Dijon Walkabout
Started our day around 8am but could have slept a lot longer! Trying to get on the France sleeping schedule isn’t as easy as it should be. Anyway, forced ourselves to get up, have breakfast and get out sight-seeing. Today, much like yesterday, the temp will be in the 90’s with no rain, or even clouds, forecasted. And the streets of Dijon reflect that. Everyone is out in the morning and home in the afternoon to avoid frying on the sidewalk. That’s what we plan to do, a few hours cruising the ped district and then back to the apartment for a shower and relaxation.
The apartment is about 15 minutes walk to the pedestrian district and most of the tourist / historical sites. Dijon has been around for quite some time. It rose to fame in 1015 when Robert the First (Bob 1), claimed it as the capitol of his duchy, Burgundy. (A “duchy” is a territory of a Duke or Duchess), The Duke(s) held claim to Dijon from the 11th to 15th century. During that time Dijon was known as a center for learning, art and the sciences and enjoyed tremendous wealth and power. Prior to this time Dijon was little more than a Roman settlement known as, “Divio”, where everyone wore flower pots on their heads. Nope, wait. That was Devo, sorry.
Today, Dijon is home to about 150,000 residents who enjoy drinking some of France’s finest wines, and maybe a little mustard now and then. Actually, Dijon mustard is not a controlled appellation and can be manufactured anywhere as long as the recipe is followed. Dijon mustard made here in this city is made from mustard seed grown in Canada, not France. Guess these guys wised up when deciding on wine or mustard, and chose wine. Thank ya, Jesus!
Back to our walk-about. Today, being Sunday, means there are limited sights that are open for touring, but tons of restaurants and cafes are open! There is also a sidewalk flea market taking place where there seems to be an unusual number of shoe vendors working. Since we both are wearing shoes, we didn’t need to buy any. Off to the sights!
One of the “can’t miss” sights in Dijon is Notre Dame de Dijon. Built in 1230, the church is guarded on one side by 51 gargoyles, most of which are just decorations. These were added to the façade in the 1880’s. Legend states that the original gargoyles were removed from the church after one fell on a prominent businessman at his wedding.
Notre Dame de Dijon
Gargoyles
The mixed Romanesque / Gothic interior
Interesting wall carvings
The big “thing” in Dijon is the owl. There are brass triangles adorned with an owl embedded in the sidewalks throughout Dijon leading you on a hike thru the city to find the one and only good luck charm carved in the stone wall of Dijon Notre Dame church. You can follow the trail or simply walk over to Notre Dame and see the owl. Rumor has it that if you rub the owl with your left hand, it will bring you good luck. Use your right hand and a far-away cousin from Romania will come to live with you, bringing her 6 children and 80-year-old mother. So once we found the owl, it was a quick left-hand rub then off to the Palace of the Dukes.
That’s suppose to be an owl
We sauntered on to the Place de Ducs or Palace of the Dukes. Originally built in 1366, this was the home of the Dukes of Burgundy for many years. (Since 1870, French nobility is no longer recognized and has no legal existence.) The palace was rebuilt starting in the 17th century and ending in the 19th century, logistics issues due to global warming. Today, the palace is home to the Museum of Fine Arts, along with City Hall and the municipal archives.
Palace of the Dukes
With the fair amount of walking and the temp getting a bit warmer, it was time for a break. Time to try out some good French cuisine, even if it was only a snack. Collette had a glass of Mercurey 1er Cru chardonnay, while I had the Mercurey 1er Cru rouge. (1er means “Premium”) We split a cheese board and a dessert called apple / currant crumble which was really blueberry / currant crumble. Fun way to end our walk about now that it’s about 90+ degrees.
Pharmacy
Traditional French architecture
Sculpture “The Time Counter” by Friedmann
Half-timbered buildings
Wine tasting starts tomorrow so get ready for a host of slurred words (even in type) and lots of emotion. BTW- if you fail a sobriety test here in France, 0.5 – 0.8 is a 135EU fine; above 0.8 is 2 years in prison and 4,500EU fine. Yep, Collette’s driving tomorrow.
Did you know- illegal parking carries a fine of 11EU while parking in a parking garage costs 20EU per day. Hmmm…