After looking at the map we decided the Burgundy region looked like a good area to aim for with Beaune being a perfect place for us with its historic walled town surrounded by vineyards with nice cycle routes running through them. We parked up with other motorhomers in a car park on the edge of town and headed in to explore the town the following morning. It’s a stunning little town and we were amazed at the number of restaurants and wine bars which we looked forward to sampling that evening. We spent most of the morning in the Hospices de Beaune, a former hospital founded in the 15th Century to provide care for the poor and disadvantaged of the area. With its mosaic roof of colourful glazed tiles and large interior courtyard with magnificent rooms leading off it, it made for an interesting visit with an audio tour.
In the afternoon we did a 38 mile bike route from Beaune through some villages with well-known wine names (Mersault and Puligny Montrachet to name 2 very expensive ones), and we headed back to Beane down a canal then through an agricultural area and fields of beautiful sunflowers.
We headed into town in the evening and enjoyed a couple of glasses of the local wines and a steak dinner in a busy square.
The following day we had a long but fairly straight forward drive north to leave ourselves an unhurried drive to Calais the following day. It pained me to drive past Reims and it’s champagne houses, and we ended up at nice rural campsite in Aizelles. There were a number of military 1st World War cemeteries in the area, one which had stones for a Northamptonshire regiment.
Back in the UK we reflected on a great couple of weeks in France and set about tackling an extensive list of snagging items on the truck (nothing too major we hoped) before our next trip.
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