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France and Belgium: map of our driving

Here’s an overview of our France and Belgium trip:

  • three nights in Beaune, the capital of Burgundy, where we picked up our car
  • one night in Reims, the capital of Champagne
  • one night each in Brussels, Ghent, and Bruges, Belgium (making a pilgrimage to Westvleteren on the way)
  • one night each in Calais, Honfleur, Bayeaux, Le Mont-Saint-Michel, and Amboise (with day stops in Dunkirk, Omaha Beach, La Pointe du Hoc)
  • three more nights in the Loire valley at Les Hauts de Loire
  • four nights in Paris

From Marrakech, we flew into the small Dole airport in Burgundy. It was surprisingly hard to get out of the airport, since it seemed like it was designed entirely for private cars. There were no cabs waiting for pickup, no Uber or other ridesharing services, we weren’t abble to call for a cab, and the closest bus line (with limited information on Google maps) was about a mile away. We finally found the right bus (very confusingly, “Dole Gare” and not “Gare” was the right stop) and took the train to Beaune.

We found Beaune to be absolutely charming, with a very walkable downtown, incredible restaurants (many fully booked for days), historical buildings, and of course plentiful tasting rooms. We started with a quick dose of history at the Hospices de Beaune. Given its location, it’s not too surprising that wine and the hospital have a deep, shared history. For example, it was believed to have healing properties, and each patient was given a daily ration. And every year, they raise ~$15M from the charity auction.

Ironically, we didn’t eat Époisses (produced in Burgundy) until after Burgundy. It took us until the Loire Valley to catch up here. However, we definitely ate our fill of another Burgundian delicacy, escargots, eating a couple of dozen during our stay.

Flying into Dole; Hospices de Beaune, Beaune market, food, and cave tasting

We rented bikes and had a wonderful time riding the Voie des Vignes. Most of the trail had separate bike lanes, winding their way through the vineyards (including some grand crus). We stopped for tastings along the way and had picnics of cheese, grapes, and salami (from the morning Beaune market).

It took us a few tastings and educational sessions to finally understand how to decipher Burgundy wine labels. A lot of it seems to be based on memorization. For example, because terroir (the influence of the soil and local climate) is so important and varied, you have to be familiar not just with the wine producers but also the vineyards themselves, of which there are thousands. Moreover, due to family relationships and shared surnames, many of the producers have similar names (e.g. Domaine Lucien Boillot, Domaine Phillipe Boillot, Domaine Albert Boillot). To make matters even harder, sometimes different producers share a vineyard, so you effectively have to maintain a lookup table of year x vineyard x producer x type of wine.

We learned pretty early on that France (like Italy) tended to have strict lunch hours. If you didn’t show up between noon and 2PM, you didn’t eat. Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, we showed up in Pommard at noon sharp, looking for lunch. However, it was just our luck that literally every restaurant in the village could not serve us lunch. The reasons were quite varied:

  • closed permanently
  • closed for winter vacationing
  • their food supplier missed the most recent shipment
  • closed for a private event

We ended up making a lunch out of wine, chocolate, and some pastries – c’est la vie!

Biking the Voie des Vignes from Beaune to Chassagne Montrachet and tasting along the way

Our Airbnb was across the street from the Fallot Moutarderie (making classic French mustard since 1840), and we booked an appointment for a tour. Kelly was initially skeptical, but after learning about the process and making our own mustard, she came around to appreciating the condiment.

Mustard making at Fallot Moutarderie and eating escargot

Sad to say goodbye, we had a foggy morning run to explore the hillside. We also prepared a feast in our Airbnb, including baking our own escargots! Partially because we wanted to be on the road to Champagne before noon (or, outside of the very strict lunch hours) and partially because the charcuterie looked delectable, we cooked for ourselves our last day. Kelly baked the herb-and-butter-stuffed escargots while I picked up our rental car (a Peugeot 2008), and we had a delicious meal.

Foggy morning run in Beaune, our Airbnb, and shopping for / baking our own escargot

Champagne tasting in Reims; Taittinger wine caves; and Rilly-La-Montagne

The trip to Reims, known as the capital of Champagne, took about three hours. Gas was a bit more expensive in France, and we were surprised by the ~ 30 euro fee for driving on private roads, which tend to be faster. We didn’t have as much time in Reims, but were still able to squeeze in a few tastings at a mix of small and large producers and a scenic morning run. Our large producer was Taittinger, who own many miles of caves. Now mostly used for aging Champagne, their history dates back to the fourth century when they served as chalk quarries. The history of the UNESCO-recognized tunnels was fascinating, with some other tunnels unbeknownst to the owners when they purchased the property. And they served as shelters during World War I. On our way to Belgium, we stopped by a small village in Champagne, Rilly-La-Montagne, and had a tasting at Roger Manceaux.

Beer in Brussels; Grand Place; run along the Parc du Cinquantenaire; Brussels Park; St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral; burgers in Ghent

Brussels struck us as a very international city, which shouldn’t be surprising because it houses the UN headquarters. We had plenty of Belgian beer and chocolate, including a nice tasting outside in the Grand Place.

With the frequent moving, we fell into a habit of morning runs in order to maximize our sightseeing, stay limber for the driving, and burn off the calories from our eating and drinking. Unfortunately, Ghent was fairly unremarkable for us. We wanted to maximize our time in Bruges, so we only really had an evening in Ghent. It might have been because it was off season, but we had the worst luck finding dinner. Three of the restaurants we had wanted to eat at were closed, and the last one was hosting a private event. After burning a few hours walking from restaurant to restaurant with no luck, we settled on burgers to sate our appetites.

Eating pigeon and waffles, beer museum, and riding the last boat of the season in Bruges; making a pilgrimage to the abbey to pick up Westvleteren 12

We loved Bruges! Despite the rain and freezing cold, we were still able to pack in mixture of indoor and outdoor activities. We finally had a chance to eat Belgian mussels, ate some especially-bred-for-consumption pigeon, and had a delcious Belgian waffle. We managed to squeeze onboard the last tour boat of the season (due to the aforementioned inclement weather) and explored Bruges’ canals by water. Come nightfall, we made our way to the beer museum, which was nicely done and a delight for the senses. Each armed with a tablet, we smelled different flavors, tasted nearly twenty kinds of malt, and quizzed ourselves on beer trivia. It was nice to get a bit of history on the Trappist monks and abbey brewing while tasting numerous such beers, which was good background for our brief pilgrimage to Westvleteren the next day on our way to France. We had a lovely meal and picked up a six pack of Westvleteren 12, which we thought really did deserve its reputation as the best beer in the world.

WWII history and beach in Dunkirk; bunker at Fort de la Crèche; night sights in Calais; morning beach run in Calais (you can see England in the distance)

After Westvleteren, we went to the Musee Dunkerque in Dunkirk, which focused on Operation Dynamo and the British evacuation, and walked along Dunkirk beach. There was a surprising amount of traffic heading into Calais, but I guess we were arriving at rush hour. We later learned that many people commute from Calais into London, driven by the much cheaper real estate. On our morning run along the Calais beach, we could even see England, along with the numerous commuter ferries.

Honfleur harbor, cider tasting, room picnic, morning run, and spa day

In Honfleur, we stayed at Le Manoir des Impressionnistes, a tribute to the artists who painted nearby. It was not far from the very charming harbor, where we picked up some local delicacies for a picnic in the room. After so many days of morning runs, we relaxed in the spa before continuing on.

Lunch at Jean-Luc Tartarin in Le Havre; Calvados and cider tasting in Normandy; exploring cider groves

We backtracked a bit to have lunch at Jean-Luc Tartarin in Le Havre, driving again over the Pont de Normandie (at $6 a pop, though definitely worth it for the view). Since we were deep in the heart of the cider trail, we made a few stops for cider and Calvados tasting. This trip, we discovered Pommeau, which is a mixture of cider and Calvados and has the strength of a strong wine. The French drink it as both an aperitif and a digestif.

Bayeaux: WWII history; tapestry of William the Conqueror (and of Aegon / GoT)

Bayeaux had a lot of fun things to see. I was initially a bit skeptical of the tapestry, but really glad we went. It’s a 900 hundred year old, 230 foot long illustration of how William the Conqueror conquered England. The audio guide does a good job narrating and calling out interesting features of the tapestry. A few blocks away, we saw the modern version, where the Hôtel du Doyen was housing a new tapestry that told the story of “A Song of Ice and Fire.” We also stopped by the Museum of the Battle of Normandy, which had tons of detail of many battles during the war and the role of the press in documenting and communicating.

American and German cemetaries; Omaha beach; La Pointe du Hoc bunkers

We made a quick stop at Omaha beach on the way to the American cemetary overlooking the landing beaches. We didn’t pick the best time to go to La Pointe du Hoc, as it was pouring rain and hail and freezing. As we reminded ourselves that the troops saw much worse conditions, we pushed on and took some shelter in the bunkers. After one more cider stop, we arrived at Le Mont-Saint-Michel later that evening.

Le Mont-Saint-Michel and plentiful seafood

Le Mont-Saint-Michel was surreal and gorgeous. We walked to the island during sunrise in order to avoid the crowds. It was low tide, so we were greeted by the sight of the monastery towering above the marsh. Over the course of our visit, the tide came in and rose nearly fifty feet, surrounding the island. We had plentiful seafood, including periwinkles and whelks. We also had one of the specialties, a very fluffy Mont-Saint-Michel omelet.

Amboise castle; bridge; Leonardo Da Vinci’s house

After Le Mont-Saint-Michel, we drove ~ 4 hours to the Loire Valley, known for its dozens of castles and thousands of wineries. Our first stop was Amboise, where we stayed close to the castle and had some phenomenal food. Leonardo Da Vinci spent his last years in France, sponsored by King Francis I, who was a big fan. He lived in Clos Lucé, which has been turned into a museum, showcasing how Leonardo lived and highlighting many of his inventions.

Château de Cheverny

We made it to the Château de Cheverny in time for a fall celebration, with many pumpkin decorations and a run of the hunting hounds. One of the oldest private castles, it was opened to the public in 1914.

Les Hauts de Loire and dinner

After 9 nights of one-night stays, we spent 3 nights at Les Hauts de Loire for some much-appreciated R&R. Kelly and I celebrated with an incredible dinner at their restaurant. The estate has 180 acres and a lot of activities, and we ran, biked, played tennis, and enjoyed the spa. We biked to a nearby animal farm to play with the goats and pigs, and picked up several different goat cheeses for a picnic. We also biked along La Loire à Vélo to Château de Chaumont and had some tastings.

Exploring Les Hauts de Loire, animal farm visit, and goat cheese picnic

Biking La Loire à Vélo and spa day

Paris: Eiffel tower, Arc de Triomphe, river cruise, and standup comedy with Kevin

Finally, it was time for us to drop off our car in Paris and enjoy our final four nights. I picked a drop off point not far from L’Arc de Triomphe, which was close to our hotel. In retrospect, that wasn’t the best idea because it involved more driving in Paris. Up until Paris I had gotten fairly comfortable with driving in France, but it was a nerve-wracking 1.5 hour drive through the city to travel only a few miles.

It was our first time in Paris, and our first night was both clichéd and not. We bee-lined to the Eiffel Tower and got to know the city by way of a lovely river cruise at night. Then, we went to a dive bar to support our friend Kevin, a recent Paris transplant, who performed a stand-up comedy routine (in English). Kevin and Cyrielle later hosted us at their apartment, which was lovely and very Parisian. We stopped by the headquarters of Alan, a French insurance startup, to say “hi” to Aman and James.

We also picnicked at Versailles, went to the Moulin Rouge, ate some incredible pastries, and had hot chocolate at Angeline’s. One nice surprise was when we just happened to stumble upon a Christmas market / carnival (the largest such in Paris) at Le Jardin des Tuileries, a few blocks from our hotel.

Earlier in our trip, we had tried to find some races to run – could you imagine a marathon around Lake Bled? We didn’t have much luck, but, ironically, there was a marathon right outside our hotel on the day of our departure. We didn’t know this until we called our car and stepped outside, and the street closures and language barrier turned the pickup into quite an ordeal.

Versailles: Hall of Mirrors, grounds, and picnic

Paris: Christmas Market at Le Jardin des Tuileries and Ferris wheel ride

Paris: Moulin Rouge, Louvre, pastries, Sacré-Cœur,and chocolate at Angeline’s

Paris: morning run, Montmartre, spa morning, and flight home