Tagged With "Burgundy"

We almost got snowed in as we were leaving Krakow, Poland. Yes, it's that time of year when winter is letting us know it's coming.

Hurricane Joaquin crossed the Atlantic and got split in two by the jet stream. France got trapped in the middle of the two. Allowing cold air from Siberia to blow across northern Europe. So the Geese have arrived here on the wind too. 3 Weeks too early. Its what the remnants of Hurricanes do.

Great post, George, thanks! Makes me want to go to Dijon, rather than be self-isolating.

Every time you write about one of these walks, I find myself drawn closer to it. And this one is such an enticing story I'm almost ready to toss over my plans for this summer. I can't, of course, but I will find time in future...

I think this is a particularly nice part of the world to walk and I've been thinking about starting again in Pouilly-en-Auxois to go the other direction. I already have a guide for it, a gift in exchange for a review on a very good site, appropriately, 'I Love Walking in France'. Guides (and my review) here .

I received Melinda's newsletter this afternoon (she of ILoveWalkinginFrance.com ), and she confirms what I mentioned above about the down side of trying to follow French paths. "... I backtracked and turned right, thinking that walking around an island would be fairly straightforward. That path ended soon after, at the end of the port, so I backtracked again and followed another path which would join the coastal path at the eastern side of the island. It did, but was so badly marked that I...

I am curious how you pace your day on these walks. When do you begin hiking? At what time do you tend to look for a place to ovenight? How many miles do you aim to do in a day on average?

Every walk is different, of course, so planning, for someone like me who isn't a distance walker, is essential. I can walk comfortably up to about 10 miles with my little pack, more if I must but try to avoid it, so there's no rush in the morning to be out early. I enjoy a leisurely breakfast and head out mid-morning. I'm never in the position of looking for a place to overnight because I've reserved in advance, either well in advance or at least a day or 2, knowing where I'll be. In France...

It`s a great story, PortMoresby! The kind of adventure that would appeal to me. A week of walking sounds just about right. And my knees are telling me to stop going into the mountains and seek flatter ground! I`m curious how you arranged the transportation of your gear as you were walking from one place to the next. Did you carry it all, or did you return to the same base every night? And, I hope, there was some cheese to go with that wonderful looking wine!

This isn't the walking part, DrF, this is the drinking part. I do plan to tell the story of the walk along the Burgundy Canal soon but the answer to your question about gear is, neither. When I walk I carry a day pack, period. I leave my bigger bag at a hotel, in Burgundy it was in Dijon, and just have essentials with me, a change and toiletries, any guides and maps I may want and little else, about 10 lbs. altogether including rain gear. The less stuff, I've found over the years, the better...

Thanks for that extra info, PM. But 10 pounds would just cover the water, bottle of wine and wheel of cheese I'd be carrying to sustain me on the journey. But Lite is definitely the way to go if at all possible. I look forward to reading the next piece! I may yet pick your brains again about these journeys....which genuinely appeal to me.

Definitely carry water, but wine and cheese are everywhere you turn, no need to haul your own. The key, of course, is not how much stuff you have with you, but how good the stuff is for the purpose. In reality one might do with less than 10 lbs as everything I have in the way of clothing dries overnight. But I like to change in the evening and get the rinsed out items hanging. As with everything, there are methods, obvious when you know them but it took years to get them down. And I continue...

Love the pics and story! Need to do this myself someday. Thanks for the inspiration.

We spent a day in Dijon on the way from Paris to Lyon...and were happy to have visited the medieval core and the home store of the Maille mustard folks...but we obviously missed one of the best attractions! Oh, the bread...and the cheese...and the tomatoes: a summer dream meal right there...

Beautiful photos! Great market!! I'm ready for lunch now....

If you can stay for two lunches, make the next one Restaurant Stephane Derbord on Avenue President Wilson. Take the "surprise" lunch deal; it's 28€ for a 3-course lunch with a Michelin star and the friendliest husband/wife team you could imagine. The menu changes, based on the day's special (tied to the market!) and was heavenly.

Love the market!!! I'm a big fan of French wine and cheese. What time of year did you visit Dijon? Also curious about the Canal walk. Was that sort of a "room" to "room" walk? Did you carry a backpack? How did your gear travel with you? How far did you go every day and how many days was the walk? Thanks for this piece.

Thanks, TL. I was in Burgundy in May. Stay tuned for more, including French wine, coming soon.

George G shares memories of some wonderful travel experiences in Dijon which, as he shares with us, has a lot more going for it than its famous mustard.

After a summer of scorching temperatures all over Europe, central France has gotten its first snow of winter, possibly heralding a long, cold winter.

Some of last year's wines of Provence, at a local festival in Saint-Remy de Provence     The weeks and weeks of high heat across Europe, and especially in France, are affecting prospects for this year's French wine vintage.

Several years ago, after the completing 100+ miles of England’s Cotswold Way, over hill and dale and, at times, experiencing painful difficulties, I resolved to give up hills in favor of walking along waterways, of which there are many.

Having enjoyed innumerable long-distance walks in England, but only once before in France, I determined it was time for another, this time along the Burgundy Canal. 

I took the train an hour from Paris, to Dijon, where I stayed a few days before setting off on a long walk along the Canal de Bourgogne, the Burgundy Canal.

There have been occasions when glimpses of a place, from listening to someone speak of them, or in a magazine, a movie, or even a television program, have caused me to tuck the name securely away in memory, to be retrieved later for the impetus to go there.

Besides wine, the town of Beaune in the Burgundy region of France, is most famous for a roof.  Built in 1443 as a hospital for the poor by Duke Philip, known as “The Good”, the HÔtel-Dieu des Hospices de Beaune continued caring for people of the community until 1970.