Beaune (pronounced “bone”) is a terrific small city, with shops, restaurants, and plenty of vineyards outside its walled center. It is a quiet place to stay in the Burgundy area of France.

From there we drove to Dijon today and took the back roads to enjoy the countryside almost completely filled with vineyards. Each looked busy, with workers pruning vines as far as we could see.

We stopped for lunch along the way in the small town of Nuits Saint George, then drove around Gevrey-Chambertain, another town known for its Burgundy wines.

We got to Dijon and first checked out the entry area at the Musee Rude, an art dedicated to French sculptor Francois Rude. We walked around the very busy city center and went into some shops.

We wanted to go to the holiday market and walked in that direction but a few hundred protesters were marching and set off some kind of explosive device near where we were. Police were all around and were putting on their riot gear. So we walked back to the car and left, disappointed to miss the market.

photos: vineyards in the Burgundy region; the entry lobby sculptor at the Fracous Rude Museum in Dijon; protestors in Dijon today