Saturday in Dijon - Market Day, Wine Cave, and Stain Remover

The weather has taken a turn and not a good one. Rain is predicted today and also over the next few days. Fortunately, we have saved some of the indoor activities and we'll be planning those while it rains. And to keep warm, we're wearing multiple layers of clothing. Yesterday Greg wore both of his vests! We really should have brought heavier jackets.

Yesterday was Saturday and the town was full of energy. During the week when we're up early, things are very quiet. But yesterday people and families were out and about. We tried a new coffee shop in our search for the best flat white and this one was excellent. But unfortunately they have weird hours and most days they don't open until 10. 

The quiet but wonderful market we went to on Tuesday was even more wonderful and packed with people. I could have spent the whole day there wandering around looking at all the vendors, listening to all the chatter, and people watch. Absolutely no English spoken anywhere. (Except we had a nice chat with a man and his grown son. They were curious as to where we were from and why we chose to come to Dijon. They offered their help if we needed it. Very kind.) I know there are other tourists here but I guess few of them consider the covered market a tourist attraction like we do. Our goal was to find dinners for Sunday and Monday since most of the restaurants close on those days. 

These pates are everywhere and I just don't even want to try them. I know they're local delicacies but not for me. The just look like gross meat and fat. Ugh.

We did laundry and I discovered a cassis or wine stain on my white top. This gave me the chance to try to find some kind of stain remover at the store. It's always a challenge to read labels in another language and guess at what you're buying. I did manage to find something that translates to Stain Devil. No instructions on the bottle so I'll just wing it and see if it works.

We had reservations at a wine cellar/cave called Caveau de Sauix. During the day, there are metal doors on the sidewalk that cover the entrance. But when it opens, this is what you see.... very steep stairs that lead down to the basement of an old building. 

Greg and I walked down very slowly while we gripped those bars on either side. Later we saw others scamper down like it was nothing. Anyway, it was worth the risk to go down there.

I don't know if you can hear the music in these videos but it was all old American rock and roll. Fun.

All of their wines are served blind. Basically you tell the server if you want red or white wine. And you choose either a young wine (under 5 years) or older. Then they serve you a glass of wine, and if we're interpreting it all correctly, we are supposed to guess where the wine came from and how old it is. We ordered an old red wine, and we liked it - but had no clue how old it was (2013) or where it came from (somewhere near Beaune). There were several tables made up of groups of people who had the 5 or 8 blind tastings option. It was an experience just to be in that room.

We planned to stop at a crepe place for dinner but it was closed. Restaurants and shops just seem to randomly close when they want. So we went to Bouilon, a bistro in the center of town. It was packed with people but we managed a table upstairs. Had some of the best French Onion Soup ever. (Or is all onion soup here French?)

Leaving the restaurant, we saw a group of young men dressed in black with face masks. We are aware of the protests and riots in Paris and other cities in France, but we've seen no sign of unrest here... except these guys looked pretty serious. We had considered going to Lyon on this trip but I'm glad now we are not.

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