P.S. One Foot Abroad review

We booked our trip with One Foot Abroad and to anyone else considering doing so, I would say Do. Not Do. It. The value for the money we paid them was not there. The hotels were fine, but the guidebook was awful, the (expensive) luggage transfer was messed up, and frankly they do not seem to care about negative experiences by customers.

One Foot Abroad told us the luggage would be picked up at 2 pm instead of 9 am so we could make purchases in the morning and put them in our bags for transfer. I confirmed that this was for every day. Unfortunately, in Beaune we made purchases and went back to the hotel around 11 am only to find our bags had been picked up. We had to carry additional things to the next town as a result. One Foot Abroad's response (on Monday, when we were in Beaune on Saturday) to my email about the situation: 

Thank you for your email. Please accept my apologies for this. We had agreed with our luggage transfer provider that they would collect your bags in the afternoon. We are sorry to hear that this occurred. We will notify the luggage transfer provider of this issue.

I hope that you have enjoyed your stay in Burgundy and that this issue has not left you with unhappy memories of your time in France.

My reply:

Thank you for your reply. To be quite honest, it not only put a damper on that day due to carrying more than expected, it also caused us concern on the following morning as we were then uncertain what time the bags would be picked up and did not want to miss it.

And theirs:

Thank you for your email. Once again, please accept my apologies for this. I understand your frustration. We are currently discussing solutions with our luggage transfer provider so this issue does not occur again in the future.

We hope to hear from you again in the future.

Okay. You are KIDDING right?!?!? We paid 250 Euros for transfer of 3 bags for 5 nights, it got screwed up and we had to carry extra stuff and worry, and that's the best you can do?!?!? Poor customer service there. So after we got back, I sent the following feedback:

I appreciate that you will improve service for future customers. Neither I nor my companion on the trip, however, will be among those customers as we were greatly disappointed with the quality of the trip on a number of issues:

• the restrictive luggage policy, which I have previously mentioned
• the extremely poor quality of the map reproductions in the guidebook, which were at times barely legible or illegible and necessitated our purchase of a map (which incidentally is the one from which the guidebook copies were made)
• the lack of specific directions from the walk to nightly hotels, necessitating our finding our own way in and out of towns

To which I have had absolutely no response. Not. A. Peep. And it's been over a week now. So not only was the guidebook so bad we had to buy a map and guess our way to our hotels, not only did our expensive luggage transfer not go as planned, but also One Foot Abroad has chosen to simply ignore a dissatisfied customer. Given all of that, there is no way I can recommend them - what if something more serious went wrong on a trip? No point taking that chance - be safe and book elsewhere.

And Then, We Were Done

Church in Chagny

The last day of the trip was relatively anticlimactic - no crazy marked trails, no running to catch a train. Just breakfast, a stroll around Chagny, then off to Paris. The most notable thing about our travels was being on the same train Dijon-Paris as our "stalkers," who then also followed us to Gare du Nord.

Our lodgings turned out to be a hostel - !!! - populated by 20-somethings and the occasional, lost-looking older person (including us). After unpacking and unwinding we headed out. We had a lovely beer at a cafe while playing "shoot the bicyclist" - Chris warned me when they were coming along the street and I would try to snap a picture as they passed in front of me. Then we strolled to the Louvre, then Île Saint-Louis where we had an unremarkable dinner. (My cheese plate had BUTTER on it!!!) As Chris noted, it was a good meal to transition back to normal life!

Paris cyclist

The flight home was smooth, nothing notable.... the dudes were very happy to see me when I got home and are still in cuddle mode.

So, now that I have had time to reflect....

Paris cyclist

It was a wonderful trip. I am really glad I did a walking trip (despite thinking at least once a day "if I were on a bike I'd be there by now!"), that I saw the Burgundy region, that I got to hang out with Chris, and that we were crazy enough to make our own routes on two days.

There were definitely challenges - the crap maps in the guidebook, hidden trail markers, lack of directions to the hotels, having inflamed tendons on both legs (still tender, grrr), and wishing we had more time. Despite all that, it was a good time.

Bottom line? This was such a different vacation than anything I'd done before... and that's how I like it. 

Giverney-Chambertin to Nuits Saints Georges

Trail marker

We woke up to a pretty drizzly morning. Our hostess had us (unintentionally) cracking up  - the night before she had rushed down to show us how to lock the door, and we got the impression she was constantly keeping an eye on us to make sure we didn't break anything. At breakfast, we had no plates but there were some on the next table, so Chris stood up to grab a couple. Our hostess came flying out from the hallway, exclaiming (In French) "No no no! Those are for lunch!" We smiled politely and had a giggle when she brought us tiny little plates. She kindly let us leave our bags in the room rather than out in the damp, and we were off.




Our first stop was in to town for lunch supplies, then we navigated back to the trail and walked through many, many vineyards.We walked for a good 2.5 to 3 hours before finding a scenic wall on which to have lunch. 

Chateau Clos de Veugeot

 After lunch we walked on to Chateau Clos de Veugeot, where we had a tour. It was very cool to see the inside of this massive building and learn about its history. I had crammed on the history of Burgundy and winemaking in the region, so I really enjoyed seeing it in context. The massive wine presses were amazing and there was a great video (in French of course) showing how they work.

Chris works the wine press

After our tour we headed onward to Nuits Saints Georges for our hotel. We found the Information office easily and got a map of the town then walked out to the distillery to pick up a bottle of cassis. We then wandered back to the main drag and sat outside at a cafe for a small glass of wine.

My Bouef Bourgogne

Our hotel was a funny place, with a restaurant on the bottom floor that you had to walk through. The room was very nice and the heat was on, so I parked myself by a heater for a while as I'd gotten chilly. We then headed to dinner - I'd checked out a couple places earlier and we ended up in one I had my eye on. It was down in a cellar, and we were the only customers. Until, that is, a group we had seen earlier came in and occupied the other table! We had a laugh and gave them tips on the menu (we both loved Chris' "crunchy of snails") before going back to our meals. It was delicious and a nice reward for another day of walking.

In the morning - we are off to Beaune!

(This was the 2nd day of no wifi so I got behind on my posts, unfortunately...)

Dijon to Giverney-Chambertin

So excited to find the trailhead!

We left the hotel on schedule and stopped to buy a map (!), picnic food and drink, pain espices and almost a stuffed owl.
We passed on the owl, though, and followed the Owl Trail one last time to the train station. We then headed out, hit a dead end, backtracked and headed out again. Chris' awesome navigational skills got us out of Dijon and near the trailhead. (We did get confirmation at one point from a helpful local.) We ended up asking some people on the street about the trailhead and located it.

The markings required a sharp eye, especially at first. We were both happy to have another person for input.

Eventually we reached the vineyard in Chenove, the "official" start of the walk, and found a parking lot with a stone wall that made a great lunch spot. Sausage, bread, cheese, avocado & wine never tasted so good!

Voila, a wine press

Right after lunch we came to the vineyards and were excited to see workers harvesting grapes. The tractors looked weird & Chris realized they are built to go above the vines. The third group of workers we encountered were as excited to see us as we were to see them & invited us to help! Sadly we didn't have time. We ended up getting invited to help several more times and one group invited us to share the half full bottle of wine in my backpack.

It was a good thing we declined the offers as we came to a spot where the directions said to "reascend slightly on the right on a straight line quite steep..." which meant climb straight up a steep, tall hill. ARGH. It seemed to go on forever!!! We were so glad when it flattened out - and so bummed to find we had covered only .3 km on the climb! We had over 2 km to go to the hotel.

There were no directions to the hotel, so we teamed up to work it out. The hotel is cute, one bed downstairs and one in a loft.

In the cellar

We toured a winery's cellar - it was pretty crazy and led to the saying "You think everything is all nice and normal, and then there's a badger in handcuffs" - and then looked for dinner. One place looked pretty pricey so we walked to another, which turned out to be closed for renovation. We walked back to the first place, were seated, and perused the menu. There was a 9,500 Euro bottle of wine!!! After sitting for a while we decided to leave and eat at the final restaurant in town, a pizza place. That was some damn tasty pizza! (Although it must be said that Chris was less enthusiastic about her tuna pizza...!)

So we figure we walked about 20 km or about 15 miles. My FitBit tracked 35,500 steps. I think this was my longest single day of walking ever.

Tomorrow we walk to Nuit-Saint-Georges, which looks to be about 15 km. Looking forward to it!

Clucking for Jesus

It's odd but the churches in Burgundy all have chickens on the vanes crowning the steeples, including the one outside our window last night. I was awakened (as was Chris) by the bell gonging at 7 am. It went on and on.

After breakfast and packing, we were off.... to the wine shop next door. I bought one bottle, dropped it back in my bag, and we were off again -after a stop at the bakery.

view while walking

The route was fine going out of town but eventually made a steep climb up. After reaching the top it was flat for a while, then after s great deal of analysis and discussions we headed down to Blagny. Chris was very anxious to know exactly where we were while I was certain we were fine even if not exactly where we thought. In the end it was all good, but interesting to note our different approaches.

sculpture in Puligny-Montrachet

We walked to Puligny-Montrachet and stopped in a caveau to taste wine. The guy spoke to us in French and at our blank looks, asked in American English "Is English better?" We both wanted to kiss him! He was great, fun to chat with and informative. We bought some of his wine which he offered to drop at our hotel _yes! He also gave us lots of local tips.

Based on  his tips and the map, we ditched our route and made our own. It was much flatter!

love the cheeecken!

We got to our hotel in Chagny just before our wine - our new friend brought it up to our room! He also recommended the place we went for dinner, which was amazing.

Between the wine delivery and dinner we saw and chatted with our "stalkers" who are staying in our hotel! We got piccies with them. Ha!

We also got piccies with the chicken sculpture in the square. We had to after seeing one on every church!

This was our last day of walking. Tomorrow we head to Paris, stay the night, then return home.

Eating My Way Through Burgundy

Beaune to Meursalt

After our dinner last night - my favorite so far - I went for a stroll around Beaune and fell in love. It has that indefinable energy that speaks to me.

I set my alarm early and took another stroll. The market was coming alive while the streets remained quiet. I shopped for picnic supplies and got a good sized piece  of cheese and two wonderful hunks of sausage.

I went back to the hotel and Chris was up so we had breakfast and packed before heading to Hotel Dieu. What a great building and tour. I loved the Flemish tapestries, tying my Belgium trips to this one via the Dukes of Burgundy.

We headed out after getting final picnic supplies and walked about 45 minutes before stopping for lunch: cheese, bread, sausage, and figs with wine. Delish.

Today's route was fairly well marked (or we have become used to the markings!) and there was not really any backtracking. It did start raining though and the end of the day was constant rain. I was loving my rain jacket and pants!

We took a small shortcut to Mersault at the end and crazily enough, ran into a small group of people we have seen every one of the psst 3 days! They came in to an intersection just as we did. This was crazy as we had seen them 1) on the street in Nuit Saint Georges, 2) in the restaurant at dinner that night, 3) at the chateau, 4) and on the street. We had a lovely chat before parting ways.

After settling in to the hotel, we went to dinner down the street. The first course came and Chris wrinkled her nose at her stinky dish but ate it like a trooper. I tasted it and ICK. Later she looked it up and it was tripe! Thankfully the rest was better!

We decided yo have a nightcap in our hotel lobby and lo and behold, our "friends" were dining in our hotel! What a weird small world, to keep crossing paths.

We may see them tomorrow, as we are all heading to Chagny!