Dijon

Thursday 30^th March

This morning we picked up our car and drove 336 k's from Paris to Dijon. Andrew did a great job of negotiating the chaotic Paris traffic, we managed to work out the toll road ticketing/payment routine and were out on the open road. It's spring here and today was perfect...sunny, still and the sky was a cloudless blue. The French countryside is lush, green and punctuated by trees tinged with white and pink blossom and masses of daffodils.

We're very happy with our accomodation, it's in a great location and we have a room with a fabulous view of Saint-Benigne Cathedral. Dijon has 100 bell towers of which the highest and most spectacular is Saint-Benigne's! It has a stunning glazed tile roof and we hear the bell ringers at work each hour...tres magnifique.

We decided to head out and explore before unpacking. Dijon is the capital of Burgundy, it has never been touched by war in all it's history and so no enemy has ever destroyed it. This means Dijon has a particularly rich heritage and is a living work of art. We followed the 'Owl Trail” marked by brass plaques on the footpath, the trail takes in the major sites, here are a few...

Along the way we visited the original Maille boutique. Dijon is known for its mustard and Maille first opened in 1845. Here, hundreds of bottles and dozens of beguiling mustards scale the walls with distinctive, complex and audacious flavours to satisfy even the most demanding taste buds. The mustard sommelier has many different tastes on offer...it's a sensory overload! We also stopped for a coffee, Andrew had a short black & mine was a cappuccino...I didn't expect all that cream, but it was delicious!

Before heading back to our apartment we visited a supermarket and really enjoyed surveying the offerings in each and every aisle. We bought some supplies for breakfasts and tasty morsels for dinner tonight.

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Friday 31^st March

First stop this morning was Dijon’s covered market Les Halles...designed by a famous son of Dijon, Gustave Eiffel who went on to design the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris. We perused the stalls of local delights including a snail cake terrine that is special to the area.

After observing the way things worked we bought cheese, tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, duck terrine and of course some sausages! My schoolgirl French came in handy and we found the stallholders friendly and happy to help even if they couldn't speak much English...it was a lot of fun. On the way home we called in to a bakery and bought a sensational baguette for about $1.40 and enjoyed a delicious lunch before heading out to explore some more...

Dijon was once the home of the Dukes of Burgundy. Fabulously wealthy and more powerful than the King until their empire became part of France in the 15th Century.

Since 1799 the Palace of the Dukes has been home to the Musée des Beaux Arts, one of the oldest and most beautiful museums in France. The Salle des Gardes (Guards Room) with the tombs of Jean Sans Peur (John the Fearless) and Phillipe le Hardi (Phillip the Bold) were particularly impressive.

We enjoyed wandering around the Musee and here is a sample of the exhibits...

There was one other exhibit that just had to be included...yes, it's Saint Veronica...just for you Aunty Von!

We spent the rest of the afternoon doing some further exploration around Dijon including Notre-Dame Cathedral... on top is a 14th Century mechanical clock known as “Jacquemart” whose four figurines chime every quarter of an hour. At ground level this owl has become a good luck charm for passers-by who rub it and make a wish.

We also stopped for a coffee, Andrew had a short black & mine was a cappuccino...I didn't expect all that cream, but it was delicious!

There was also time to window shop and when I saw a beautiful handbag a certain someone just may have bought it as an early birthday present for me. That certain someone also has a new scarf!

As I write this blog tonight I'm enjoying a glass of wine,Andrew is cooking sausages for dinner and I'd better go and put the salad together.

Dijon has been most enjoyable.