the Mucha style has been used – mostly in Japanese Hentai.
Leaving the venue, we walked a short distance over to the Viaduct Des Arts, but before exploring we opted for a little lunch and a beverage. We stopped at a place called La Botaniste that worked out perfectly. It was just enough to tide us over to dinner and the beverages were refreshing.
Feeling sated, we ventured over to the artisans. The individual workshops and stores are built into the arches of what was originally a railroad bridge. There were about fifty artisan shops specializing in crafts of all types – jewelry, ceramics, fashion and perfumes among other things. It was really interesting and was in a section of town we had not seen in previous visits. The only problem: most of the shops were closed on Monday.
But that didn’t take away from the walk through the area.
Our next step was to find a Metro Station to head back to the hotel. We ended up back at the Bastille station and fifteen minutes later, we were back at our Saint Germain des Pres station. The short walk back to the hotel left us with plenty of time to relax before dinner.
For our final dinner in Paris, we chose Willi’s Wine Bar. We had 7:30 pm reservations and instead of grabbing cabs, we took the bus over. Sue mapped out our route and we already had Navigo passes, so it would be a new experience. It turned out to be an easy experience. We only had to ride the bus for four stops and then walk for another two blocks before we arrived.
Willi’s is an icon. We first visited way back in 1996 thanks to due diligence by our friend Dave. That’s when we started collecting the posters that are now the basis for our home decor. We’ve been back a few times since then and it’s always special.
So on this night, we introduced Jan and Dave to Willi’s and shared a great evening with them.
Bienvenue – Welcome to Willi’s
The wines are always great there and we started with a bottle of Chablis with our appetizers. Since three of us were having Guinea fowl for our main plates, the bartender suggested a Corsican red wine that matched perfectly.
Desserts were also delicious. We had a rich chocolate terrine and also almond-praline tarts. They were all heavenly.
Almond and praline tart
Now, happy and full, we made our way out and back to the bus stop. It had rained while we were eating, but it stopped before we walked over. The ride home only took a few minutes and in the blink of an eye, we were back at the hotel.
These first few days in Paris flew by, and next we’re off to Èpernay. Break out the champagne flutes and we’ll meet you there.
Slightly Whirled - A Traveler's Tales 