We survived

Thousands of people (organisers expecting 25,000) flocked into the area around our apartment last night for “Lalalib - Dijon le concert de Rentree” (concert to celebrate the end of summer) and whether it was a success or not can only be answered by others.

For our part after a very nice turkey and salad meal at La Maison du Sherry et Dave 

we ventured out amongst the many - it was orderly, it was noisy, there was a lot of alcohol, mainly beer, being consumed and the security was very obvious including being patted down prior to entering the main area.

The music was being enjoyed by the crowd but the performers we saw weren’t ones that we would have chosen to go and see, so we left around mid evening and took refuge in the apartment. As mentioned yesterday the windows aren’t soundproof and as the volume increased as the night progressed the music was filling our room even above the noisy air-con unit.

When we went out this morning (to the markets) teams were already pulling the stage etc. down and by the end of the day there was no sign of the concert.

This afternoon we walked to Jardin Darcy as there was a family fun day scheduled but that looked to be a fizzer

A little more shopping on the way back to the apartment to recuperate from the very hot day before it was off again to climb Philippe Le Bon a tower that provides a panoramic view of the centre of Dijon and is part of the The Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy The tower dates from the 15th century and was built by Philippe Le Bon (Philip the Good), Duke of Burgundy from 1419-1467. He was noted for bringing Burgundy prosperity and prestige, and positioning it as a centre for the arts. Considered the most powerful of the Dukes of Burgundy, he switched allegiances between France and England in order to maximize his power. It was built not as a defense post but to demonstrate to others the power of the Duke. It is 46m above ground level at the top and there are 316 gut busting steps to climb to get to the viewing platform but the effort is well worth it as Dijon opens up in front of you

Our apartment is in the building with brown roof front left

A video of the view is available right here

Kms driven today:0

The calm before....

... market day again today and unlike yesterday the stalls were out in force as were the shoppers.We joined the crowds and filled up our market sack with fruit, persille, olives, tomatoes and black pudding.

Following lunch in the apartment we set off to walk to Parc de la Colombiere around 2.5kms on the south side of the city,

Once we cleared the central city there was a roundabout, Place du President Wilson, with a fountain  in the middle and two columns marking the southern side

Continuing on we walked down a long tree covered footpath running adjacent to Cours General de Gaulleto another roundabout, this one containing Monument aux Morts (war memorial)and then down another tree covered footpath until we entered the park which is 33 hectares in size and has been a public park since the 17th century and was recognised as a historic monument in 1925.

The park is not green space as we know it but a semi forest with numerous pathways through it - a thinned our Redwood Forest (Rotorua) is the best way I can describe it

After sitting in the shade for a while and having watched insects much like ladybirds scurrying about 
we headed back to the city on the way noticing that Dijon might have a fruit fly or similar unwanted pest in town if the traps that we saw in the trees are any indication Arrived back in the city to an absolute cacophony of sound as the two stages were doing sound checks for tonight’s concert/s. 

There are two fully equipped stages with sound systems you expect to see at a Fleetwood Mac concert at say Mount Smart but the area is only approximately a quarter the size of Mount Smart.

We can only guess how lively and noisy town will be tonight the action being within a 75m radius of where the apartment is situated and I don’t sense this building has soundproof windows!

Kms driven today:0

Extra

On the way out for a meal this evening there was a group dancing to a street band (see here).

It was a pity we hadn’t come out earlier as we could have enjoyed this atmosphere for longer than the time we had.

At the restaurant we had a conversation with an English couple who were on their way back to London having been to their son’s wedding at Lake Garda, Italy.

The night sky as we walked back from the restaurant was a lovely sight.

La Plage sur Lac Kir

The plan today was to go to the markets this morning and then after lunch walk to the beach at Lake Kir on the western outskirts of Dijon and while we achieved both it wasn’t quite as we expected.

Yes there was a Thursday market but it is obviously a day when most of the stall holders decide to go elsewhere as there were no stalls on the outside of the market and relatively few inside.

With a Carrefour store being handy (the same one as yesterday’s money drop) we were able to get most of what we wanted either from the market (a lady in the boucherie was very helpful advising where on the animal what we were buying came from and how to cook it. She also was very proud of her English in a humerous way given the comments she made to a lady standing beside us as we walked off ) or from Carrefour.

After lunch we set the GPS for Lac Kir and set off. Either the GPS was inaccurate or my navigation using it was shite because it didn’t seem to give us the most direct route.

The walk was worthwhile however as it took us outside the city and to a very pleasant environment. There are waterways from the lake which flow closer to town and river boats use a series of locks to get to the inland “port”.

It was hot as we walked there and we cursed ourselves for not bringing the togs with us as a swim at the “beach” would have cooled us off...... but after seeing the quality of the water the decision whether to swim or not would have been a no brainer. On the way back to town we followed our nose and found a shorter and more scenic walk back along Promenade de L’Ouche confirming that Google Maps can’t always be relied on!

Kms driven today: 0

Kms walked today: 10.6

The language

One thing we have noticed is that as well as being very pleasant on the ear there is a certain formality and respectfulness in everyday spoken French.

Whenever we enter a shop, almost without exception, we are greeted with “Bonjour, Madame et monsieur” and when you leave the shop a sincere “Merci, Bonne Journee, Au revoir, Madame et monsieur”.

Because they speak fast it is very difficult for us to pick up what is being said in a conversation, however there are words & phrases that we recognise and sometimes we can get the gist of what is being said. Deciphering that which is written is very much easier even if sometimes Google translate is required.

This morning we checked out some shopping areas that we had not previously been to (made some purchases - note to self: may need to purchase another suitcase) and this afternoon picked up where we had left the Owl Trail yesterday and completed it.

Musée Francois Rude

The theatre 

Lovely garden area behind Musee des Beaux Arts

As we started off on the Owl Trail we passed a Carrefour store and Sherry noticed that a girl shop assistant while putting some rubbish out in the street bin dropped a wad of money and went back inside without noticing. Being the Good Samaritans that we are we picked it up and took off went inside to find her and to say she was relieved to be handed it back would be an understatement, the wad being at least 2/3rd cm thick and at least the top one was a €50 note.

While on the walk we came across a shop which may have had an item we had been looking for since Toulon even though the external appearance was not inviting we entered to find a shop in total disarray, boxes on the floor, items strewn over the counters etc. so much so that the gentleman running it really had no idea what stock he had. 

After explaining what we were looking for he scrambled through boxes and produced an item that was not what we wanted, so he returned to looking through the various cartons meanwhile Sherry saw what we required in one of his wall displays and so the purchase was made.

This delightful gentleman then proceeded to spend sometime carefully wrapping the purchase up in gift paper and proudly handed it over wishing us “Have a happy voyage” as we left. We gained the impression that the shop was his pride and joy over many years, he being of retirement age, even though it was a rather disorderly man cave.

Mid afternoon a burst of rain swept across Dijon but as we were in Starbucks it didn’t rain on our parade.

Over the course of the day workers have been erecting sound stages in two areas of the city - one within 50m of the apartment and the other around 75m in the other direction - for the music event that will take place on Friday evening. We have seen a photo of the crowds at a previous event and we don’t imagine there will be much breathing room in town while the event is on.

Kms driven today: 0

Morepork!

It was in another backstreet restaurant, Le Bouchon du Palais that we had dinner last night only because it served traditional meals and on this occasion we had Le Coq au VinWhether the plate as presented was traditional is open to some debate given that it included tagliatelle rather than fume de pomme de terre but what is not open to debate is that we enjoyed the meal.

Tuesday is (one of) Dijon’s weekly market days so like all the other Dijonnais we set off to Les Halles (designed by Eiffel) to pick up something for a cooked meal tonight. 

The market area had a great vibe about it with stalls both inside and out as well as some musos performing for the passing crowdsWe spent sometime walking around and seeing what was on offer before buying whole sardines, carrots, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes and some more fruit which together with a baguette, some presille, eggs and cheese we have in the fridge provides for lunch today and a meal tonight all for the princely sum of €11.43!

In the area of the market was a shop selling products of the region (mainly mustards) and it presented a colourful sightOn the exterior wall of the Notre Dame is a sculptured owl which was added in the 16th century and has become the symbol of Dijon.

Folklore has it that if you rub the owl with your left hand as you pass it from left to right the wish you make will come true 

We will see!

Also there is an Owl Trail set up around Dijon that when followed will take you to 22 tourist related sites of Dijon so this afternoon we set off to do part of it - the sites were mainly buildings 

The start ouside Jardin Darcy 

We completed half of it this afternoon before retiring to the apartment for a reviver mid afternoon.

It wasn’t long before we were back on the streets in shops and streets that up until then had remained unexplored. Time passed quickly and it was back to “My Home in Dijon” (the name of our accommodation as found on the internet) to prepare dinner,

Kms driven today: 0

There is a lot to like about Dijon

Our evening meal last night was in an off street family restaurant, La Guinguette which had a simple menu based around potato, cheese and salads.

We ordered a goats cheese gratin and a grand “farmers” salad all of which we shared but couldn’t finish due to the very generous servings.

The restaurant was very eclectic and the hosts who couldn’t speak English were very genuine friendly folk even providing a free after dinner liqueur and the total cost, a very reasonable €27.50

Our apartment is ideally situated, we walk out the front  door and opposite is the Musee des Beaux Arts (all museums are free in Dijon) with a beautiful “semicircular square” (Place de La Liberation) about 10m to the left of the door as seen in this video (here)

Looking across the square back to the building housing the apartment.

The front door is on the far left approximately where there is the small black wall sign above the person wearing a white top. We are on the first floor towards the right rear of the building - it is a perfect location!

Over the next weekend the square is transformed into an outdoor concert venue for some annual event and we are told that the area will be crowded - either it will be fun or our beauty sleep will be badly affected.

This morning and again this afternoon we just walked around the city admiring all that it had to offer and it certainly has plenty - the streets are devoid of vehicles as the whole centre is vehicle free, the streets are clean and in the main the buildings are very well maintained. We would go so far as to say that Dijon is the nicest French city/town/village we have been to on any trip.

Gustave Eiffel, he of the Tower fame was born in Dijon in 1832.

A pano taken from the rear of the square looking at Palais des Ducs et Des Etta’s de Bourgogne 

Around the city are these owl plaques on the pavement which map out various walking tours around the city and takes you passed 22 tourist sites, so that is something we will do in the coming days.

Kms driven today: 0

Driving Videos

Two videos of driving in France.

Approaching a motorway intersection

Transiting a French toll booth

Mustard city

Left StE this morning for Dijon a distance that started off at 255kms but for some unfathomable reason after around 30kms it increased by 20kms so I checked on Google Maps and found that we were being “directed” around the eastern side of Lyon on the A46 whereas the shorter route was on the western side on the A6, nevertheless there was nothing we could do about it except follow the GPS directions.

Arrived in Dijon at 2.20 and was met by our host landlord, Coco.

Coco has obviously taken the view that to promote her business customer service is paramount as she:

* had the apartment very well stocked with essentials and some local goodies

* took us on an orientation tour of the city

* provides free international phone calls from the apartment to landlines 

* has around 10 English language TV channels available 

* provides a computer with internet for those who don’t have mobile devices 

First impressions of Dijon are highly favourable - it has character and seems to be very tidy - we walk out the front door straight onto one of the main squares. Exploration over the next few days is looked forward to.

Kms driven today: 275

Total to date: 2990

Spoke to another guest at StE accommodation before we left. He is from Canada (born in Belgium) and travels around Canada, Belgium and France repairing vehicles damaged by hail stones using a “dent removal process” and without damaging the paint.

There was a hailstorm in StE about 2 months ago and he will be there for around 4 months as he has a contract with one firm to repair 300 vehicles!