Market day in Beaune

Mary and the countess

The chateau where we had a wine tasting and picnic

Some of the picnic items

The chateau bakyard for our picnic

Beautiful

Cilla, the French Raffetto

Another Beret moment

The courtyard at the Chateau

Didn't miss the wake up call this morning, it was market day in Beaune. I am not sure how to describe it but let me tell you they sold everything from the spice anise to mattresses. We passed stalls with beautiful fresh flower bouquets and stalls with dead rabbits and chickens. The produce here is fantastic, the artichokes are huge, at least twice the size that we see in Albertsons. They have the coolest pumpkins, very orange-red and the tops are rounder. There were sausage vendors, and yes Dad we had boar sausage... Oh, speaking of boars, our tour guide told us that the worst enemy of a vineyard is a boar. They not only eat the fruit but they also pull up the vine. Last year in the Alsace wine region, the government opened up boar hunting and paid a bounty for each hide. They shot 31,000 of them and they are planning to do the same this year.

I bought some mustard at the market, they have the best mustard...much like hot chinese mustard but maybe a little more aromatic (read into it that it has a nice wine flavor)!

At 11:00 we headed out to a Chateau and we did another wine tasting. The chateau looks like a castle, it sits on a hill. Very beautiful view. The castle was from the 15th century...and some of the outer buildings really needed maintenance. The countess of the estate took us around and her son, the new count did the wine tasting. Wine was very so-so. But we did have a beautiful picnic in their garden which our guide bought at the Saturday market. Foie gras is pretty good, especially the goose foie gras. We had cornuchons, comte, tomatoes, raspberries and strawberries. Not to mention boar sausage, bread, figs, six different cheeses, carrots, hot mustard and the best damn chocolate you can imagine! Our bus took us back the scenic way, through many small villages. This area is like Napa Valley only it is prettier and a lot older!