Dijon
From the village, we drove to the train station. We decided to do a supermarket run so we could eat lunch on the train ride to Dijon. Since day one, the kids had been teaching me to say réglisse rouge (red licorice). Saying the "r" sounds like a smoker coughing up phlegm. It took me a few days to master it. Well, since we had been saying réglisse rouge all week, Viv got them some at the market. :p
They sent us to the train station and then left. Sad to see them leave but also happy to start a quiet vacation.
We took the train to Lausanne where we transferred to the TGV to Dijon. At the Lausanne station, we decided to buy snacks in order to spend the last of our Swiss francs. Greedy us, we ended up buying too much. We were going to put something back but the guy at the cashier took money out of his own pocket to cover for us. SO NICE!!!
The train ride to Dijon was pretty smooth until a group of school children got on board later in the trip. They were loud as kids are on a field trip. The most annoying though is when we reached our stop. Several kids were eye-ing our seats since it was a group of four chairs around a table. They were making their way up the aisle while we were making our way down (with luggage) to exit the train. They made it very difficult to pass through. Their teacher ended up yelling at them to sit down so that we could make it out before the train left the station.
Outside the train station, we followed signs to the tourism office to get local maps. Then, we went to find our hotel - Hôtel Villages - very similar to a Howard Johnson. Very minimal furnishings but sufficient for our one night stay. It was a great location too. The first thing we did was walk to the restaurant we wanted to try for dinner to make a reservation. It was the first time that I whipped out the high school French. :p I hobbled together a statement and then the guy at the desk started speaking to me in English. :D His English is a LOT better than my French.
We walked to the Palais des Ducs. It's definitely a grand palace, with a pair of fountains in the plaza in front of the palace. We went into the Musee des Beaux-Arts to see intricately carved tombs - the highlight of the museum according to the guidebook we had. We also wanted to see the palace kitchens (les cuisines ducales) but we were told that they were closed. FORTUNATELY though, I guess we looked sufficiently sad that we couldn't see them, so the old guard gestured for us to follow him. He took us into the huge kitchen and explained the rotisseries and the ventilation system to us. What a nice old man!!! So grateful he took pity on us!
On the walk back to our hotel, we walked down the main street where all the shopping was! The French summer sales had been going for about a week or two by now so most of the sales items left were the large sizes. Still, it was fun just to do some shopping (since I had missed out in Switzerland!).
We had dinner at Les Oenophiles, located in the Hotel Philippe Le Bon. Since the weather was so nice, everyone sat in the garden. We had a nice private corner under a tree. I chose their 44 euro prix fixe menu while DH chose a la carte since he doesn't eat cheese. (All the prix fixe menus had a cheese platter.) Instead of the usual bread basket, we got cheese puff pastries, two each. Then we got a tomato basil amuse. The cheese platter was fun to pick because they presented so many different types of cheeses. I tried this AMAZING cheese covered with raisins. It tastes like sweet cream cheese! :) Also tried epoisses which smells horrible but has a fairly light taste, brie-like texture.
From the top left, clockwise: goat cheese, cheese covered by seeds (tangy and spicy), cheese covered in raisins, and smelly epoisses.
We finished with dessert and a complimentary plate of dessert samples (mint marshmallows, sesame seed chips, and mini muffins). :)
They sent us to the train station and then left. Sad to see them leave but also happy to start a quiet vacation.
We took the train to Lausanne where we transferred to the TGV to Dijon. At the Lausanne station, we decided to buy snacks in order to spend the last of our Swiss francs. Greedy us, we ended up buying too much. We were going to put something back but the guy at the cashier took money out of his own pocket to cover for us. SO NICE!!!
The train ride to Dijon was pretty smooth until a group of school children got on board later in the trip. They were loud as kids are on a field trip. The most annoying though is when we reached our stop. Several kids were eye-ing our seats since it was a group of four chairs around a table. They were making their way up the aisle while we were making our way down (with luggage) to exit the train. They made it very difficult to pass through. Their teacher ended up yelling at them to sit down so that we could make it out before the train left the station.
Outside the train station, we followed signs to the tourism office to get local maps. Then, we went to find our hotel - Hôtel Villages - very similar to a Howard Johnson. Very minimal furnishings but sufficient for our one night stay. It was a great location too. The first thing we did was walk to the restaurant we wanted to try for dinner to make a reservation. It was the first time that I whipped out the high school French. :p I hobbled together a statement and then the guy at the desk started speaking to me in English. :D His English is a LOT better than my French.
We walked to the Palais des Ducs. It's definitely a grand palace, with a pair of fountains in the plaza in front of the palace. We went into the Musee des Beaux-Arts to see intricately carved tombs - the highlight of the museum according to the guidebook we had. We also wanted to see the palace kitchens (les cuisines ducales) but we were told that they were closed. FORTUNATELY though, I guess we looked sufficiently sad that we couldn't see them, so the old guard gestured for us to follow him. He took us into the huge kitchen and explained the rotisseries and the ventilation system to us. What a nice old man!!! So grateful he took pity on us!
On the walk back to our hotel, we walked down the main street where all the shopping was! The French summer sales had been going for about a week or two by now so most of the sales items left were the large sizes. Still, it was fun just to do some shopping (since I had missed out in Switzerland!).
We had dinner at Les Oenophiles, located in the Hotel Philippe Le Bon. Since the weather was so nice, everyone sat in the garden. We had a nice private corner under a tree. I chose their 44 euro prix fixe menu while DH chose a la carte since he doesn't eat cheese. (All the prix fixe menus had a cheese platter.) Instead of the usual bread basket, we got cheese puff pastries, two each. Then we got a tomato basil amuse. The cheese platter was fun to pick because they presented so many different types of cheeses. I tried this AMAZING cheese covered with raisins. It tastes like sweet cream cheese! :) Also tried epoisses which smells horrible but has a fairly light taste, brie-like texture.
We finished with dessert and a complimentary plate of dessert samples (mint marshmallows, sesame seed chips, and mini muffins). :)
posted by pc at
12:23 AM
<< Home