We had a really good sleep.  It took me a while to get out of bed, as Steve opened the door and its shutters, and the view of our private patio, with a backdrop of trees, kept me in place until he enticed me with a promise of brunch and sightseeing in Beaune.  (And yes, we tagged our parking spot and carried our GPS.)

Saturday morning is market day in Beaune and it was quite overwhelming – so many stalls in so many places selling everything from food to clothing to products.  We caught the market closer to its end and didn’t buy anything, other than brunch, but did practice our French with a gentleman who sat beside us.  The conversation started when Steve asked him how to order a cup of coffee in France – yesterday he ended up with an Espresso (un cafe), and today he ended up with something a tiny bit bigger (un grand cafe) but still an Espresso, just bigger (but not much).  Steve has made it his mission to figure out how to get a “proper” cup of coffee!  (his next attempt will be un cafe au lait – we’ll see how that works for him)

As we strolled, we stumbled across the tourist office and were able to get our hands on a map of Beaune, including the old centre.  It was so helpful, we never did need the GPS to get us back to our car.  There’s something to be said, in this age of technology, for the old-fashioned way.

   

There’s also nothing like buying groceries to experience another country.  We did end up with what we wanted and we didn’t hold up too many people in the check-out line.  Seems you have to weigh your produce in the produce section and affix the price sticker on it before you get to the cash.  The challenge was Steve’s as he tried to figure out which kinds of fruits I chose – good thing the weigh scale had pictures!!!  We’ll know better next time.

Since boarding the plane, Steve purposely did not check his email until tonight, just in case the news about Chaos was not good.  But, it seems he’s still holding his own by eating well enough, and he appears to be happy without us.

Our first meal at La Maison de la Vieille Vigne was al fresco, very French, and very tasty – baguette, cheeses, prosciutto, fruits, wine.

Following dinner, we headed out for a walk around the village and I came back tired.  It was a very good first real day.