Le Timing

Hi,

An update on the timing of events.

Friday June 17: Petanque and dinner at L'Auberge des Lacs in Laives


If you drive, the best place to park is at the nearby church. See the red line connecting the parking area to the Auberge des lacs on this map.

The evening will start around 5:30pm (to be confirmed) at l'Auberge with refreshments and a petanque tournament, also known as bocce ball in the US. There is nothing like a beer and a cochonnet to make new friends on an hopefully-hot summer evening. Then we'll have dinner at the Auberge around 7:30pm (to be confirmed as well).

Saturday June 18
The ceremony starts at 4:30pm at the church St Julien, the main church of Sennecey, which happens to have another church of the same name on the outskirts of the town. At the end of the ceremony, we will take a stroll to the Clos des Tourelles, where the reception will take place. 

We are expecting the reception to start at 6pm and dinner at 8pm; the place is ours for the whole night.


Sunday June 19
Brunch will be served in the "later part of the morning". We have the Clos area reserved for the day. You can stay and enjoy the gardens all afternoon, so bring your frisbees and games.

For information, there is a train leaving the Sennecey train station at 1:07pm that can take you, via connections, to Paris or the Paris airport (CDG). There are later trains with connections to Paris but not the airport:
1:07pm: Sennecey => Tournus => Lyon => either Paris (4 hours total) or the Paris CDG airport (5 hours total)
5:50pm: Sennecey => Chalon sur Saone => Paris (3 hours total)

We will show how to reserve train tickets on a later post; it is unfortunately not as straightforward as we had hoped, Vive le French System!


Let us know if you have any questions. Pressure and excitement are on the rise!

Molly & Julien

Registry

For those who have asked:

• Amazon.com
• Crate and Barrel
• Bed Bath and Beyond

RSVP

Greetings!

Hopefully you have received your invitations. To RSVP, please use this link: http://www.mollyandjulien.com/rsvp.php.

More details to come...
Hope to see you in June!

But where will I stay??

There are several lodging options near Sennecey-le-Grand. The nearest "big" town is Tournus --9 km/6 mi down the road (Route Nationale 6). In Tournus, among local cheese markets, ancient churches, and tasty restaurants, you will find:

• Hotels--same as hotels in the US, these range from functional accommodations to four-star hotels. Information and ratings can be found on Trip Advisor. Reservations should be made through the hotel.
• Hotel-Restaurants--as the names suggests, these are a combination hotel and restaurant. These tend to be higher-end (Hotel Le Rampart and Hotel Restaurant Greuze are 4 star hotels serving haute-cuisine) and are sometimes "demi-pension", meaning the accomodation includes a meal, lunch, or dinner. Info on Trip Advisor and reservations made through the hotel. 
• Chambres d'hotes--like bed-and-breakfasts in the US. Information can be found and reservations can be made here.
• Gites--same as chambres d'hotes, but with a minimum stay typically of 3-4 nights.  Info and reservations here.

Many of the options are shown on this map. Please make your reservations early as hotels in Tournus may fill up. We have a hold for a few months on a nice hotel just outside of Tournus (Hotel Kolibri) that would be a good fit for people traveling by car (parking may be a challenge in "downtown" Tournus).  You can make your reservations here for Hotel Kolibri. We are looking into shuttle service options between Sennecey-le-Grand and Tournus (including the hotel just out of town) for the night of the wedding and we'll keep you posted. 

There are also some chambres d'hotes and a small hotel in Laives, the small village 3 km from Sennecey. Laives is small (if you stay there, YOU will probably be the most exciting thing happening in town that night) but is very convenient for the weekend's festivities. Dinner Friday is in Laives and the ceremony and reception on Saturday are only a few km away. Please let us know if you are interested. 

Chalon-sur-Saone is the next largest town (about 20 km/12 mi away) and there are plenty of options there as well. 

If you have any questions, want help navigating the crazy French reservation system, or just want to chat, drop us a line at mollymcguire@gmail.com.

Wedding Weekend Schedule

For those already making travel plans, here is some general information regarding the schedule for the weekend. Festivities will kick off Friday evening with a rehearsal dinner for everyone coming from out of town (which includes you, unless you are planning to move to Sennecey-le-Grand in the next 6 months). Dinner will be in Laives (a village about 3 km from Sennecey). Saturday, the church service in Sennecey will be in the late afternoon and the night will unfold from there, with a reception next door at the Clos des Tourelles. Sunday morning, we will have a light brunch at the Clos before we kiss you all and say goodbye.

P.S. For those planning to be in the region earlier in the week, we are planning to rent bikes in Beaune on Wednesday the 15th for a day of riding in the countryside and tasting wine. Everyone is welcome--let us know if you are interested.

About French Beds

There does not seem to be a set standard for bed sizes; in general French beds are "cozier" than American beds. The best approach is to check bed sizes with the hotels you will be making reservations at. We will try to find out bed sizes for the hotels we list on this blog.

A French double bed is larger than a US twin but smaller than a US double. A wikipedia page on bed sizes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed_size

Some information gleaned from the web:
The most common length is 190 cm.
Several width sizes:

• 90 cm for one person;
  
• 140 or 160cm are the most common for two persons but there are also 190 cm or 200 cm

The basics: who, what, when, where

Hi there!

From time to time, we'll be posting info, tips and tricks, and maybe even a few pictures to help you plan your trip to Burgundy. We're so excited and hope each of you can make it. As the date draws nearer, we will be posting more details, but feel free to email us any time with any logistical questions, language questions, or just to say hi! (mollyandjulien(at)gmail.com)

So, let's get down to business. We're getting married June 18, 2011 in a small town in Burgundy called Sennecey-le-Grand. We chose the area because it is near where Julien spent summers as a child, and close to where Julien's mom, Nicole, lives now. Sennecey is between the Cote d'Or and Maconnais wine regions, and a few hours by train from Paris.

Getting to Sennecey is not necessarily as straightforward as, say, getting from San Francisco to D.C., so we'll be putting together some travel information for those traveling from the U.S. In general, you can fly into either Paris or Lyon. From there, you can take the train or rent a car--two great ways to enjoy the countryside. There are hotels in Tournus and Chalon-sur-Saone (the closest "big" towns) and we are looking into other options nearby. Please let us know if you would like suggestions.

Gros bisous (big kisses) and talk to you soon,

Molly & Julien