A weekend in the country, Part II

With the rental car, we were also able to drive around the countryside of Dijon. JP had recommended a beautiful former abbey called Fontenay. Jacob, Eric and I decided to go there one afternoon. The structure was no longer being used as an abbey. It had been converted in the late 1800s into a paper mill. In the early 1900s, that the current owners acquired the land and restored the buildings and grounds to their original state. It's in excellent condition, partly because it had been used as a paper mill, which kept it from being razed as many other religious buildings were in the wake of the Revolution.



I agree with JP. There is a feeling of immense peace that you can find sitting on the grounds and in the main church.



We also got a chance to drive through the Comte region of France and into Switzerland. Jacob discovered that his paternal forebears came from an area near Bern. We spent a really nice day driving through farm fields and vineyards. We had lunch in the shadow of a large chateau overlooking some grapevines and a beautiful lake.



Afterwards, we all lounged around in the shade of an orchard.



While we weren't able to meet up with anyone bearing Jacob's last name, some rigorous Google-searching and persistence in the face of ill-marked roads did lead us to some limited success.



On the way back, we stopped at a little restaurant in a small town close to the French border and had dinner, mostly meat and various iterations of potato.



The drive back to Paris was overcast and a little rainy. Jacob and Eric were able to be good samaritans by trying to pushstart this old couple's car.



Unfortunately, the engine had locked up. So after several minutes of pushing the car around the gas station, the owner decided to take it to a garage.

Getting back into Paris was a little less hectic than getting out. We timed our return for before the start of rush hour, which we mostly missed. However, coming back into town, we did run into this large truck carrying some really weird cargo.

A weekend in the country, Part I

We've been having a great time in Paris, hanging out, seeing the sights and enjoying the experience of getting to know a different city. However, with the weather getting warmer and three weeks into our time in Paris, Jacob, Eric and I gladly accepted an invitation to visit JP's brother, Henri, in Dijon and spend an afternoon their home village of Etaules.

As ever, we didn't settle on an itinerary until the last minute. Looking at the cost of train tickets to get to Dijon, we decided that it would be cheaper and allow us greater flexibility to rent a car. The idea would then be to spend a few days in Dijon, go out to Etaules and then spend a day or two driving around to surrounding villages and maybe an excursion into Switzerland.

Jacob found a great deal on a Renault Clio with diesel engine. The most exciting feature was that it got 70 miles to the gallon and comfortably fit four people. Jacob wants one when we get back to the states.

The drive out to Dijon was really pretty, once we got through the mess that was Paris traffic. There were little farm stands selling freshly picked cherries and raspberries.



We took a little coffee break in a town called Avallon.



Henri's place was in the middle of Dijon, an apartment in a five floor walk-up with great views of the city scape.



Henri was also a great host, taking time out of his schedule to show us around the city and introduce us to his friends.

On our second day in Dijon, we went out to Etaules to visit JP and Henri's mom, Claude. JP, Christine, Enzo and Camille had driven down from Paris. We drove over with Henri and spent a really nice afternoon. Claude made a great tart with mirabel plums and we had some cool cheese, that I've forgotten the name of.



We were lucky to be in Dijon for France's annual Fete de la Musique, a day of free concerts all over the country. Anyone could perform in the streets. I had been to the Fete in Paris on my first trip to France. That was admittedly a more harrowing experience since I was 16. The crowds were amazing. We didn't know where to go and some of the metro stations were closed. What I remember of that night was the press of drunk people, the noise, the chaos. Looking back, I have great sympathy for the teacher that accompanied us on that trip.



The Fete de la Musique in Dijon was a lot better. Having been in a few bands, Henri knew where the good ones were playing. He seemed to know at least one person in every band. Jacob was able to record a lot of bands that we heard, so will hopefully upload the performances to his podcast soon.