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Post by sistereurope on Aug 30, 2012 19:08:16 GMT -5
Hello dear OP friends,
Getting really excited for our trip to Burgundy and Paris (one week in Burgundy and 5 nights in Paris. heaven....)
We're renting an apartment in Beaune, and have been studying the wine villages VERY carefully ;D. Have lists of restaurants and some driving routes although we hope to rent bikes too if the weather permits.
Anyway, if anyone cares to share some Burgundy tips I'd appreciate it, and promise to report back. (Shhh, but one of the things we're checking out is potential places for Mr Sister and I to possibly retire. I told the Mr that the only way I'd move to a farm is if it were in France. And he seems to be coming around to the idea! Now I have to find an affordable piece of property near a great village that we can afford, and within a day's trip to you know where. Will keep you posted on the progress! Not an apartment in Paris, but what is marriage if not a compromise? ;D)
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Post by PariS on Aug 30, 2012 19:33:51 GMT -5
Doesn't sound like a difficult compromise to me, Sis! Good luck! Your trip sounds really fun.
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Post by Anne on Aug 31, 2012 4:25:18 GMT -5
Hubby and I went to Burgundy in Fall 2010 and spent two nights in a B&B in Beaune. I'm sure that there is no need to remind you to visit the Hospices as it is so obvious, but the whole town is worth walking around. The Circuit des Remparts will give you a nice overview. No some serious stuff : food. There are lots of tourists restaurants that look like traps. Upon Laidback's recommendation we had dinner at Ma Cuisine and at la Ciboulette, we loved both of them, especially Ma Cuisine. Both have to be booked a few days ahead. Do not forget to try the local specialities : jambon persillé (can be bought at a charcutier too, no need to have it in a restaurant) and oeufs en meurette. No need to remind you to taste the local wine I presume  ;D ? As for biking, I have that souvenir that the vineyard road was a bit hilly, good luck for pedalling after wine tasting ! |
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Post by jo on Aug 31, 2012 4:54:01 GMT -5
No tips for Burgundy but just reminding you that when you retire in France, a certain Canadian will be available to help on the farm for very low cost ;D
I'm sure you guys will have a great trip and I can't wait to read all about the eating and drinking!
Jo
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Post by Anne on Aug 31, 2012 6:36:17 GMT -5
Sis are you really serious about looking for a place to buy   ? We drove the whole vineyard road from Dijon down to South of Beaune on two days, it was really lovely but I couldn't tell one village from another anymore, especially as we had quite a few degustation stops ... Will ask Bertrand and come back to you later. |
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Post by sistereurope on Aug 31, 2012 22:38:27 GMT -5
Anne, Ma Cuisine is definitely on the list! I've head so many good things about it from Chowhound so I am very excited. Lots of other recommendations from there as well. It's like Paris, too many places. too little time. Yes, we really are seriously thinking about a possible move to France! We're fed up with many things here, as you know  . We can see ourselves settling into a simpler life, and as long as I could get to Paris in a day, I think I could be very happy. Of course this is all some years off and there are obstacles in the way, for sure. Still, I am positive. Mr. Sister would love to take an early retirement if we can work it out. Life is so short, we want to enjoy our lives and we're tired of the stress. So please say send some strong and positive thoughts HIS way, because you know I am all for it. ;D Jo, you are always welcome to visit the farm. We won't even make you get up early to milk the cows.. ;D |
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Post by mossie on Sept 1, 2012 2:01:31 GMT -5
That is a compromise that I would love to have had the opportunity of making.
My advice is to do it as soon as possible, a little while before you might think it sensible, money goes further when you are retired. Except possibly in the Golden Triangle ;D
Good luck
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Post by Anne on Sept 1, 2012 3:54:02 GMT -5
Sis this is a brilliant idea indeed. And since you and Jim will still be young and consider a farm anyway, why not slide from, say, cow farming to vine-growing and making ? I'm not talking about the most prestigious terroirs where land costs a fortune and you have to be a real specialist in wine making in order to keep up with the expected excellence of your terroir, I'm talking more modest areas where you can have a small vinyard and make wine mostly for the fun of it (and also for the pleasure of inviting your friends to the vendange of course ). Now it happens that at the end of our vineyard road trip we reached the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune area, at the very South of the Côte d'Or département, villages are Nolay, La Rochepot, St Romain ...It was a lovely hilly area but quite different from the North, it felt much less prosperous and of course this is logical as the local wine costs only a fraction of the prestigious Bourgogne ones. We walked through Nolay, very cute village if one is able to shut out the memory of the over-properous villages up North. There were some houses for sales and we reflected how much cheaper they must be compared to the villages we had seen previously. Maybe you would find worth it having a look at this area ... Back to food. On that same day we had had lunch in Nuit Saint Georges, bar-restaurant de l'Etoile. Decor is totally bland and boring, looks like any village bar that also serves a some food, but it was surprisingly excellent. It was full, locals having the plat du jour and tourists having some spécialités bourguignones. The carte is quite short but it's good solid country food. From our table we could see a bit of the kitchen with the grandma - or maybe she was just a local matron, and her assistant fussing over the cast-iron pots lined on the stove. Don't drive half of the departement for it, but if you happen to be around definetly go for it. |
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Post by geordy on Sept 1, 2012 8:41:30 GMT -5
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Post by sistereurope on Sept 1, 2012 10:31:24 GMT -5
Thanks for the rec in Nuits Saint Georges Anne! Will check it out! We have so many choices, I will be stuffed full of escargot! ;D And while I personally love the idea of a vineyard, I think that the Mr would prefer the farm. Not really a farm, but a place with enough land where he can have his vegetable garden, chickens (I'm already a farmer's wife! ;D) and maybe a goat or one cow. His main wish is to have land, with no close neighbors, so we're talking at least a hectare, preferably a lot more. So that probably puts any vineyards out of the running. And my wish is to be near a village with a market, and within day trip distance to Paris. I've been looking at towns and real estate prices all over France. There are some areas that fit within the budget, but most are in the Dordogne or SW France, which is beautiful, but not within day trip to Paris distance. That's why I thought Burgundy might work, perhaps in the Nievre or south, west of Macon. We're going to check out these towns: Clamecy, Decize, Bourbon Lancry, Luzy. We're also going to Nevers. If anyone has any other suggestions, please chime in! I'm open...it only has to meet the 1+hectare/ near a village/day trip to Paris requirement. Oh, and be affordable. Oh, and not be full of people who voted LePen It seems like a far-fetched dream in some ways. I know that many people think that they might be happy to do something like this and then the dream turns into a nightmare. That's why I would rent something in the area where we think we might like before making the big move. On the other hand, people do follow their dreams, right? I just feel that I was meant to do this... Thanks for letting me live out my dream on the pages of OP!  |
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Post by janetnj on Sept 1, 2012 11:01:01 GMT -5
Sis - this sounds exciting. Good for you for exploring it. My motto is no regrets. As you said, you can always rent first.
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Post by paris...ahh on Sept 1, 2012 18:57:10 GMT -5
Very exciting news for you. Glad Mr. Sis is on the same page (more or less). Have fun planning and dreaming. I am sending positive thoughts your way .
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 2, 2012 15:52:32 GMT -5
You may have already seen my trip report about about spending weekend in Burgundy exploring near Semur-en-Auxois but if not here it is: tinyurl.com/6wtm6u5You may also be aware that you need Michelin maps to explore any area in France but if not here's my standard speech about Michelin maps. You want the ones of the scale 1:200,000 (regional maps) or 1:150,000 (departmental maps, more detailed, cover slightly less area) for whatever regions you visit. A nice feature of the 1:150,000 maps is they show the starred attractions in the corresponding Michelin Green guidebooks. The Michelin maps have icons for all kinds of historically/touristically interesting things such as châteaux, ruins, churches, abbeys, scenic view points, caves, Roman sites, megaliths, designated scenic roads and many other things. Usually when I'm exploring various regions in France I just look at the map and I am able to plan interesting and scenic drives just reading the map. For instance, I usually look for a designated scenic road, which are highlighted in green, and I especially look for towns with the historic church and/or château icon. I also try to make sure the route goes through as many small villages as possible. Usually putting all these things together I find interesting and scenic drives without even knowing where I am going and with no assistance from a guide book. Often these places are never mentioned in guidebooks and remain completely unknown to many tourists. You can buy the Michelin maps from their website and here is a link to the page that shows you the 1:200,000 scale maps of France: tinyurl.com/4bt96evAnd here is a link to the page that shows you the 1:150,000 scale maps of France: tinyurl.com/6mt4n64 You could also buy them here but then you can't do research beforehand. The maps can be bought in many places such as bookstores, news stands, magazine stores, larger supermarkets, department stores, hypermarkets and in the full service rest areas on the autoroutes, just to name a few. In regards to being within day trip distance to Paris, Beaune is just under 3 hours drive from Paris but you can take a train from Dijon or any other major town in that area (Auxerre, Beaune, Mâcon, Chalon-sur-Saone etc.) and get there faster than by car. As far as real estate, when visiting a village that interests you just go to the centre ville and look at the ads in the windows of the real estate agencies. You'll get much better info on the ground by checking out prices in person than you'll find on the web. For any small town or village in France that doesn't attract tourists and doesn't have a train station you'll be amazed at how much land/house you can get for 200,000 to 300,000 euros. I wouldn't focus on towns with train stations since you can always drive to a train station and park your car. I noticed the towns you mentioned all had train stations. Are you aware that from Luzy, for example, it will take you at least 3 hours with at least one change of trains to reach Paris? Personally I wouldn't consider any of the villages you've mentioned if it's just the train access that attracted you to them. If it's Burgundy that interests you I've got an area to recommend that I've never visited but have always wanted to. West of the A6 autoroute between Tournus and Mâcon is an area I've wanted to visit for quite some time but have never gotten around to it. You'll notice on the Michelin map that the area is full of designated scenic roads and towns with the historic church icon. The map will also show you a number of château in the area (designated both historic and non-historic monuments). Check out the villages of Brancion, Chapaize, Lugny, Uchizy, Chissey-les-Macon, Clessé etc. Basically, just drive around this area using the map following designated scenic roads and hitting as many small villages as you can, especially if they have the historic church icon. You are probably aware that if you want a hectare or more of land then you will not actually be in a village but outside of a village. Houses in the centers of villages don't have much land. Houses with lots of land are outside of villages. You should look at the official town websites and tourist office websites for any town that interests you. The tourist office websites will obviously tell you about what to see and do in the area. But the official town websites will have all the practical info you'd need if you were considering an area to live. Here is an example using Brancion: www.chateau-de-brancion.fr/www.brancion.fr/Actually, Brancion doesn't have the best town website but it's not too bad. It's hit or miss as to whether or not a small village will have a website. If you want info about the days of the markets in this area you can check the regional tourist office website: www.tournugeois.fr/fr/index.htmwww.tournugeois.fr/fr/artisans-et-commerces/marches/marches-en-tournugeois.htmNow that I've told you about the area near Tournus I'll mention that there are loads of other parts of Burgundy that are just as interesting to me, including the area I covered in my trip report, so I would spend a lot of time driving around Burgundy and seeing what areas and landscapes most appeal to you. You've got thousands of villages to check. |
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Post by sistereurope on Sept 2, 2012 16:47:00 GMT -5
FMT...thank you so much! This is a wealth of info and I look forward with great anticipation to sifting through it all!! I really appreciate your taking the time to write such an informative post. I'm still figuring this all out. Actually my other French Real Estate agent )aka Anne) also suggested that we think about being not so far from Macon, since they have a TGV. So that area is definitely on the agenda. I love the wine from southern Burgundy so that is a plus! I'm sure I'll have a million other questions as I begin this journey (both my trip, and the life journey ) Now I'm off to read your report... Again, merci ! |
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Post by sunshine817 on Sept 3, 2012 0:39:07 GMT -5
Sister, you might want to consider France on a trial basis -- get a long-stay visa (a year) and rent.
See if you still like it...and a rental means you're not chained to a piece of property. Then you're free to change regions if you don't like where you are, and you can just step back to your life in CA if you aren't happy.
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Post by janetnj on Sept 3, 2012 8:08:47 GMT -5
Sunshine, that's a great idea. Hmmm....
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Post by sistereurope on Sept 3, 2012 9:41:44 GMT -5
Sunshine, that's definitely part of the plan. We'd never buy something before seeing if the reality comes close to the dream. I have no illusions that it would all be heavenly. I would just hope that the good/positives would outweigh the bad/ hassles. On verra ! ;D
PS I am an east coast girl...
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 3, 2012 14:52:14 GMT -5
Have fun with the research sistereurope. |
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Post by sunshine817 on Sept 3, 2012 16:02:19 GMT -5
Ooh, sorry about that -- I knew it was Baltimore, hon , but I wasn't through the first cup of coffee yet. We *thought* we had taken the lenses out of the rose-coloured glasses...but there were still days when there were full-on rants and lots of tears. It is far, FAR harder than you EVER think it could be. ETA: Lest anyone be misled -- we would still do it again, and we're very content here....but even though we had spent a significant amount of time in France, and so had at least a notion of the language and culture and administrative issues...we had no idea how difficult it really would be. |
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Post by paris...ahh on Sept 3, 2012 22:49:25 GMT -5
I think this is the dream of many. Good luck with your planning.
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;D ?
?
. We can see ourselves settling into a simpler life, and as long as I could get to Paris in a day, I think I could be very happy. Of course this is all some years off and there are obstacles in the way, for sure. Still, I am positive. Mr. Sister would love to take an early retirement if we can work it out. Life is so short, we want to enjoy our lives and we're tired of the stress. So please say send some strong and positive thoughts HIS way, because you know I am all for it. ;D
hahahha