We've been here in Dijon for a week now. It's a beautiful city with good moorings BUT there's no water or electric here. There are bornes all along the quay but they don't work and the lock-keepers don't know if they will ever work again. They used to be operated by jetons (tokens) but no-one wants to sell them and it's too expensive to install a vending machine. It's a good job we're fully solar powered so we haven't had to run the generator at all, but we're down to the last dregs of the water tank and will need to find a working tap soon.
and of course Dijon is famous for it's mustard, although when I had beef for lunch in a restaurant I had to ask for mustard and the waiter had to go and find some!
There are lots of open areas as well as the shops, with a couple of really nice peaceful parks which were popular lunchtime picnic places for the locals.
The 13th century catholic church of Notre Dame wasn't particularly impressive compared to others we've visited, but it does have some unusual "dummy" gargoyles on the western facade. Dummies because they are just statues rather than water spouts and unusual because they depict animals as well as humans and monsters. I've never seen a sheep gargoyle before (centre below)
I think this was my favourite, grotesque but also quite cute 😇
The weather's finally warmed up and we've managed to get out and about on the bikes spending a very pleasant afternoon cycling round the nearby lake "lac du kir". The French take their leisure time very seriously and the cycle paths are really well maintained. A sandy beach had just been installed for the summer season and was already being well used by sunbathers. The beach volley ball courts were also full but Roger was a bit disappointed that the teams were fit young men 😉😜 There were also several well used fitness equipment areas plus the essential bar/cafe. The perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon
We cycled back along the towpath and met this character beside one of the locks.
We also met one of the big hotel boats that cruise in this area. How about having a swimming pool on your front deck?
On Saturday and Sunday it was the local festival hosted by the friends of the port. Live music, children's fairground rides and all kinds of displays put on by local dance groups made for a good couple of days, with the highlight being a spectacular fireworks display on Saturday night.
We've really enjoyed our time here, it's almost felt like being on holiday. To top it all off, it was our 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday.
Cheers!
Cheers!
That's all for now, see you again soon X
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