L’escargot De Bourgogne

by Living Our Best Lives

Kilometres Walked : 5.9 ( not many😳)

Wednesday 28th June, 2023.

Feeling especially spoilt with our personal tour guide and friend Catherine we delighted in getting to try some of the local delicacies. Catherine who is my mother’s very good friends niece who lives here in Dijon very kindly offered to pick us up and take us out into the Burgandy country side for the day. Our destination was Beaune, a very quaint village about 40 minutes south of Dijon. Beaune is well known for the Hotel Dieu – Hospices de Beaune, a 15th century hospital with it’s famous multi coloured roof tiles and gothic architecture that’s now open to the public as a museum which is a must visit. Patriarchs Pere et Fils is also a another must visit as the owners of the biggest and largest wine cellars in Burgandy that was established in 1796 in a former ladies convent. With over five kilometres of underground cellars/tunnels it is completely mind blowing. And the wine tasted lovely as well 🍷

Catherine.
Barrels upon barrels.
A little bit of modern art thrown in.
Bottles on top of bottles.
The good stuff.
Tasting room.
His dream.

After a wonderful and fascinating visit to Patriarche it was time to try some of the wonderful local dishes on offer. Settling on a lovely little cafe we all ordered the three course set menu. Jason had the escargot for entree and Catherine and I both ordered the terrine. For the main we had the Beef Bourguignon and a lovely cassis mousse for dessert. Everything was delicious and yes I even tried the snails, they weren’t to bad. We also tried a Kir for an aperitif which is a mixture of crème de cassis, a dark blackcurrant liqueur and dry white wine. Again very delicious.

Yes they are from your garden.
A little history.
The beef.

After a lovely chat with our neighbouring table ( a couple from the Netherlands ) and coffee we headed off to the Hospices de Beaune. Surprisingly the hospital was still active until as recently as 1955.

The old hospital.
Beautiful gothic architecture.
The medicine garden.
Look at those colours on the roof tiles.
Beautiful.
Very tranquil place.
Stunning.

Beaune was such a beautiful and interesting town, with more old French buildings, flowers and cafes. It was such a treat to be taken out for the day by Catherine. On the journey back to Dijon we detoured through the thousands of acres of vineyards and little French villages that dotted the roadside throughout. It was so picturesque with flower boxes, old stone cottages, colourful shutters, little narrow winding roads, wine cellars and cafes. We’ve never seen so many vineyards before, it was quite unbelievable.

All the old troughs are now planters.
Just wandering.
Outside the Hospital.
The street where we had lunch.
Yes matching outfits🤪
Vines for miles.
Being silly.
They just keep going.
The most photos we have had taken together.

We are ever so grateful that Catherine was so generous in taking us out for the day whilst here in Dijon. It was a fabulous experience and we have also gained a new friend. What a special day indeed.