I made my way from home in Belgium to Beaune, France today. Hardly any traffic on the road in spite of the major transportation strike going on in France today. 130km/hr most of the way. My iPod kept me company with podcasts from Grape Radio, Business week , The Economist, TWIT, and Wait, Wait, Don't tell me. To liven things up I passed through a brief snow squal south of Nancy.

From Geel the route takes you SE through Belgium the Ardennes, then Luxumbourg.   But even though the rolling hills of the Ardennes are beautiful the sight of Metz cathedral is simply stunning. 

Anyway, the weather is sunny and brisk in Beaune as I commence my meetings with vignerons.