OUR FINAL DAY

Our luck finally ran out with the wether as we drove into Paris in heavy rain. We arrived in the Bastille at about noon and found a car park that was about two inches longer than the car, thank God for parking sensors. Having skipped breakfast, we walked quickly to L’Ebauchoir to secure a table. We were seated and ordered our final meals and a full-bodied Provisional red. Soon after, our lamb, pork and juicy rare steaks arrived and were devoured. It was all divine as we slowly finished the wine and agreed that L’Ebauchoir was our favourite restaurant and we would return one day. After lunch, we drove the short distance to the Marais and secured a fortuitous park a block away from our destination. We then wandered the back streets, making a few more purchases from the areas vintage shops before a final coffee at Le Rosiers.  We arrived at our airport hotel at 5pm for an uneventful night.  We will return the car this morning at 9am and make our way to CDG for our midday flight. We are due to arrive in Sydney at 8pm Monday night and should be walking through our back door by about 10.30pm. Our main goal on return is to get into the ocean as soon as possible. Our trip has again reminded us of how lucky we are. To have pristine beaches on our doorstep is a good as it gets, for us anyway.

BURGUNDY

We have now settled into our cottage in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain and absolutely love it. The cottage is beautiful and has all the mod cons to make us feel at home.  We arrived late in the afternoon after driving from Tuscany. We dropped off our bags and walked around to get our bearings in the late afternoon sun before driving into Venarey les Laumes to stock up. This is our final stop before returning to Australia and we could not have hoped for a better end to our trip. After the hustle and bustle of the major cities over the last six weeks, this place is ideal. The late autumn colours and weather are beautiful. We have spent our time exploring the town in detail, and it constantly amazes us. It is set atop a hill in the middle of Burgundy, with an ancient church at its centre. It is a medieval town full of 14^th and 15^th century buildings. It also has an ancient Roman Crypt at its entrance. Being here is like travelling back in time. But we are back to the modern world tomorrow and leave for Paris in the morning. We plan to visit L’Ebauchoir for a final lunch before wandering the Marais during the afternoon. Whilst we have loved every single destination of our trip over the last six weeks, we are ready to come home. We fly out of Paris on Sunday and will be home on Monday night.  C'est la vie