Burgundy, France
Day 3-Day One in Burgundy
Day Run-Down
-Packed Up and Hopped on our Tour Bus for the First Time-Met our Driver, Paul
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Said goodbye to Paris, which was very sad :( But it was very exciting to embark on the next leg of our journey.
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Drove through the beautiful French countryside
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Total Time on Bus: 4 hours
-Wine Tasting at Chateua de Rully in Burgundy, France
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The owner of the chateau took us on a tour of the estate (which looked like a mini castle!) and conducted our wine tasting.
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We tasted three types of wine (two reds and one white) in their historical kitchen. Each of the wines were produced on the property (all so good!). We learned about wine in general and about the specific wines that we tasted.
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We had the option to purchase bottles of chateau's wine to bring home with us.
-Hopped Back on the Bus (after a short stop for a photoshoot in front of the chateau!)
-Arrival at Hotel des Remparts in Beaune
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Check into hotel, get room assignments
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A nice, cute hotel with an absolutely lovely owner and staff
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I got the tower room, which was very cool!
-Downtime to Get Settled In
-Orientation Walking Tour of Beaune Led By Colleen
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Beaune is an adorable, picturesque historical town with classic architecture
-Free Time for the Rest of the Afternoon
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We had the choice to visit the Wine Museum or the Hotel Dieu Museum, both of which Colleen led us to- I chose to go to the Hotel Dieu
-Self-Guided Tour of the Hotel Dieu
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Rick Steves gave us free entry.
-Dinner on Our Own
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Many of us chose to go to the same restaurant, La Table Gourmande, which Colleen highly recommended.
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One of my favorite dinners of the entire trip! We had such a fun time together!
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Tried Beef Bourguignon(the famous dish of the region)!
-"Light Show" at Notre Dame Basilica in Beaune
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After an hour or two of waiting, we realized there wasn't actually a light show that night- but it was a great bonding experience, and we honestly had a great time together and made the best out of it despite there being no light show!
Sights We Saw
Chateau de Rully, Wine Museum in Beaune, Hotel Dieu Museum in Beaune, Notre Dame Basilica in Beaune
Memorable Moments
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Tasting Burgundy's world-renowned wine!
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Visiting a beautiful, historic chateau- It was great to learn about the history of the chateau and the owner's family as well as to tour the gorgeously preserved estate, seeing elements of it's history up close. It was also fantastic to see and learn about the history and lifestyle of another part of France.
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Walking around Beaune, being transported in time with the cobblestone streets and classic arhcitecutre
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Touring the Hotel Dieu- it being a charity hospital, it was very inspiring and heartwarming to learn about its purpose and impact as well as view it's stunning architecture.
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Dinner together-This was one of my favorite dinners of the entire trip, it was just very fun getting to know each other. We took up most of the restaurant! And, funnily, I intended to just order the Beef Bourguignon, but ended up accidentally ordering it with a bunch of other courses. It ended up working out great as I got to try a bunch of other types of French cusine. But I got a bit tipsy, as not only did I have my wine with dinner but every dish had some sort of liquor/ alcohol in it! It was really funny! My face got really red, and we were all laughing about the situation!
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Light Show- We ended up waiting at the Notre-Dame Basilica for close to two hours until we realized that there was no light show that night. It was hilarious! It was something we joked about for the rest of the tour. But it was a real bonding experience, we got to spend a lot more time that night talking and joking around. It was a great story to tell, and one of my favorite memories from the tour! It was nice to just sit in the town with everyone, watch the residents going about their night. It is important to realize that some things might not go as planned, but some great moments can come from that even though you don’t expect it to. The town and the church were beautiful at night and the company was great!
