Time to say "Auf Wiedersehen" to our homey Swiss chalet and say "Bonjour" to France.   We were in France in time to have lunch, and I am again amazed at how widely - and how well - English is spoken in Europe: a relief for me, since, "Bonjour, s'il vous plait, et merci beaucoup"  are about the only French I can manage to pronounce properly.  I'll keep trying...

 

The owner of the Hotel des Remparts gave us a lovely welcome to Beaune and to France, thanking us for the American liberation of France in WW II, and again for the Americans that intervened to stop a would-be terrorist on the Thalys train from Belgium to Paris earlier this summer - it was a very touching reception.

 

Beaune is a small walled town, so it didn't take long for Jesse to give us a quick orientation tour ending at the Hotel-Dieu.  I was surprised to find so much more than just the patient beds, the chapel, and the altarpiece by Roger Van Den Weyden.  I had not expected to see so many different rooms full of well preserved displays -the kitchen and pharmacy were among my favorites.

 

Since we only had one night in Beaune, there was no time to visit any of the area vineyards: the next best thing would be a wine tasting, and we were all looking forward to the one that had been arranged for us at our hotel.  Martine educated us as we tasted four wines and then a black-currant liquer that tempted us all to lick our sampling cups!  It was a nice prelude to a fine dining experience at La Table du Guigone where several of us enjoyed the evening - and more wine, of course!