Drinking Chablis in Chablis

April 21, 2023

Pont Sur Yonne to Monteneau

After a decent nights sleep I’m raring to get on the bike and plough our way through Burgundy. It’s bitterly cold outside which calls for thermals and winter gloves. It’s 2 kms downhill to the boulangerie for the obligatory croissant and noisette, the French equivalent of a macchiato.

Today we’re following the river Yonne all day, with a cycleway for most of it and and almost no climbing required. That is going to change in a few days as we head to Switzerland but for now it’s a gentle introduction to what lays ahead.

There’s no question that the French are a stylish bunch and I’m determined to lift my game in that regard. The other night when we had dinner in Fontainebleau a couple in their late twenties came in. She looked glamorous but it was his outfit that stole the show. This guy is a seriously good looking dude. He’s got his hair coiffured within an inch of its life and a smile that would send the Bungendore women into a lathered frenzy (particularly Gai). He’s wearing a maroon turtle neck skivvy, beautifully pressed white jeans and brown boots with knee length maroon socks. All good but his jeans were tucked into his socks! That’s a fashion trend any good Hungarian boy from the north shore of Sydney would want to follow and I’m certainly going to dig out my old golfing socks and do the same.

It’s market day at Sens Sur Yonne. We bought a hunk of Pur Brevis a sheep cheese from the Basque region of France and a half baguette and ate it down on the banks of the river a little further upstream.

Shit, how do you say Kraft singles in French

We follow the River Yonne through quaint villages and break for lunch at Villeneuve Sur Yonne and order the plat de jour of salmon with an entre of amazing salads some of which I can’t even recognise. I really needed something warm as it’s only crept up to 8 degrees and it’s past 1pm.

The highlight of the afternoon was riding with a French cyclist, Daniel, from Chablis, who was riding his new bike for the first time. He spoke no English but we managed to converse for over an hour.

We’ve booked a nice little place just near Chablis and decided to eat in as the restaurant across the road was booked out. So it’s bottle of Chablis with pizza. Just what we need.

I was going to take credit for this photo but on reflection I can’t. It was John’s.

You could easily confuse this with a view across Lake George to Bungendore.

Today's ride: 84 km (52 miles)
Total: 177 km (110 miles)

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