Wed., Sept 18 - Travel Day to Paris (Bye, Bye Beaune!)
Part 1

Some interesting factoids and observations:

There seem to be some very close familial relationships throughout France. At the market on Saturday in Beaune, we came across this couple. I guessed it was an older uncle walking with his younger niece. Lloyd didn't think so. You be the judge.

                                                               Uncle and niece?

Earlier I mentioned that we had a lovely room thanks to being "upgraded" at check-in. You probably wondered why I never mentioned the view. Well, here's why:

We look at the tile rooftops and there's a peek of vineyards on the hill that I can see with my binoculars. It's better than a wall, I suppose.

We've been staying in the Hotel Le Cep in Beaune. There are pictures of grape vines everywhere throughout the hotel. I thought it an odd name. But on Monday I learned something new.

  I learned that the bottom trunk of the grape plant onto which new growths are either grafted or one sprout is selected for future growth is called the "cep". The cep can be seen in the lower left corner of the picture above. Who knew?!?

(In case you're wondering, the large chateau in the center of the vineyard above was inserted in my blog by mistake. But since it's there, I'll explain it was started in the 12th century by Cistersian monks who first discovered that different types of soil (from different levels on the slopes) produced different flavors and textures of wine. Quite a break through for that time.)

One more factoid before we depart from Beaune. While driving from vineyard to vineyard, we learned that last November, the French parliament passed a new law that every car must carry two breath-a-lyzers. The goal is to reduce drunk driving, of course. The purpose of two is so that an individual can self-test following an evening of indulgence, wait until your alcohol level diminishes, and then self-test again before getting behind the wheel. No statistics on whether this new tactic is working.

And finally, just as we were leaving the hotel, Lloyd noticed a plaque on the wall on the building directly across from our hotel. See below: it was, long ago, the home of the Chevrolet brothers- Louis, Gaston, and Arthur. It was meaningful for Lloyd since his grandfather Jules Devigne raced against Gaston in the 1916 Indianapolis 500 Race!! What a small world.

                                                               A family connection!?!
Off to Paris......