Thursday
30th 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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Friday
31st
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.
