....And Walking From Beaune To Veuve Ambal: Something NOT TO DO When In Burgundy
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"Do not let your embarrassment lead to bad decision making!" We were making our way out of a drainage ditch as I scolded Nicole with these words.
Google Maps! You will pay for this!
Veuve Ambal is a large sparkling wine, or Cremant de Bourgogne, producer on the outskirts of Beaune, where we are staying in Burgundy. We'd been meaning to pay a visit and, so that I wouldn't have to worry about driving, figured a 45 minute walk would me nice for a sunny mid-afternoon. At least, that was what Google Maps led us to believe.
We walked along the sidewalks, chatting and enjoying the day ... until we left Beaune.
"Um, do you think we are going to have to walk on the highway?" I asked Nicole. Lesson learned: If Google Maps provides a walking route and time-estimate, that merely means walking is possible, not advisable.
Scenes from the long walk to Veuve Ambal
In the final analysis, it took us an hour and a half and we looked like fools walking in the weeds on the side of a highway, but we made it just fine. One minor blow up where I became concerned that (a) Nicole's love of situations where we find ourselves on the side of a road leaping through drain ditches, combined with (b) her insistence on wearing flip flops for the walk, was going to lead to (c) a nasty fall. But that was quickly resolved after I gained some perspective. We were en route to a sparkling wine producer, after all, not taking enemy fire.
We handled the drain ditches like pros on the way back to Beaune; Nicole bear crawled out of this one
The winery itself was great. Veuve Ambal produces approximately 15 million bottles of wine per year. So it was more like touring a factory than a winery, something Nicole and I had not seen on that scale. Moreover, on the way back, we found a service road through a farm (with horses!) that avoided the highway. No one ever said touring sparkling wine producers would be easy! :)
Touring Veuve Ambal
Veuve Ambal's bottling facility
Horses of Burgundy
Like this post? Want to read more about Travis and Nicole's travel adventures? Check out Bicycling The Voie Des Vignes From Beaune To Santenay: A MUST DO When In Burgundy....
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