Colmar to Beaune

Lunch in Beaune

Hotel Dieu in Beaune

Medieval hospital beds

Courtyard of hotel.

Dinner in Beaune at a 12th century abbey

The chapel at Hotel Dieu

Typical architecture in the city

Woke up in Colmar, overcast and cool. We jumped on the bus and within 10 minutes we had sunshine coming through the windows of the bus. It has been a beautiful day, sun most of the time and the temperature has been very pleasant.

Our drive was about 2.5 hours and we went through rolling hills of farm land and forests. This part of France is beautiful. Very pastoral and one little quaint village after another.

We arrived in Colmar in time for lunch with a late check-in at the hotel. We found a small brasserie that had outside seating in the sun. Each time we are given a menu we spend 20 minutes trying to decipher what it says. Last night Tom and Cilla just asked the server what was his favorite was and they got 6 different meats with saurkraut. Dar had meatballs in white sauce and I ordered stew. Today we managed to decipher the menu and soup and salad for Dar, Cilla and me. Tom, still on his quest to eat himself through France ate salad and beouf bourgoinne ( beef burgundy).

The waiter was kind of snobby...made us use our limited French and he corrected our accents. He actually forgot Tom's second plate and made us wait quite sometime. No problem, we were in no hurry. When he finally came with l'additicione (the check) we engaged him in conversation. Turns out the whole nonsense of the French and American disliking each other was started by Oprah. Evidently she came to France on a vacation and during one of her shows she said the French were rude...now they are taking it out on us peasants. I think I might have to send her an email....

This afternoon we spent time at the 15th century hospital built by a Tax collector so he could go to heaven. It is really beautiful. Pictures to come later.

I am excited for tomorrow morning, Saturday market!