We started the day with a home-made American breakfast of lots of coffee, eggs, ham and croissants (from the local boulangerie) with butter and jam (strawberry for Charlotte and fig for Steve). We then walked a few blocks to a bike shop where we rented bikes for our ride into the local vineyards. Our 33 kilometer (20.5 mile) trip included the towns of Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Chassagne-Momtrachet, Santenay and Chagny. The ride was fairly easy and we were never on a main road - most of the time the path was narrow and traveled through the various vineyards (which seem to go on forever). There are lots of places along the way to taste the local wines (way too many to chose from).
Just after Santenay we headed towards Chagny and ended up riding along the Burgundy Canal for several miles. The canal system was started in 1727 and completed in 1832. It links Paris to the Mediterranean Sea and is 145 miles long with 209 locks. It was completed just at the time of the steam locomotive so the canal was never really used for freight transportation. Today there are small boats that navigate the canal. And many sections have bike paths.
Rather than ride another 20 miles to get back to Beaune we cheated and took the train back to Beaune - a whole lot faster.
We again dined out at what has become our "favorite" restaurant on Rue de Carnot. Charlotte had the salad and salmon again (it is very good) and Steve had escargot and pizza with anchovies (along with a few adult beverages). The service there is extremely good and the servers speak very good english (and they have a english (anglais) menu).
Tomorrow is a road trip to visit a chateau, a Roman battle site and an abbey.
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