As I mentioned last time, today was a ‘quasi’ rest day….we breakfasted like champions again ( oh, tour update,.. the Cycletooth Army has over taken Richard and the Team Plantagenet) in Beaune and had until noon to rest or sight see.

And on the breakfast buffet table was the Team Canuck secret weapon:  real maple syrup from Quebec!

So Perry and I decided to check out the City Centre and the famous Hotel Dieu.

                    a cobblestone roundabout…

Built in 1440, Hotel Dieu served as a hospital and hospice for 500 years!…until a new hospital was built in the mid 1970’s.

       

We then loaded the van with our bags and bikes, and boarded a chartered shuttle for a 4 1/2 hr ride to Limoges. Sam and James drove the  Bike Odyssey van. We did this because the central part of France is very flat and not very scenic, and it would have added 5 more  ride days to an already long trip, to get to this area. We were all grateful for this.

pee break… 

The reward was our destination for the next two night, the Relais & Chateau property, La Chapelle Saint Martin Estate.

                   
Giant sequoia tress on the back lawn of the hotel estate…the right photo has Jim and Bruce u dear one to show just how large these trees are:

 

We have left Burgundy which was historically under the Holy Roman Empire but I we are now in the truly French region of Aquitaine, which has had French rule since the 12th century when it was ruled by king Phillipe Augustus.

We are on the outskirts of Limoges. This is also the ‘centre of the universe’ for Richard Lionheart and his famous mother Eleanor of Aquitaine.

The General plotting our strategy…actually Sam was showing us on road maps the incredible journey we have been on since leaving Venice!

Of course dinner: tuna cerviche, roast lamb, tiramisu white and red wines from the region.
         

Life is good Limoges!