Our time in Burgundy and Dijon

Burgundy is one of France's main wine producing regions known for both their Pinot Noir and Chadonnay grapes. Dijon is the capital of the province of Burgundy and where we decided to rent an apartment for the week. What a great choice. Dijon is the quintessential French town with half-timbered houses dating back to the 12th century. Our apartment was situated right in the center of town across the street from the Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne or "Palace of the Dukes and the States of Burgundy".  Although it was bitter cold, we filled our days with walking tours, eating, wine tasting and cooking.

CM surprised me with a French cooking class, I suspect to compensate for the fact that I wasn't going to be able to go wine tasting, but nevertheless a fun way to spend an afternoon. The class had eight students and was taught entirely in French. I muddled my way through, having not spoken French since high school and prepared and tasted amazing fois gras, among other specialties of French cuisine.


Another day was spent in Beaune, a small town a half an hour from Dijon. A popular way to go wine tasting is to visit the wine caves. To taste multiple different classifications of Burgundy wines, you pay 10 euro and head down into the caves for a self-guided wine tour where you wind through the cave and end up in an old church. A very fun and very unique way to taste many (about 15) different wines..some excellent, others not so great.

Burgundy, Dijon, and even our little rented flat are all places in which I would love to return. We've experienced so many wonderful places, but this trip so far has been my favorite, even in the frigid cold and when I couldn't experience the wine. I can only think that the Burgundy region would be an amazing place to visit in the spring and summer (and not pregnant)!
Next stop...Madrid.

Paris

AHHHH Gay Pareeee.... yet another one of our kid-less trips. This time my parents were visiting (once again). They are always more than eager to push us out the door on another adventure.

The train from Stuttgart to Paris is about 4.5 hours, a very easy way to travel.  We left early one morning and by lunchtime we were sitting in a little cafe around the corner from the Arc de Triomph indulging in a goat cheese salad and tartare de bouef (only CM  had his cooked in a patty surrounded by a bun avec pomme frites). :)

We spent our days there looking like the quintessential tourists. With our Rick Steves book in hand and numerous Michelin guide recommendations, we set off on foot (although took advantage of the user friendly metro when I was in heels) and walked until our feet were blistered and in some cases, bloody. We covered all of the essential sites. Walked and shopped along the Champs-Elysees, got in line early, before opening, to take the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower, walked through the Arc de Triomph, feasted in the Latin Quarter and checked out the Mona Lisa, among many other works, in the Louvre. We also did some things off the beaten path, including visiting the Memorial de Martyrs de la Deportation; a memorial to the Jewish Parisians who were deported from France to German concentration camps during WWII.

Having discovered after planning this trip that we were expecting our second child, I was unable to enjoy the amazing French wines. However, my husband was kind enough to tell me ALL about them as I sipped my mineral water. Visiting France numerous times while pregnant only strengthened my resolve to return and do a wine and food tour of the French wine regions at a later date ...many years down the road.