Day 19 - Dijon

Distance Walked: a fair bit I expect, Alcohol Consumed: 1 glass kir, 1 glass white wine, 250ml pinot noir

In the morning I took a tour of the Dijon market.  It was led by Phillipe who is a local from this region and went to university here in Dijon.  He then spent 15 years working in local vineyards. He now works for a tour company, mainly leading wine tours but he also does this one too.  There were 4 other women on this tour today, all racing car widows.  That is, their husbands are mad, keen racers of vintages cars.  They take long weekends off and compete in amateur events, leaving their wives to shop and sightsee.  Three of the women were English and the fourth was an American woman, who has been living in Bern with her husband for the last 30 years.

The tour started at 10am with Phillipe taking us around some of the more famous sites and giving us a little of the history of Burgundy and Dijon.  He had an adorable accent (and was very easy on the eye) so none of us corrected his mispronunciations.  Our first food stop was the Edmond Fallot mustard shop, where we got to try 8 different sorts of mustard.   Some were delicious, some not so much.  I bought 5 mini jars to bring home.  Mustard should surely be acceptable.

As it was now 11am it was time to stop for a drink and a snack.  We had kir, which can only be properly made with creme de cassis and Aligote wine.  Using any other wine means it is not kir.  It was actually very good.  The creme de cassis is sweet but the wine is very dry.  The balance was just right so it was very refreshing and dangerously easy to drink.  To eat we had a gougeres - choux pastry with comte cheese.  Very pleasant also.  I must try making them.  Might even buy some creme de cassis.  I know I can bring booze back into the country.

Next we wandered around the market itself and got a little of the history of it.  It was built by Gustave Eiffel who is a Dijon local.  This explains all the model Eiffel towers I saw at the museum yesterday.  After looking around the market we stopped for another glass of wine and a snack.  Phillipe said it was very important not to rush around.   Shopping should be done calmly, with time to chat to the shopkeepers.  Also, it is a good idea to stop and catch up with friends too.  We had a local white wine (I forget which one) and a little plate of samples of local produce.  Some cheese, a few cornichons and pickled onions, some salami, a tiny pat of local butter with some good bread and some of the famous ham persillade.  The salami was forgettable but the ham was superb.

During our snack at the market Phillipe mentioned something about how it would be harder for the Englishwomen to buy French produce after Brexit.  It turned out the three of them were all in favour of Brexit and didn't believe anything was going to go wrong.  The American woman and I just rolled our eyes at each other and quickly changed the subject.

After this it was time for dessert so we visited Phillipe's favourite gingerbread shop, Mulot et Petitjean.  In addition to slabs of gingerbread, they also sell nonnettes which are cakes of gingerbread with a jam filling.  We each got one with a bitter orange marmelade filling which was lovely.  The contrast was perfect.  They come in packs of 6 but as Phillipe said, you don't just stop with one.  You end up eating the lot.

The final stop on our tour was a chocolate and macaron shop.  Phillipe said he always goes there when he gets his heart broken.  Sadly our hearts were broken too as we'd taken too long at our other stops and they had shut for lunch.

After the tour I didn't feel like eating lunch.  The other women were going shopping (clothes and shoes and such like) so I said good-bye and headed off.  Instead, I did a walking tour around the city.  There is a circuit around the city you can walk using a guide from the tourist bureau.  It is identified by brass plates embedded in the ground at regular intervals.  Each has the image of an owl in it.  This owl (chouette) is the city's symbol.  There is one carved into a pillar on one side of the cathedral.  If you touch it with your left hand you can make a wish.  It is very shiny as everyone stops to do that.

The walking tour takes about 2 hours - including optional detours - but I spent longer over it, window shopping, sitting in parks and eating gelati (pistachio and gingerbread).

I got stopped by a lost tourist asking for directions, which was pleasing.  It has happened several times, including once in Paris.  I look like a local, in spite of the way I dress, but I can't maintain the illusion once I open my mouth.  At one of the museums in Lyon I was asked which department I was from as they like to keep track of where all their visitors come from.  When I said I was from Australia, the man lapsed into English and said he was surprised as I look French.  I said couldn't he tell from my accent as it was terrible, and he agreed with me!  That was quite uncalled for.

For dinner I went to a place called Le Dome in the square around the market.  I confess I chose it because, while the set menu looked interesting and reasonably priced, it was open at the unfashionably early hour of 7pm rather than 7:30pm or 8pm like the more serious restaurants.  I suspected it was a tourist trap but was too hungry to care.

For entree I had fois gras again.  This time it came with a few batons of gingerbread.  This apparently is a traditional Dijon way of serving it.   I had thought it sounded a horrible combination but gave it a try.  I was right.  It is horrible.  However, the fois gras with plain bread was delicious.  The best I've had so far on this trip.  For main I had entrecot with frites, i.e. steak and chips.  It was the most tender and tastiest steak I've ever eaten.  The chips were decent, but not as good as Grandma used to make.  For dessert I had what was labelled tiramisu.  What I got was a dish full of a marscapone cream topped with lemon curd and sprinkled gingerbread.  It wasn't remotely like a tiramisu but it was yummy.  A very good meal.  Much better than last night and a better price too.