Happily "Ewers" After, Part 2: The Road to Borgogne

After four fabulous days in Paris, with bellies full of bread and cheese and all sorts of complex and almost unidentifiable delicacies, Mike and I were both eager for the quietude of a drive through the countryside and simpler meals. We took an early morning Metro to the Gare du Nord to pick up our rental car, a tiny (by American Standards) Opel SUV.  This was a National Rental, btw, and probably our best bargain in all of France at $230 Euros for 10 days!

We had debated while we planned our trip about whether to drive or take the train, and we couldn't have been happier with the decision. We stayed on the highways for the first 2 hours or so between Paris and Puligny Montrachet, and our adventures truly began when we left the highway in a tiny town called Sens to grab what we thought would be a quick and inexpensive lunch. Aside from a gorgeous cathedral, there truly is nothing much to see in Sens, and we struggled to find anything open at all. We had pretty much decided to move on when we took a wrong turn and ended up at a dead end with nothing but one beautiful restaurant, Le Madeleine . Lesson One of our travels:  What looks simple and inexpensive in France never is! We are still debating about whether or not this was our best meal of the entire two week trip! Aside from a single waiter, no-one there spoke English, so we all muddled through with what they knew and my very rusty French, but two hours and many euros later,  we ended up with a phenomenal 4 course meal plus all of the "bonuses" that come with any fine dining experience in France. The chocolate ganache (below) would have made any drive worthwhile.  It was surreal in every way, and I think Mike is pretty sure I just conjured it by sheer sorcery. Nevertheless, we left with new delightful friends who were thrilled to meet us, incredibly satisfied palates, a box of cookies to go and a determination to avoid the main roads for the rest of the trip.

        

   

The deeper we drove into wine country, the more beautiful the landscape became. We arrived at one charming village after another with miles of sunflowers, meandering rivers and fields in between. The hills were peppered with windmills both ancient and modern, and a cerulean blue sky offset it all providing a clarity and depth that made it all feel like it had been torn right from the pages of a storybook. I am always inspired by the ancient feel of the many little towns in Europe. The stone walls and houses seem to vibrate with stories of the many lives they have witnessed, and the church bells call beyond this age summoning prayers from dimensions we can't access. This was exactly what we hoped to find when we decided to drive.

As we began to get closer to our destination, we found that the road...the only road... was closed ahead, and that Waze was more clueless than we were, so we took a chance and followed the local "school bus" through a maze of trees and fields (see below) before we were able to finally get back on something that looked more like pavement.

And at the end of all of that, we wound up in the most beautiful village we had seen yet, Puligny Montrachet, known for its Grand Cru vines and its hospitality. I'll write more about our time there in part 3, but the picture below shows what greeted us as we drove through the city walls.