Day 20 – Dijon

Saturday arrived with blue cloudless skies and already hot first thing. I had discovered yesterday that I would be able to take a bus from the next village, Marsannay, into Dijon – a terrific idea, as it would save me negotiating an unknown city, trying to find parking, etc. So, I drove the 3km to Marsannay, left the car at Tourist Information and paid my 1 Euro fare to go into Dijon. It took 20 minutes to get to the centre; this was the local bus which stopped at every stop on the way in! But I didn’t mind.



I got off at ‘Grangier’, one of the central squares in Dijon and, I discovered, just beside the market – amazing aromas of fruit and veg in the street and then within the covered market, cheese, fish, meat, more fruit and veg, spices..... oh, and just a wee smidgeon of mustard...... what am I saying.... My goodness, think of a flavour, any flavour...... and they do it in a mustard – Tomato, Tarragon.... Blackcurrant!

After exploring the market, I started following the tourist trail around Dijon. The emblem of Dijon is the owl (chouette) and the city had the quite brilliant idea of sinking little brass plates, shaped like an arrow-head and engraved with an owl, into the footpaths in the direction of a loop around the city, stopping at all the main sightseeing points of interest.....

And in case you weren’t sure, they sank great big rectangular owl-engraved plates just outside these spots!

I decided to walk the loop in one go, and then go round a second time, stopping anywhere I thought was interesting.


That was until my path opened up onto the Place de la Libération, a stunning area with fountains and, on every side, the most beautiful of buildings. Whoever planned this, did a brilliant job!

Actually, the architecture of the whole city is superb, and once again, most likely due to the surrounding vineyards, quite a compact city. My only gripe would be the difficulty in taking photos of very tall buildings, such as the beautiful churches of St-Benigne and Notre-Dame when the streets round them are so narrow...... I couldn’t stand far enough back to do them justice!
I couldn't get inside St-Benigne, but the stained glass in Notre-Dame was magnificent.

St-Benigne

Notre-Dame

At the most western point of the trail was the Jardin Darcy, just a beautifully simple park with a flowing water feature, which, when one looked back out of the garden from it, looked onto the obligatory Triumphal Arch that all French cities seem to have!

It was another scorching day, so I did stop and sit with my feet dangled into the pool of the park while I munched on a couple of slices of spiced bread (Pain Épicé), another speciality of Dijon.... and quite delicious – more like a sweet cake, the consistency of Madeira cake, with a cinnamon flavour.







I also took the opportunity to do some shopping - window only....... For one thing, I have absolutely no room for any new clothes........ and for another, they were bringing in the Autumn fashions. Woollen jumpers and 30° heat just don’t go, but the shops were air-conditioned and it was a treat to see some of the very chic fashions that make French women so well-regarded the world over..... though also to laugh at some of the hideous Eurotrash numbers also hanging on the rails! Actually, I met a gentleman going to a wedding wearing a purple suit, a light purple shirt with gold (metallic) baseball boots – very Eurotrash!


I ended my trip to Dijon with a walk round the Art museum, very influenced by religious art, but with a few more modern pieces, even a Monet and a Pissaro, but then the obligatory contemporary paintings from local artists..... Apologies, but in my humble opinion, a little too indulgent!


Back on the bus, and another Euro to get back to the car and 5 minutes to my lodging. As promised by my host, a tasting of 3 of his wines:


1. AOC Marsannay 2008 (blanc) – A citrus-lemon nose, with a general citrus flavour. Not an unpleasant wine, but nothing special.


2. AOC Marsannay 2007 – Cuvée Fauvette (rosé) – A really fresh nose of strawberries and raspberries which were echoed in the taste. While refreshing, this rosé still had some substance and could probably improve by integrating the acidity over 4 or 5 years.


3. AOC Marsannay 2008 (rouge) – A powerful nose of cherries and blackberries, while tasting revealed well-integrated tannins complimenting a really succulent cherry flavour, with notes of sweet spice. Again, good acidity, but worth keeping for 2 or 3 years.


While I wasn’t impressed by the white, both the rosé and red were pleasantly surprising for such a small producer.


And now, as I sit in the window overlooking the courtyard, it’s time to get ready for tomorrow – just over 200km drive to the southernmost tip of Alsace. Initially, I had intended to travel North-west to Chablis, then across to explore the Loire Valley, but as many of you are aware, I am a practising Christian and this road-trip has also given me opportunity to spend a bit more time in prayer and, as a result, I felt directed to take the Alsace route instead.


So, Alsace, then Champagne. I would envisage that after that it will be Chablis and then the Loire Valley, but I await further instruction!