Dijon Center and Le Vin, August 3/4, 2010

Boulevard de Strausbourg Takes Us Into Dijon Center

No Traffic! What A Great City

Another Monument Near The University As We Walk To Dijon Center

A Monument Graces The Round-About In Dijon

The Velo (bike) Rentals Are In Excellent Condition In Dijon Compared To Paris

One Must Quickly Read Signs Or Go Around The Round-About Again

Architecture and Art Work Go Hand in Hand in Dijon and All of France

The Street Corners Of Dijon Are Filled With Overflowing Flower Pots. Beautiful!

A Very Clean City

My Law Office Sign Wasn't Nearly So Impressive! They Even Post Their JD! I'm Impressed!

This Night Club Looks Innocent Enough, But It Is Wild And Crazy Around Midnight!

Government Employed Notaires & Geologists Mark Their Offices With These Gold Symbols

These People Are Necessary for Land Purchases

The Cathedral Structures Are Huge All Over France (Dijon)

More Colorful Roofs Near The Cathedral in Dijon

The Backside Of Notre Dame Cathedral, Dijon

Nicely Displayed Address and Business Name Signs, Make Dijon Center Very Attractive

Where Are All The Tourists In Dijon? Must Be In Paris? Okay With Us

We Found A Government Building On A Side Street. Note The Guard Stations on Both Sides of Entry

The Madonna Is A Common Site On Street Corner/Buildings In France

Cobblestone Streets Near Place du Theatre

Dijon, France

Summer Flowers Of Dijon

An Advertisement On An Ancient Building on the Place de Theatre

A Nice Place To Rest And Have Some Rosé On A Warm Day

The Theatre of Dijon at The Place du Theatre

Flowers, Churches, Cobblestones, Low Traffic...Dijon is Beautiful!

This Memorial Honors A Hydrologist of Note in Dijon

The Dukes Are The Reason Dijon Exists, So One Must See The Palace (Follow The Signs)

An Apartment Building On The Streets Of Dijon

As We Walk To Dijon Center, We Pass An Enclosed Chateau

A Small Forested Park Near Our Exchange Home In Dijon

Let's See, How Do You Say Regular Gasoline in French?

Ah! The Right Gas Pump. L'essence pas de gazole!

The Tops Of The Vines Are Perfectly Even. How Do They Do That?

Villages Sit Among The Vineyards

Look Closely And You Can See The Grape Clusters (Notably right quarter)

Wealth Along The Wine Road, Is Quite Evident As This Domaine Evidences

Many Religious Monoliths Dot The Landscape and Vintners Burn Twigs

Côte d'Or Makes Napa Wine Country Look More Like A Tourist Trap!

Typical Notice of A "Clos" (Wine Producers Are Fenced)

Vineyards Surround Homes, Towns & Villages, Côte d'Or Wine Country

When The Light Is Red, You Have Only A Minute To Read All Those Signs! (Wine Road)

Colorful Buildings On The Côte d'Or Wine Route

A Modern Street Light Above Ancient Apartments (Nuit St. Georges)

These Kiosks Have Saved The Streets Of France! No More Merde!

Amazing! Nobody On The Streets of Nuit St. George in August?

Not Many Visitors In Nuit St. Georges, A Nice Surprise!

Salade au Chevre (That's Delicious Melted Goat Cheese On The Bread) Yum!

Wine, Salad, Pomme Frites and Tarte Tatin, What A Great Lunch! (Nuit St. Georges)

The Service Is Excellent, Food Delicious and We Recommend It (Nuit St. Georges)

A Charming Round-About in Nuit St. George (Posts in foreground keep people from parking on sidewalks, which they would definitely attempt)

Narrow Apartment Buildings Are Common It Seems

Passage to Private Residences in Nuit St. Georges

Smaller Housing Often Affronts Large Domains & Villas (Nuit St. Georges)

Colorful Roofs Top Churches and Some Buildings

Nuit St. George Street

The Blue Kangoo Is The Exchange Car We're Driving. We call her "Blue Goo"

She's Spacious and Gets Us Where We Want To Go!

Every Small Village or Town Has a War Memorial such as this one

We drove on a country road instead of the wine road (northeast of Nuit St. Georges)

A Farmer's Garden to the Northeast of Wine Country (Bourgogne)

Hay and Wheat fields Northeast of Wine Country (Bourgogne)

Farm Country Northeast of Nuit St. Georges (Sunflower and Wheat Fields)

Sunflowers turn their faces down on an overcast day, just outside of Nuit St. Georges

Billboards, which are rare, are artistically displayed, like this one for Perrier (just outside of Dijon near Longvic)

What a beautiful city Dijon is. If you think only of going to Paris (not that it too isn't wonderful) while in France, you'll miss out on so much. We've found that Dijon lacks the same intensity as Paris, but has its own beauty and charm. A university town, it has all the amenities of a big city but not the huge population. As a result, it is very easy to drive or walk around this lovely city. Also, the weather is fabulous. As a general rule, July and August are the warmest months but with temperature in the 75-80 range and cool nights making it pleasurable for sleep. Of course, in Honolulu it is 85-90 every day and at night only cools to 78F, so we're very happy for this cooler climate.

Yesterday we set out from our home exchange on foot. We walked through the neighborhood out onto a main thoroughfare leading to the center of the village. An overcast sky made it a perfect day for walking. We had to laugh, though, because we noted a gray sky. To us, such a sky meant rain is a certainty, so we borrowed two umbrellas before leaving. We were the only ones carrying umbrellas as we walked through the city center. We now know that the sky must not be merely gray, but it must be very dark gray and probably have large building thunderheads if rain is expected. We learn quickly.

To walk through this city without so many tourists around, was such a pleasure. We're not certain why it is not jammed with tourists, but we do not mind a bit. We just came from Paris and it was obvious that the city was full of tourists. We'd never been there during summer, so now we understand why Parisians leave during August.

The streets of Dijon are clean and many have original cobblestones. It seems as though every corner has some sort of planter overflowing with beautiful blooming flora, making for a colorful sight. The buildings have been well-maintained throughout the village and the sidewalks are clear of debris and most certainly tell-tell signs of dogs are nowhere to be seen. In fact, there are small kiosks with bags and disposals. Unlike Paris, one can almost walk around without worrying about looking down at all. I do have to say, though, that when we arrived at the Dijon train station and climbed up the stairs into the station, dog droppings were smeared all over the place as someone had allowed their pet to drop right there on the pedestrian walkway! It was quite disgusting and we had to lift our wheeled luggage to avoid it.

We located many of the historical sights that we intend to visit later, since we intended this walk to merely familiarize ourselves with the village. We were surprised by the size of it, since our last visit in June of last year entailed much less exposure due to our lack of time. We need to arrange our next walk about during store hours, as we saw some quaint shops we'd like to explore further.

We postponed our market visit until next week's market. We want to first go to the super Tuesday market, then compare it to the Friday and Saturday markets which we've heard all differ in price and product available.

We stopped for a glass of rosé and to rest for a bit at a small tabac on the Place du Theatre. It was a nice place to watch people, since the bus for the village stops there.

We were surprised at the condition of the bicycle rentals we saw on our walk. All the bikes on the rack were in excellent condition and rentals were taken sequentially--meaning that the bikes were all in good condition. In Paris this is not the case. Every other bicycle on a Parisian rack seem to have been vandalized and there are always gaps between the bikes with evidence of vandalism on those remaining in the rack.

After our walk back home, we rested a short time and then went to Carrefour in Quetigny, a few kilometers from our home (approximately 15 minutes by Blue Goo--our exchange car). Carrefour super market is huge--I'd say the length of the mall there. I've never seen such a huge store. It's larger than Costco in the U.S. They carry everything at this store: televisions, appliances, clothing, food...you name it, they have it! We found the food choices to be vast.

We bought some very nice lamb chops and I cut some fresh rosemary from the garden here and marinated the lamb in rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil then grilled them. The small potatoes here are so yummy and I sliced them in their jackets, placed them in a casserole with some delicious french shallots sliced thinly, dotted them with butter, generously added some salt and pepper and allowed the whole lovely concoction to swim in cream and bubble away in the oven until soft and creamy. The lamb and potatoes, along side a salad of tender lettuce, french roquefort and sliced strawberries with some balsamic vinegarette and paired with a delicious burgundy wine (pinot noir), we dined elegantly on the terrace. To me, half of the delightful experience of a home exchange is living in a neighborhood, shopping at the local markets, and dining in a relaxed atmosphere. Oh, we do go out once in a while but as my husband often says: "To give you a break, honey, not for better food." Ha!

We slept in (or at least I did) and left today for the grand cru wine region of the Bourgogne. We made sure we left near lunch time as we planned to dine at the famous and most wonderful restaurant Le Chef Coq, a Michelin restaurant we visited last June for my birthday--an incredibly memorable meal. Unfortunately, when we arrived the restaurant was closed (Wednesday), so instead we returned to the village of Nuit St. Georges. Again we were surprised by the lack of tourists. All the people around us were speaking french, so it was clear that the tourists were absent--unless it is a place frequented by french or locals.

We walked through this charming village, but all shops were already closed for the noon time. However, we found a delightful restaurant with outdoor dining and an accommodating wait staff. In fact, the owner/chef was out in her apron and also busing tables and making sure customers were happy. I ordered a goat cheese salad that was fabulous. My husband ordered the Greek salad, which also looked delicious. The salad was too large for me to finish, so my husband set his aside and dug into mine saying he should have followed my lead. Ha! We also enjoyed some local rosé and it was very dry and not too sweet. It went so well with the chevre, so it obviously came from the same region. We then shared a tarte tatin. It was a generous tart topped with golden apples and a rich vanilla ice cream drizzled with a bit of caramel. Surprisingly it wasn't too sugary and tasted wonderful. We then had coffee. By the time we finished, it was late and we decided that rather than continue through the wine country, we would head northeast and see what the terrain was like.

What I found amazing, was the lack of traffic. When you visit the Napa/Sonoma wine region in California--a well known region--traffic is horrible, bumper to bumper, and it takes forever to get from winery to winery. Also, lines are long at wineries in the California wine region, making it difficult to belly up to the bar for a tasting. Such is not the case here in the beautiful Côte d'Or. The owners will take time with you, explain things to you and allow you to taste their wines and its very intimate--quite different indeed and certainly more enjoyable and relaxing.

After lunch, we drove into the french countryside where fields of sunflowers stood like toy soldiers, but their faces were sullen and facing down since the sun was not shining. Surrounding the fields of flowers were fields of straw for feed, field corn for feed and miles of wheat. It was quite lovely. Small village roofs could be seen above the crops in far off distances. The highway we traveled was a two lane two-way highway and we passed through small forest outcroppings, hills and valleys. What a wonderful way to travel back to Dijon.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of our journey yesterday and today. There will be more adventure tomorrow as we venture out in yet another direction. Stay tuned.

Paris, July 31, 2010

Gare de Lyon Filled With Tourists and Escaping French (TGV trains in backdrop)

People Await Posting of Track Designation on Overhead Board At Gare de Lyon

Look For This Sign and Climb the Stairs or Take the Elevator to an Oasis Above Paris 12e

Iron Art, One of Many Sculptures to Enjoy Along Viaduct Des Arts, Paris 12e

Colorful Window Art along the Viaduct Des Arts, Below the Promenade Plantées, 12e Paris

The Promenade Plantées is a Parisian Oasis Above the Boulevards

An Older Structure Aside Modern Apartment Structures

Modern Apartment Building Along The Promenade

An Example of the Variety of Rare Plants Along the Promenade

One of Many Fountains Used by Walkers and Joggers along the Promenade

A view of a Café on the Viaduct des Arts below the Promenade

As seen from Promenade Plantés, Unusual Architecture

Example of Beauty of Stroll at Promenade Plantées Paris 12e

Walk-Way Promenade Plantées

The Mass Exodus

Now that the jet lag has subsided, I'm happy to report that we've landed safely in the most wonderful city in the world, Paris.

The journey from Honolulu hasn't changed a bit. It is most tedious and always a reminder to us of how remotely we are situated out there in the middle of the Pacific ocean (the most distant island from a land mass on the globe).

The flight was uneventful and concluded at Charles de Gaulle airport at exactly 2:35 p.m. July 31, right on time. We'd left Honolulu at 8 a.m. the previous morning which meant that we'd been up since 4 a.m. Our taxi was five minutes early, as is their protocol at Charlie's Taxi and our driver took us directly to the Hawaiian Air drive-in check-in counter where our bags were wisked away by a friendly skycap while our agent printed out our boarding passes and assured us that our luggage would be sent from our Hawaiian Air flight directly to the pending Air France flight (from LAX to CDG) without any worry on our behalves.

Our Honolulu flight left on time and arrived early at the gate at LAX. We like this particular flight because it results in a brief layover of an hour and a half and the Air France departure gate is a mere 100 yards from the arrival gate for Hawaiian Air. Our first leg of the trip is five hours, so a long layover is never desirable.

We were lucky enough to snag an exit row on the Air France flight, with me in the middle and my husband on the aisle. An exit row seat is a blessing, indeed, allowing easy access to restrooms and the ability to stretch out our legs and/or stand whenever we wish. My window seat partner was a delightful young french man, Guillaume, who was returning to France after a six-week immersion with a host family in Honolulu. Remarkably, he hadn't had any English until this trip, yet he learned to speak it very well. He chatted a lot on our way across the U.S. and Atlantic Ocean, realizing that his immersion could continue for another 12 hours--which it did as he was quite gregarious.

I should say here that we found a fabulous over-the-counter product called "No Jet-Lag" and took it during our trip to Paris last October. It really worked, so we bought more for the present trip. We swear by this product, recommending it to all our friends.

With the ingestion of our wonder product according to directions, we arrived in Paris without being worn out, even though neither of us slept. It was sunny and warm (80F) upon arrival and after a rather long period (over an hour) of standing in line for a customs window (there was an organized slow-down by the agents), we obtained our visa stamps and promptly retrieved our luggage (it had long since made several trips around on the baggage conveyor belt) and walked the short distance to the Air France bus. We each paid 16.50 euros, stowed our baggage below in the baggage porte, and climbed aboard. It was air conditioned and comfortable inside and the trip to Gare de Lyon was less than an hour--about the same by taxi. Hardly anybody was on the highway leading into Paris center but the outgoing traffic was heavy since it was the beginning of the mass exodus of Parisians ready to enjoy their vacations.

We were dropped off at the Gare de Lyon train station. We had an advance reservation to stay the night at the Novotel, immediately adjacent to the train station. Within a minute we were standing at the check-in desk and within five minutes were entering the elevator to take us to the seventh, top, floor. Though the price for one night was most reasonable, I believe I would have paid a thousand euros for that wonderful shower which followed immediately upon arriving at our hotel room.

After refreshing ourselves and unpacking our clothing for the next day, we decided to walk out into the 12e and perhaps enjoy an aperitif before returning to sleep for the night. The moment we walked out into the street, it was apparent to both of us that we had to disappear down the steps of the first metro entrance we encountered and take the yellow line to the metro line that would lead us to the 15e, where we love to hang out.

We stopped in at our favorite place on rue de Commerce, just across from the metro stop at the park. Even though the apero hour was in full swing, it is the time of the great escape by Parisians, so we were able to snag a great table inside the dining area where there was no cigarette smoke and the air conditioning was pumping out cool air. We rarely (probably safe to say never) sit at a sidewalk table because the smoke is just more than we can take if we wish to enjoy conversation, a bit of wine and a delicious meal.

We ordered our favorite pizza (all their food is delicious and they have a broad menu), the "Regina" which has a tender crust and a generous portion of ham, fresh mushrooms, tomato and cheese We also had to order a plate of pomme frites. I don't know how they do it, but these oddly shaped french fries are crisp on the outside and soft inside and they are never greasy. What you get is a piping hot and delicious potato taste. There is absolutely no reason to dip them in anything, because the delicate taste is all one needs. We also ordered a demi-pichet of rosé and a carafe of water. We enjoyed the meal slowly, in the french way, and savored the food and patted ourselves on the back for taking the time to hop on the metro and do what we both were dying to do.

After the delicious meal, we walked the length of the rue de Commerce, stopping at our favorite patisserie for chocolate macaroons (not the coconut kind of macaroons in the U.S.)--crisp little cookies with a moist chewing inside, costing .60 euros each--to enjoy later. We took the metro from Grenelle back to the 12e and to our hotel where we fell into bed and slept hard until about 3:45 a.m. Both fully awake, I got out of bed and filled the electric tea pot with water and made us some mint tea and we sat up in bed listening to CNN World News while enjoying tea and macaroons.

The window of our room, faced the entrance to Gare de Lyon and the plaza out front of it. We avoid Paris during the summer months, as a general rule, since that is the time that most tourists come. This time, though, our ultimate destination was Dijon and that is because we wanted to experience summer there (we have an intent to purchase some real estate in Dijon). We were amazed by the steady stream of Parisians in mass exodus from Paris. We later learned that the mass exodus is not only true for Paris, but all over France. Apparently, many employers prefer that their employees take the month of August off and business simply slows during that time. Since workers return in September, when schools start again, workers are then back for most of the rest of the year and being productive. With so many vacation weeks available to the french, it is easy to understand why an employer would want only a month of slowing. It's quite interesting. Boy, I have to comment though, that between holidays and vacations and 35 hour work weeks, it is easy to see why the french enjoy life! I also wonder, however, what it would have been like for me to have paid my office staff for a full 8 weeks of vacation and several holidays and then to have to shut down my law office for such a long period when I was in practice back when. It short of makes me shudder to think about it ;~)

We didn't need to be at Gare de Lyon for our TGV ride to Dijon, until 12:30 p.m., so we took advantage of the courtesy breakfast at the hotel at 7 a.m. We enjoyed some freshly baked artisan bread with delicious jam, yogurt, fresh fruit and juice, then walked out into the 12e. It was sunny and warm by 9 a.m. We strolled along the Viaduct des Arts, enjoying window and other art and then found the steps leading up to the Promenade Plantées. The stroll down the promenade is very pleasant. It's quite amazing, indeed. They transformed an old RER track that previously ran to Vencinnes, into an amazing walk-way park. We admired all the blooming flora of July, interesting architecture that is part of the charm of Paris and watching young professionals on early morning jogging sessions. The walkway parallels apartment buildings in this area and most of the apartments appear to be upper end and nice. Instead of looking down on other buildings and the street below, occupants have a view of a green belt. A smart design, indeed.

After our morning stroll, we rested at the hotel until noon, then walked across the plaza into the train station filled to the brim with passengers waiting to disembark from Paris to the many other destinations in France. We bought a couple of the traditional Parisian sandwiches consisting of fresh crunchy-on-the-outside and doughy on the inside french bread buttered and layered with delicious Comte cheese and Parisian ham and sipped from the bottles of water fwe purchased for our trip. We found our train car and loaded our baggage from the platform onto the train, stowing it and settling in for the short ride to Dijon.

Our friend from Honolulu, who now lives in Dijon, met us with his fiancée. After loading the luggage into his amazingly spacious 2CV, he popped the cork on some ice-cold Cremant from the Bourgogne and poured us a glass. It was his way of celebrating our arrival as well as a perfect introduction into the Burgundy wine region.

This trip to Dijon included a home exchange with a young family of four. The parents of our host family greeted us upon arrival at this adorable 1930's two story city dwelling. The father spoke good English but the mother, who was our docent, spoke only french. Nonetheless, we understood her as she lead us through the home. These folks are friendly and warm and invited us to come to their home this coming Saturday. They live in the city center in Dijon and the plan is that they will retrieve us about 7 p.m. and we'll have a traditional Dijonnaise meal, complete with escargot, and a full evening of immersion. This is something we definitely look forward to.

While we were still a bit tired upon our arrival, since we'd only had five hours of rest within the preceding 30 hours, we had been invited to a party at our friend's home in Couternon, a suburb of Dijon. Of course, we eagerly accepted! We said good-bye to our host's parents and our friends, and began unpacking. We then cleaned up and by 6:30 p.m. were arriving in Couternon. It should be noted here, that a french dinner party begins at 6:30 p.m. with a 2-3 hour aperitif and lively conversation, followed by several courses of food, more wine, music, and an after dinner apero--well, you get the picture, it's a long evening into wee hours--so we arrived back home at 1 a.m. and at that time were running very low on energy. We literally fell into bed and neither of us moved so much as a muscle until 8 a.m. French homes come equipped with heavy shutters that are closed during the night. This creates a very quiet and dark house, very conducive to a good night's sleep!

Our first full day in Dijon was one of getting settled in, followed by shopping at a huge Carrefour market in Quetigny, another suburb of Dijon. We filled three bags with wine, cheese and other staples, then found a small café where we had our first delicious cup of strong coffee and a bit of breakfast pastry.

Our exchange home has a beautiful garden as it's back yard, with table and chairs and a tarp overhead. It's traditional for the french to dine out doors, and we didn't break that tradition. I prepared a light lunch and my husband opened our first bottle of burgundy from Beaune 1er Cru (Savigny-Les-Beaune lER Cru, Clos Des Guettes (2007), a delicious burgundy [pinot noir grape] at only 16 euros [from the maison François Martenof]), and we lingered in the warm sun while watching all the bees moving briskly from bush to bush and tree to tree. It was obvious to us, almost immediately, that we do have a lack of bees in the U.S. Sure hope that problem is solved very soon or our food supply may be in jeopardy. Perhaps the U.S. needs to consult with the french, as we didn't notice a shortage here at all.

It is now our second full day in Dijon, and we're done with posting for the day. We're going to take a stroll from the house to City Center to see what's up in Dijon this day. Stay tuned! À très bientôt! Lennie

Stay tuned for more photos and information from this beautiful region of France.

Dijon, at last

We've prepared our home for the lovely young french family of four from Dijon and they will move in tomorrow as we move out. We'll leave the house early by taxi and arrive at the airport a couple of hours before our flight at 8 a.m.

It seemed to be an endless wait for this trip (8 months), but now that it's here I am currently working on the next trip--perhaps to a different region of France or possibly a return to Italy.

I'll post my first pictures hopefully on Sunday or this coming Monday. Stay tuned for your view of Dijon and surrounding towns and villages.

39 Days From Take Off

Only 39 more days until we take off on our Air France jet for Paris where we'll catch a TGV to Dijon. We couldn't be more ready to travel. You'll definitely want to stay tuned. We've been invited to a traditional French wedding, so I'll want to share that adventure with you for sure.

Have a fun summer and check back on August 1st for a month-long adventure through the Côte d'Or!

Two and a half months and counting!

Here we are mid-May already. The excitement around our house can be classified as "high energy" and we still have another couple of months to wait!

We're all set. Our home exchangers, the Blondeau family of Dijon, have now purchased their airline tickets and they are ready to go as well. They'll be in San Francisco for the month before arriving in Honolulu to occupy our place, so they have less time to wait than we do. Luckily for us, the euro has made its way down and our dollar is beginning to gain some momentum. We're definitely in the buying mode and watching the index daily.

We bought our TGV tickets on line at raileurope.com and they arrived within two days--even way out here in the middle of the Pacific ocean! It's nice to purchase ahead because August is a busy month abroad and also the Rail Europe people put a terrific bargain online, so we couldn't resist!

Our friends in Dijon tell us that the weather during August, the hottest time of year, is 75 fahrenheit on the average. So, we'll pack layers: shirts, sweaters, scarves and perhaps carry a light weight jacket for those cool evenings. Last year we needed to sport a leather jacket by 4 p.m. in June, so it's not surprising that it can be cool in August.

We leave July 30, arriving in Paris on July 31. We'll stay at the Sofatel at Gare de Lyon and take the TGV the next day around noon. It's only an hour and 45 minutes, so will be arriving early afternoon. The Sofatel is so convenient for taking the train south and they have a nice typical french continental breakfast of pastries, fruit, cereals and juices in the a.m. Our friends will greet us in Dijon and deliver us to our exchange home. We'll meet relatives of our exchange couple, too, so that if we need anything we'll know who to contact. Besides, our exchange couple both work at the university and want their fathers to learn more English--they'll practice on us!

Please come back July 31st! Aloha, Lennie

NEXT POST: PARIS, JULY 31, 2010

Return to Dijon

It's been some time since I last posted and I've been enjoying the memory of autumn in Paris. The time has come to arrange another trip to France and we are set to return during the entire month of August. Although we swore we would not travel during August in France, we're eager to see what summer is like in Dijon.

We've arranged an exchange with a french couple and their two young children. Their home is about a 15 minute walk to City Center and also very near to some excellent restaurants. We've booked our flight and hope that you will join us on August 1, 2010 as we begin another adventure in France.

À bientôt! Lennie