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It's rare that you are given a perfect day. It's even more rare that you are aware in that moment that it is indeed a perfect day. Not in the terms of fireworks and big magic, but simply the universe giving you an endless fountain of small gifts.
That was Tuesday, when I took the train to Beaune and found myself wandering unplanned from one marvelous encounter to the next. From the woman in the information center at the Gare Dijon who was so wonderfully helpful (and got to hear me say, in near-perfect French, "I missed the damn train by that much!") to the lovely Scott family from Dover, MA who invited me to join them for lunch, to Stephanie Bouhin at La P'tite Cave and Henri Emmanuel at Cave du Cabet des Cordeliers, who gave me the respect of a fellow wine professional, to the Italian couple at the Marche aux Vins who mocked the British foursome near us until I was close to spilling my wine with laughter (alas, the foursome deserved it. Some people should not be let out of their home towns, much less their native countries). My only regret was not staying longer, but I was very tired, and Beaune will still be there at the end of the week, if I decide to return.
And yes, it being Beaune, I not only visited the Musee de Vin, but tasted as well. ( wine neepery behind the cut for those who are uninterested in such things )
And then I came home, used the washing machine [but not the dryer because Life's Too Short], made myself a reasonably healthy dinner, put my feet up and dug into three days' worth of notes, pressing it into comprehensive chunks of world-building and character development. My head, it hurts....
Oh, and a thing that amuses me: the coffee pot has two different sets of marking on the side; one set for how much water to use for large mugs, and the other for how much water to use for normal-sized mugs. Brilliant!
And thanks to the Internet I've been able to catch some of the Democratic Convention highlights, which is about all I'd be able to stand if I were home, too. Had to explain to someone this week that no, actually, Biden's a pretty popular Veep pick, and why. The 'news' over here seems to be that he's universally hated, which made me laugh -- and opened a discussion about how very little we ever actually lean about each other, if we rely on the media or Party-Approved Doctrine. ("all it takes for senseless hatred to end is to learn to know your neighbor...so you can hate him/her for a specific reason!")
Oh, and here's a photo for Terri...
( no matter where you go, there you are... )
That was Tuesday, when I took the train to Beaune and found myself wandering unplanned from one marvelous encounter to the next. From the woman in the information center at the Gare Dijon who was so wonderfully helpful (and got to hear me say, in near-perfect French, "I missed the damn train by that much!") to the lovely Scott family from Dover, MA who invited me to join them for lunch, to Stephanie Bouhin at La P'tite Cave and Henri Emmanuel at Cave du Cabet des Cordeliers, who gave me the respect of a fellow wine professional, to the Italian couple at the Marche aux Vins who mocked the British foursome near us until I was close to spilling my wine with laughter (alas, the foursome deserved it. Some people should not be let out of their home towns, much less their native countries). My only regret was not staying longer, but I was very tired, and Beaune will still be there at the end of the week, if I decide to return.
And yes, it being Beaune, I not only visited the Musee de Vin, but tasted as well. ( wine neepery behind the cut for those who are uninterested in such things )
And then I came home, used the washing machine [but not the dryer because Life's Too Short], made myself a reasonably healthy dinner, put my feet up and dug into three days' worth of notes, pressing it into comprehensive chunks of world-building and character development. My head, it hurts....
Oh, and a thing that amuses me: the coffee pot has two different sets of marking on the side; one set for how much water to use for large mugs, and the other for how much water to use for normal-sized mugs. Brilliant!
And thanks to the Internet I've been able to catch some of the Democratic Convention highlights, which is about all I'd be able to stand if I were home, too. Had to explain to someone this week that no, actually, Biden's a pretty popular Veep pick, and why. The 'news' over here seems to be that he's universally hated, which made me laugh -- and opened a discussion about how very little we ever actually lean about each other, if we rely on the media or Party-Approved Doctrine. ("all it takes for senseless hatred to end is to learn to know your neighbor...so you can hate him/her for a specific reason!")
Oh, and here's a photo for Terri...
( no matter where you go, there you are... )
