DIJON: The Capital of Burgundy

In the Musee des Beaux-Arts are the Tombs at Champmol.  This is a corner detail

We decided to hang out in Dijon for three weeks.  We are always rushing: city to city, town to town, village to village, with no time to catch our breath.  I thought we would be able to get caught up on things that needed doing.  I wanted to finish my painting of the Blue Rose.  We needed to paint the exterior of the boat.  I had writing that needed to be done, and photo’s to edit.  Then I hoped for time to explore Dijon properly, go for nice walks along the canal, begin reviewing my French, and just slow down and relax.  I don’t understand.  It didn’t happen the way I had hoped.  Day to day living keeps us extremely busy. 

What have we been doing you might ask?  We have had a lot of rain showers; we go to Ikea, more rain, Ikea again…  We checked out the covered market a few times.  We have visited most of the hardware stores within a 30-minute drive. We are tied up in front of a large apartment building with a park in front.  We get to watch the world watching us.  Old people hobble by, some with canes, middle aged men on scooters, people on bicycles, parents and multi generations of families, some pushing strollers, joggers and rollerbladers.  Occasionally we see a drunk or two.  There are fishermen here every day, all day long.  We are recognizing faces.  Elderly men and women (sometimes not so elderly) come sit on the same park bench every day.  We now get smiles and greetings from some.  There is a sweet old lady who always sits next to our boat.  I wish I could invite her aboard for a cup of coffee.  Eventually (hopefully) my French will get to the point that I can do that.

Tom and I went for lovely walks.

The covered market in Dijon was designed by Gustave Eiffel

We face a small island in the middle of this marina.  The island houses many types of birds.  They are talking, fishing, arguing, floating, all there for our relaxation and amusement.

Many hotel barges begin and end their charters here.  We met an American couple cruising on their own barge, and had them over one evening.  They were a wealth of information.

It’s been a while but it finally happened again.  A very angry French woman was banging on our hull.  I couldn’t understand what she was yelling about although I certainly understood the word police.  Admittedly we ran our generator longer than normal.  We were helping another boat charge his batteries off of our engine.  The next day we had barely turned our generator on when she came by to yell again. This time captain Julian was there.  After their exchange of words she hasn’t been back.

There is a small parking lot at one end of the marina with a tiny open market on Wednesdays.  A fish lady from the Dijon covered market was selling her fish there.  Delicious!

We discovered how puppies are trained in France.  Instead of doggie treats, they get bits of fresh baguettes as their reward for good behavior.  Too cute.

The other day Tom and I worked on painting the exterior of our boat.  As we painted we listened to the people speaking.  The older men spoke with the stereotype deep voice that I can’t even begin to describe.  Younger women have a sing song voice.  There was a constant hum of voices as it was a busy day around us.  Some people couldn’t resist making comments as they strolled by.  Unfortunately I couldn’t figure out what they were saying.

We ARE in Burgundy which means wine.  Thanks to our friends David and Judy we were able to visit Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine Pere & Fils.  Christine and her daughter Clementine took time off from their busy schedule to let us taste many of their wines.  We enjoyed their wine enough that we returned to Rabelo with 15 bottles.  They produce 20 different varieties of wine since their property extends to almost 50 acres over a wide area in Cote de Beaune.  We asked whether they have been affected by the strange weather we have been experiencing, especially the hail.  Unfortunately depending on the region they lost 25-80 percent of their crops.  As bad as that is, this is the third year in a row where their crops have been seriously damaged by hail.  Many of the wineries are facing the same problem!

Wine tasting with Christine and Clementine at Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine Pere & Fils

My private culinary school on board Rabelo didn’t work out, but I met chief Alex Miles (from the Bronx) who teaches cooking in Dijon.  I’m looking forward to taking his class soon.  Meanwhile Alex and his wife Elizabeth have been very warm and welcoming.  They invited us to a concert in a private home, we’ve gone for tea to celebrate Alex’s birthday, they’ve shown us around the covered market as well as part of Dijon, and we sat at an outdoor wine bar attached to a Michelin restaurant where we enjoyed wine (of course) and a few small courses.  We definitely need to try Loiseau des Ducs restaurant for a special meal. 

I wanted to do a walking tour of the town of Dijon.  With my guidebook in hand we started following the “Owls Trail” around town leading us to the important sights.  While we didn’t do the whole tour, we managed to see some interesting sights.  Musee des Beaux-Arts was worth visiting. 

View of the amazing Tomb at Champmol

Below the tomb are these carvings.  This shows the mourners procession.

Pedestrian Street in Dijon

Arch at one end of the pedestrian street.

Fountain with cute kids and frogs checking me out.

Lovely park

We walked from Dijon to Velars-sur-Ouche. 

A picturesque canal running thru Velars-sur-Ouche

This fishing spot is reserved for the handicapped…seriously?!?

Dijon town center

This is how mail is delivered

As I am writing I realize why we’ve been so busy here in Dijon.  Our time has been filled with many activities from exploring the area surrounding Dijon, wine tasting, shopping, working on the boat, eating, eating, cooking and eating again.

I love hearing from you.  If you get a chance write and let me know what is happening in your world.