Burgundy 🇫🇷

I really enjoyed the French wine country more than expected. The town of Beaune (closest to Burgundy) was a bit more commercialized but still very charming and clean! I had a 4-mile morning run around the town, through the park, and made it to the winery side.....what’s a better way to experience a small town than walking or running through it?!

The water is SUPER clean, I was just in awe with all the flowers, swans, and beautiful wine domaines. I have to give it to the city of Beaune, which is the only place I’ve seen with beautiful flowers planted everywhere throughout the city. Literally Looked like someone picked up a bunch of flowers from Trader Joe’s and just stick them to the ground, 😂 😅😊

We drive/walk through some of the top wineries...OMG and how small are they compared to Napa Vally?! I was expecting acres and acres for the top producers but it was more like this corner and that corner….some were fenced in like a basketball court size 😳🥴….Talking about expensive dirt! Some vineyards were divided into rows for different domains .....We definitely did some damage 😅...It is amazing to see some of my favs in person like Chevalier-Montrachet, DRC, and Batard Montrachet. So I figured out why Burgundy produces some of the best wines, it must be all the rocks on the soil…which provide rich minerality to the plants. About 150 million years ago, Burgundy region was covered by seawater, therefore the soil is dominated by limestones, shells, and rich minerals. I was surprised by how “rocky” the soils are, and how organic and very little human interference when it comes to growing grapes and making wines. Wine-making techniques haven’t changed much for centuries.

Some of the five-star hotels in Beaune.....😬🥴....it was far off from the 5 stars in Paris, they must factor in some historical value or wine country charm?! 🤷‍♀️ I was really impressed with this Château resort we stomp upon for lunch call...La Cueillette - Spa hotel resort, white asparagus soup was to die for! I enjoyed the food more than our Michelin 3-star restaurant(Le Cinq) in Four Seasons Paris 😐 😒…..I would stay there if we ever visit burgundy again. It was very charming, with its Château-style boutique hotel, spa, winery, and view of the famous church of Meursault village. Everything you would expect from a legitimate burgundy visit. The only drawback is you need to have a car because it is a few miles away from the commercial center. Uber isn’t widely available, you can easily get one around Beaune to any wineries, is the coming back trip could be a bit of a problem. If you do end up renting a car which I DO recommend, PLEASE do remember to exit on time for the Beaune exit because your next exit might just be 20+ min away, don’t ask how I know this 😆.....But, we did encounter some picturesque sceneries along the way. Some albino-looking cows (Charolais or Charolaise), castles on top of the hill, winding hills, I’m pretty good at making lemonade out of life 🍋 ....🤷‍♀️😅

Luckily our good friend Kelly is a burgundy expert and a total wine connoisseur, so imagine him + my professional alcoholic husband = WINE EVERY single meal, 😐😬🥴..…. but I do enjoy them so can’t complain 😅. So both of them highly recommend this place called Maison du Colombier, apparently great wine selections and, food was soso….😐. After 2 weeks in Europe, I was so done with foie gras, cheese, and cured meat. 🥴😰

French not only had a thing for mirrors but also for carousels too! There is a carousel in the center of Beaune. 🤷‍♀️ Pharmacies are almost everywhere which was convenient. Dijon is another city close to Burgundy region, about 30-40min away by car, is famous for Dijon mustard. I enjoyed Dijon, good shopping, energy, and historical sightings. Dijon is the closest major train station in the burgundy region, the fastest train about 1hr40min away from Paris Gare de Lyon station.

Another place we visited was Rymska, named after an award-winning race 🐎….HIGHLY reviewed on Google, 4.9 stars on Google, and 5 ⭐️ on TripAdvisor…..I am speechless because the food honestly did NOT impress me THAT much. We had a private room, ordered a magnum size champagne and 6 bottles of 🍷. The place is beautiful, very carefully maintained farmhouse turned into a hotel with Michelin star worthy restaurant…..sadly we did not stay there, IT IS about 20 miles away from Beaune, 40 min drive….which is a bit too far I think. Our dinner lasted the whole night like normal, but none of the dishes really wowed me. Yes, it is beautifully presented, carefully created, but when is good food you really don’t need to try that hard to make a good impression. That being said, maybe just us are a little over Michelin star restaurants, everyone else in our group seemed to be really impressed by the food. Service and ambiance were top, is kinda funny we’re at this really fancy restaurant but it is still on a farm.

Funny we story had to share - “Janine’s pretty woman moment” 😂…..Beaune must not get a lot of Asians here, 🙄…..I was back from a causal walking tour from Dijon so naturally, I was pretty casually dressed and might be looked like I was 21 (on a really good day 😂) and broke, randomly went to a shop and the owner/manager starred at me for like 5 seconds and asked “Can I help you?!”…… she probably thinks I’m in the wrong store and can’t afford her product 🙄, you know when someone stared at you far too long to be friendly or welcoming……I did NOT like her staring at all 🤨😒….luckily I had to go back and change into something “fancy” as requested by our lovely host Suzie, now FANCY is something I’m pretty familiar with 😅…..so yes I dolled up with glitter, feathers, and high heels. The shop was 1 min away from our place, I told my husband to follow me, there’s something I MUST do...I just randomly pulled a jacket and asked his opinion on it, luckily his response was “that’s hideous”…..😂, I gladly pull it back and turn around to make sure the owner/manager saw me, and Ofcoz she was starring again with her glasses, but this time it was a different type of stare, I don't look that young and broke anymore 😂 😂 😂. Glad my most none fashionable husband was being honest so I didn’t have to buy anything just to prove a point 😆..... I could be wrong, maybe she looked at me differently because I'm just not her typical clientele, 🤷‍♀️

Would I go back again? Only with the right people, only with people who enjoyed wine. 🍷 😊