Another Stunning Day. Had we any doubt?
Today has been another good day. It started by raining.
And, over my cafe and croissants, I decided to change my plans of biking through the Cote d'Or, and go to Beaune instead. I went to Beaune. It was beautiful. When it rained I went in and drank burgundy, and when it was sunny again I walked around. I bought wine. And in the afternoon I decided to hitch back to Nuits-Saint-Georges for a little bike ride. Instead I ended up tasting wine from the barrels from one of the top producers in Vosne-Romanee, thanks to the people I hitch-hiked with (a french guy who worked in the industry was giving a friendly tour to two brothers from the Beaux-Freres winery in Oregon). That was cool.
Then I took my bike ride around the vineyards of the Cote-d'Or.
Rack up another little adventure. Not a bad day.
Hitch-hiking around Eden.
So, as you've likely guessed from the title, I'm in Burgundy. Yep, that's in France. Yep, that's where Burgundy wine comes from. Yep, I'm happy as a clam.
My mode of transportation is a good one. I've managed to hitch from Leysin to Geneva (with friend), from Geneva to Bellegarde (with Miraslav), from Bellegarde to Macon (with Christophe, the Annecy men's basketball coach), from Macon to Cluny, from Cluny to Cormatin, Cormatin to Buxy, Buxy to Givry, ad infinitum. It's been great. And I've met some fantastic people.
What have I done? Well, I've seen Cluny and its famous abbey. I've cycled around the Cote Maconnais, up to the Cote Chalonnaise and the beautiful hilltop town of Buxy. I've been in Givry, and stopped in the lovely (and tiny) Rully for a glass for the famous white wine which I adore. I met some cool people, and stayed with them in Dijon for a night, and now I'm in Nuits-Saint-Georges, in the cafe adjoining my hotel, after having a wonderful Burgundian dinner of escargots, boeuf bourgingnon, and fromage. Alors. C'etait merveilleux. The wines are superb, the weather is good (knock on wood), everything is great. I'm headed to Dijon on Wednesday for a couple of days, and then perhaps Alsace, or perhaps I"ll stay in Burgundy a few more days before heading back to Switzerland on the 29th.
Just wanted to let y'all know I'm alive and happy. I'm surrounded by burgundy wine, the french language, and baguettes. I'm pretty much in Eden.
Packing up the classroom.
Well, another turn has come and the school "year" is over. Even after only an 8-week run, it's a strange thing to pack up your classroom. The place you've spent more time than your home is empty of children, empty of trash, and the chairs and desks are - for once - in good order and not scattered higgledy-piggledy about the room. It's sad, actually. The boxes come out, and the decorations go into them - those that aren't thrown away, anyhow. The students' homework assignments are added to the pile, and the exercises and games, pictures and activities find their way back into the box to be opened in just over 10 months. By me, if I'm fortunate enough to be invited (and able) to come back.
It was a good run. They were good kids. Even the bad ones were good, it's easy to say that when you reach the end. It was fun. Fun for them, and fun for me.
And now comes that boarding school marathon of packing up the rooms, giving the students a he** of a great last night, and packing them off to the airport so we can all go back to sleep for a few hours. :)
Oh, go jump off a mountain.
My life wasn't exciting enough, so I decided to throw some spice in there. By, ahem, yes. Jumping off a mountain. Well, with a parachute. ;)
It's called "Parapenting" - at least, here, and it was (as they say in french)
super!
Dan: ready to go and a little nervous! It was, after all, a Swiss alp, slightly more than a hill. :)
But the view was tout a fait extraordinaire!
Oh, and that's my town - Leysin. And, that's my knee in front of it. ;)
