After a couple of cups of tea and another fresh baguette (with butter and Vegemite) from our neighbouring boulangerie, we Ubered back to the airport to pick up a car to drive to our next stop, Dijon aka moutard town.
The drive to Dijon was around 3 and a half hours and all freeway. Steve jumped back into driving on the wrong side of the road with ease.
Just like the last time we drove through France, paying for petrol was a problem. The stations are all pay by card at the pump but they won’t accept our cards. You have to pay cash inside and then fill the car.
We arrived in Dijon early afternoon and it was so lovely to be back in an old town with its cobblestones and laneways.
After checking in we chilled for a bit and then went to find the tourist information office to get the booklet to do the owl walk. It’s a self guided walk where you follow the owl markers on the ground to learn interesting facts about Dijon. It’s a great way to really see the whole of the beautiful town of Dijon and discover new pockets of restaurants and bars.
We had some time before our dinner reservation so we stopped and had a few wines and people watched and Steve could practice his French.
I did a bit of research about restaurants in Dijon as it is known for its food. I found two that were highly recommended and booked both in advance.
The first one was Dr Wine. It had a great courtyard out the back. It was like a french tapa restaurant with each dish being small individual servings. Yummm! And the good Dr Wine had some good wines of course! It was a great recommendation.
After dinner, still suffering a bit of jet lag we went home to bed.
The next day we had booked a mustard factory tour at Edmond Fallot in Beaune. It was Saturday which was market day. We only had a quick walk around because we had a train to catch. However to our delight Beaune had markets too!
We were wishing we had an Airbnb so we could sample some of the beautiful fresh produce.
The mustard factory tour was next. The factory or mill has been family owned since 1840.
We were shown how mustard is made. It starts with the crushing, using millstones, of the very small seeds and then adding water and vinegar. It is then put through a sieve to make the mustard creamy and smooth unless they are making a seeded mustard.
We attempted to make our own which Steve said wasn’t very good. It probably needed more time to process.
We then had a tasting of a variety of different mustards and foods that had mustard added.
They produce a large variety of different flavoured mustards today.
After the tour we had some time before the train back to Dijon so we stopped for lunch. It was very busy after market day. But we were lucky to find a lovely restaurant which was mostly seafood.
Back in Dijon we started the Owl Trail. With a stop for some wine and shopping (for me) in between. There are 22 owls. Too many! Here are some.
That night we had a booking at the second recommended restaurant L’essential. It turned out to be a much sought out restaurant by the locals with bookings necessary. And we found out why! The food was very good and beautifully presented. We had 3 dishes each paired with wine. I would highly recommend a visit to L’essential. Don’t forget to book!
We were so full!
The next day we had a full day Burgundy wine tour with Authentica Tours. It was a great experience. Our guide Paul was very knowledgeable.
The Burgundy region produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. I am not a fan of Chardonnay because it is usually fermented in wooden barrels and I don’t like the taste. The Chardonnay wines in the Burgundy region are fermented in stainless steel vats or wooden barrels, depending on the region, and when in barrels they use old oak so the taste isn’t as woody. So I found some Chardonnay’s that I liked.
Our first stop was to take in the view across the vineyards where the best of Burgundy’s red and white Grand Cru wines are produced. Here Paul gave us a very detailed discussion of the differences in the wine in relation to where it is grown on the hillside.
We stopped for one tasting at Moillard Grivot to taste some Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs.
We then had a 2 hour stop in Beaune for lunch. We had been there the day before and had plans to maybe visit the museum but lunch took longer than expected. We both had the traditional beef bourguinon.
The second tasting was at a small family winery Domaine Philippe Leclerc that is well known for its Pinot Noir’s.
It was quite a fascinating building and in the cellar underneath there were rooms going in all directions and crammed full of an unusual collection of antiques and taxidermy animals and other weird stuff!
At the winery we tasted a variety of Pinot noirs from the Cote Nuit region of burgundy. They were ranging from “village” to “premier cru”, across a few different plots and vintages. The 2020 les Platieres was the winner for us.
We then drove back to Dijon to enjoy our final night. We loved Dijon. It was so nice to be back in an old town.