J’adore Dijon France. I loved my time there; my two hours there to be exact. I was travel ambitious and planned to visit Dijon then make my way to Geneva, Switzerland before nightfall. In result of this squeezing two cities and two train rides into eight hours I did not get to have my fabulous leisure lunch in Dijon and I made it to Geneva maybe five minutes before it was dark. But with that said I would not have had my December 1st any other way.
I didn’t start planning my trip till the Sunday before my trip, and I left on Tuesday. When I tried to purchase my train tickets online, the type of tickets I was purchasing were not available to be printed they needed to be mailed. So that was a no go since I dind’t leave enough time for that. So on December 1st at 8 am I found myself in the Gare du Nord train station at the kiosk trying to purchase my ticket. Luckily, since it was a main train station, the ticket office was open and I was able to get a real person to help me pick the best times/tickets and also accept my credit card (tougher to find than you would think).
I was traveling on a Sunday so I knew things would be closed but I didn’t think that would be something I enjoyed but it really made my trip even better.
What I saw in Dijon while strolling around was the real French life. I saw families walking around. A man running to the patisserie to pick up his baquette then finishing his morning run home. Kids and families enjoying the holidays and ice skating in the city center. I felt like someone had invited me in to their personal life and I was there to watch and observe. I also was trying my best to look, speak, and act French—I wore my beret.
Dijon is known for the mustard, obviously, and they have another little gem, an owl on the side of the Notre Dame Cathetral. If you walk around the city you can find a walking tour of different sites all marked and arrorws leading to each stop. The path will lead you pas the owl on the cathedral. It is a good luck charm and you are supposed to rub the owl with your left hand make a wish. It was beautiful watching people walk by the owl. Even if they had walked by 100 times before it was just a simple act to rub the owl.
Since I didn’t have enough time for lunch at a restaurant in Dijon I settled for a jambon et buerre baguette (ham and butter) on the train. I also remembered I had put a pain au chocolate in my purse from the hotel breakfast earlier that morning. This visit if you asked me if there was a pain au chocolate in my purse the answer would have be yes 99 percent of the time.
I sat there on the train and watched the French coutry side. I sipped on my coke and smiled to myself. I reached into my purse and pulled out the smushed pastry wrapped in napkins then thought nah I’m not hungry for that. I went to put it back in my purse then thought who am I kidding and pulled it back out and took a big bite.
The marker for each stop and the arrows leading you to each stop.
The good luck owl.
Had to get a photo of this family helping the boy reach the owl.
Maille house of the Maille Mustard.
Follow me on Twitter @Pilots_Daughter