Day 10 - Beaune to Bourg-en-Bresse

Sunday, September 13

Beaune to Bourg-en-Bresse (130 km)

We had a north wind pushing us south, which made for a very nice ride today. We made a couple of mistakes, but nothing major. The road was flat to begin with, then began the same rolling pattern we saw as we approached the Alpes. Susan rode the whole day with us and did a great job.

The evening before leaving Beaune we ate in this resturant that was in an old wine storage "cave." It has been a resturant for 30 years and was quite good. We arrived as it opened, but it was full of diners when we left.

Restaurant in Beaune

In one of the villages we came to today, we saw a church with an amazing steeple. It's constructed so the ribs spiral as they rise. The colors were also fantastic. Storks had nested on top of the church. They were really big!

Village Church

This area of France is known for its chickens; we did see some true “free range” chickens, but only a few. There are statues of chicken in many places in Bourg-en-Bresse. This one is near a grand cathedral. Most are beautifully decorated, as this one is.

Sandy and Chicken

The big mystery is that we see jmbon (ham) everywhere, but have never seen a pig. We did hear one about two days ago, though! I am starting to get ham and cheesed out. I always get a sandwich to take with me, but I wish I could find some Payday candy bars. They are easy to carry and eat, and are very satisfying. I have seen some snickers, but I failed to by more than one. Next time I will stock up!

The French have many things on the menu we rarely see in the US. Let’s start with the common ones: frog legs, rabbit, onglet, liver of various kinds, gizzards of chicken, deer, kidneys, pancreas, and numerous other parts of the pig, cow, and lamb in sausages. They use it all!

Unusual fruits are used in addition to the common ones. Food seems to be well prepared the vast majority of the time, but they are starting to get some fast food places of their own like one called Hippotomus (This has mostly different kinds of hamburger and steak).