Two Sisters Visit France

For the past week two of my three sisters, Kathy and Nita, have been visiting from the States. Nita had been here before, but Kathy had not. They arrived last Friday and left this morning. I am exhausted!

They spent two days in Paris before they got here so jet lag was not a problem by the time they got here and we hit the ground running. Of course, the first event was the Beaune market on Saturday. They deposited me in a sidewalk cafe and disappeared for a couple of hours. The market in Beaune is busy on Saturdays and there was plenty of opportunity to people watch as they "shopped." ...and, how those women can shop! Lunch in Beaune was wonderful, as always.

The next day we were off to Dole for a tour of the ville and lunch. My favorite pizza place had decided to remain closed that day so we opted for a smoothie for lunch. Dole is a very picturesque place with walled fortresses and a beautiful old church. The two of them got blisters on their shutter fingers snapping all the "Kodak' moments.

Monday was Burgundy wine country. It started out raining and by the time we got to Marsannay, the beginning of our morning tour, it was pouring. We plodded along the N74 to Nuits St. Georges were we stopped for lunch in an outdoor restaurant in the village plaza. By then, the rain had stopped and the sun broke through the overcast. A village cat decided to take a nap at our table. He just lay there, on the adjacent chair, snoozing while we ate.

After lunch we headed to the Chateau Chateauneuf, west of Beaune, and one of the most beautiful villages in all of France. Again, thank God for digital cameras, as the cost of film would have been prohibitive.

Tuesday was the Chateau Pierre du Bresse, about a half hour from here. The beautiful chateau contains an art gallery and has a couple of fenced in areas containing a herd of deer and goats, and some horses. Lunch was at a riverside restaurant in St. Jean de Losne.

Wednesday was spent locally. The girls walked to town visiting the shops in the village. Wednesday evening we attended a BBQ hosted by Capt. Andy and his nephew, Rick. Capt. Adam and Capt. Bruce were also in attendance.

Early this morning, I drove the sisters to Dijon and they caught a train to Paris for their return flight to the States tomorrow. All in all, it was a wonderful visit. We had a lot of fun and a lot to drink. I want to thank Kathy for introducing me to Seabreezes. A Seebreeze is a vodka drink with grapefruit and cranberry juice. Although I would never admit to drinking a pink drink, it was a great way to get my vitamin C! I loved having my sisters here and wish they could have stayed longer. Now -- it's time to dry out!