Dijon, France

Today we day-tripped to Beaune, the burgundy wine region in France. This was our first day in a new country so we decided to study some phrases to help us with the basics thanks to Matt’s ITouch applications. We first stopped at a French pastry shop where, of course, we tried cream puffs and eclairs. Yum! Not as many French people know English like the Swiss did so “Bonjour Madame or Misuer” did us well.

We rented bikes and rode through the countryside vineyards. It was picturesque, as the grapes were ripe and ready to be picked two weeks from now. We stopped at Chateaus to taste great wine. Our favorite was Chateau L’Ange Gardien “Guardian Angel”. Pierre, the owner, shook our hands and did the tasting for us himself. We tried fantastic 100% local vine wines plus some sparkling wines that were just as good as champagne. (He’s too far south to be able to call it champagne). We’re bringing home a special liquor (Creme de Cassis) that he makes that has been proven to prevent Parkinson's disease and some cancers - or so says some study done at Chicago University. So, if come visit for pancakes with this goodness drizzled on top you will get to try it! Food update: Matt has yet to try escargot. Kristen loves french bread and blends into the crowd carrying a baguette around the town.

Our next stop: Rheims champagne region! We are really trying to study our french basics because we are quickly learning that we must try to attempt their language before speaking ours so that they are somewhat kind to us. Au Revior!