Today, I met Katherine at the bakery and came back with 3 chocolate croissants and 1 plain one, all of which we ate for breakfast with the exception of a chocolate one.  We packed a basket with assorted fruit, half an apricot flan that was left over from yesterday, some water, and the leftover chocolate croissant – cut and packed with Brie cheese – and headed out.

We had read about the Chateau de Rochepot, about 20km south of Beaune, so made that our destination.  What a fabulous landmark!  It was built in the 13th century and occupied by various members of the Pot family from the 15th century up until the French Revolution.  Unfortunately, that was an unlucky time to be privileged, as the peasants overtook the Chateau, killed all the inhabitants, and destroyed a good portion of the buildings.  Somewhere in the early 1800’s, the wife of the then president of the new republic bought the land and buildings for her eldest son and he, along with an architect of the day, started the refurbishment.  The guided tour, which luckily was conducted in English by a majority vote (and by a very charming and animated French accent), lasted about 45 minutes.  There were also a few other places we were allowed to discover on our own, with the help of an English self-guided pamphlet.  The grounds are beautifully kept and, all in all, we spent almost 3 hours there reading, viewing, and taking pictures.  When we got back to the car we dove into our picnic snacks.

   

   

   

The journey is always half the fun, so we hardly ever take the direct route home.  Today was no different.  Instead, we crossed to the east side of the D974, the road that runs north/south through the Bourgogne, and wound our way through more back roads and villages.  This drive took us through some very flat farmland that appears to be growing mostly vegetables.  Not everyone is in the wine business here, although it’s understandable if you think so!  It wasn’t as interesting as driving through the mountain region on the west side but, nonetheless, it gave us another peak into rural life around Beaune.

We ate dinner in, during a very heavy downpour, then the sky cleared up beautifully so we decided to head into Beaune for dessert and a glass of wine.  Not as many places are open on a Wednesday night.  We ended up back on the terrace of the Brasserie Carnot where we both had a crepe au sucre.  Steve had a glass of red and I tried a Kir (sirop de Cassis and white wine).  The crepes were delicious and the Kir was okay – not sure what all the fuss is about and probably won’t order another one.  We also met Mr. Benjamin Moley, a 6-year-old springer spaniel, and his parents, who are all visiting from the north of England.  When the dog was rescued as a puppy, it had no fur and looked like a mole, so the rescue folks called him Moley.  He spent a very short time in a foster home, where they tried to call him Benjamin, but he answered better to Moley so his “passport” has him listed by that very formal full name.  His friends call him Moley, so we did, too.