One Day, Three Countries

We’re onto our next adventure, once again headed east. Today, that meant packing a picnic of fresh baked brioche, a slab of Emmenthaler, 2 local apples and 3 bananas and heading to the Dijon train station at noon. We rode the high-speed train from Dijon to Basel, Switzerland, and then switched to another train from Basel to Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, where we arrived to our hotel mid-afternoon. We took a few pix along the way.

After fueling up, we did a quick walk around the city, most of which was completely rebuilt after being bombed by both sides in WWII and suffering extensive damage.

The Gothic-style Munster Cathedral remained untouched, however, which is fortunate, because it took three centuries to complete its construction and it’s really impressive, inside and out. 

The spire is 116 meters (380 feet) high.

No Pastry of the Day today. :( Just more croissants and brioche. Will keep an eye out for some Black Forest cake in Freiburg. 

Dijon Day 2: Wine and Food

Today is Friday in Dijon, and despite still being rather tired, we fully invested ourselves in the local culture of wine and gastronomy (and some art, too). The day began with a visit to Les Halles, the main marketplace for the city. To be honest, I wasn’t sure where it was exactly, so I just followed an old woman pulling a shopping cart, and sure enough, she led me right there.

 

Oh, how I wish I could do all my shopping here, at the fishmonger, the meat market, the farm stand, the cheese seller, the tea trader, the olive seller, etc. etc. There was beautiful, fresh food for miles. Nothing from a tin, or in a box. Nothing overly processed. Nothing but the most beautiful ingredients for the home cook. Very jealous.

 

To make myself feel better, I turned to today’s Pastry of the Day: A gorgeous apricot tart, which I enjoyed with a cup of green tea at an outdoor café. 

                                        Great morning of people-watching near the marketplace.

 

John joined me mid-morning, and we headed to the Musee des Beaux Arts, which is the second largest art museum in France (only the Louvre is bigger), with 130,000-plus artworks from ancient to modern. It’s housed in the former palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, who lived there until the French Revolution booted them out. Some of them, however, rest here for eternity.

  

The tomb of Philip the Bold in Marble and Alabaster. 

Self-portrait by Yan Pei-Ming, a Chinese painter who studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Dijon.

A portrait of Francois Pompon, a sculptor who is famous for his stylized animals. His polar bear, which he made for the 1922 Salon d’Automne in Paris, is here in Darcy Park, where I visited it this morning. I’m not the only one to take a selfie with the bear, as you can see in the photo below from the Nazi occupation.

Fortunately, Dijon’s buildings were spared from a lot of destruction. The Jews here sadly were not.

 

We returned to the City of Gastronomy for lunch prepared by the chef du cuisine. The highlight of the meal was this decomposed gazpacho made into salad, with mozzarella mousse on top. Simple and the most delicious. 

John’s trout was also beautifully composed on a sea of puréed baby peas.

   
After lunch we attended a workshop with a sommelier and viticulture expert who taught us about Burgundy wines (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay) and the impact of the climate on various vintages. All in all, a damned good day!

 

 

 

Dijon - Day 1

I hope I can write in English, as I’m already thinking in French. Today is bright, warm and sunny here in France, a good morning for coffee and a croissant at a small outdoor table next to the giant 18th century Porte Guillaume arch that leads to the old city of Dijon. While John took it easy, I went for a beautiful morning walk on cobblestone streets to enjoy this city’s famous architecture.

There is a blend of Tudor and Medieval designs with contemporary buildings and public art that make for picturesque views around every corner.

The church of Notre Dame is particular impressive with its rows of menacing gargoyles.

The church was built in the first part of the 13th century. I loved how smooth the floors were, worn down by thousands of pairs of shoes over so many years.

The remnants of a medieval wall painting.

Alongside Gothic architecture are many half-timbered Tudor era buildings. The one below, like many of the others, is sagging along the horizontal wooden beams.

The photo below was taken in the courtyard of a residence once built for a Duke that is now a large art museum. Check out the dude sleeping under the watchful eye of the Duke’s statue (far right).

Classical guitar on the plaza.

Dijon is the capital of this wine-growing region of France, but it perhaps better known for its mustard, which you can find on every street corner.

Dijon is also a “foodie” town. The Cite of Gastronomie and Wine has a number of food-related exhibitions, a cooking school and a food court.

We ate gourmet pizza and salad at this modern bar.

But there is always room for afternoon coffee and the Pastry of the Day…

A tiny Tart Mendiants, with walnuts, hazelnuts and other nuts drenched in a sweet caramel-y sauce, inside a flaky short crust. Paul Hollywood would give the baker a handshake for this one.

Everywhere to go starts in Paris

It’s the middle of the night, and it’s been the middle of the night for days as we’ve made our way from LA to Paris to Dijon by car, plane, train and foot. I’m sleeping in three-hour increments — more time to post on the blog?

Au revoir, California!

After a few hours of sleep on the plane, I woke up in the darkness over the Atlantic to watch our progress. The sunrise was beautiful as we soared over the clouds and sea.

We arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport around 11 AM Paris time and made our way through customs, and baggage claim, picked up some euros at the ATM, and took a taxi through horrid traffic to Gare de Lyon, where we waited for our train to Dijon. We are pretty wiped out, so the days are a bit of a blur, but lunch in an outdoor cafe and the stunning old train station made us feel more certain the adventure has begun. 

At the train station, we activated our Eurail passes and our esim service for our phones.

The TGV inOui train is a high-speed way to travel — less than two hours to Dijon, where we arrived in the early evening.

Dinner al fresco means Thai food and Singha beer across the street from our hotel in Dijon Ville. 

Finally, introducing a new blog feature: Pastry of the Day!

Air France serves mini pastries and macaron after dinner, and mini croissants when the sun comes up.

What kind of pastry will we find tomorrow?

Year of the Rabbit

In the spirit of the Year of the Rabbit, we're hopping across the ocean again for a few weeks in central Europe, where we will hike in the mountains, soak in thermal baths, eat pastries at sidewalk cafes, view art masterpieces, linger in cathedrals, attend concerts, see friends, ride trains, explore ancestry and attune ourselves to new points of view about what has turned out to be a busy and hectic 2023. Check back regularly for updates along the route. Au revior!