L'Avenir - Cruising Europe's Inland Waterways

Lovely Dijon Once again I'm writing this blog months after events. We are now back home in Australia. For various reasons I couldn't summon up the necessary energy to write a blog 'in real time' but I did keep a diary which I'll use as an 'aide memoire' and some of what I'll write will just be the diary transcribed. We spent an excellent couple of weeks in Scotland visiting family before continuing to France. Covid and Brexit have both affected travel in negative ways. Everything is just 'more' although I suppose we should just be grateful we can do so at all. It's not so long ago that we weren't able to move more than 5km from our homes. 'Tuesday 21st June 2022 Dijon  Had a near panic attack at Charles de Gaulle airport.  Message 'access refuséé' flashed up on the electronic passport reader. An immigration official instantly materialised at my side. 'That's not good, ' he said sadly. A pause and then 'The Shru...

We left Dijon a week ago – long enough to forget our would-be bike thief (except when I sit on the damaged and therefore even more uncomfortable seat) and recall a few of the many good things about the city.   During the 14 th and 15 th centuries Dijon was the capital of Burgundy, then a huge and rich Dukedom extending as far north as Flanders and east to Switzerland. Today Bourgogne may be much smaller but the city is expanding into the countryside. Should you travel out to the termini of the tram routes (which we did just because we had an inexpensive day pass and we could) you will quickly find yourself amongst block after block of new, low rise apartments and eventually a huge shopping mall ‘in progress’. As yet, the old city still has a vibrant shopping centre. Let’s hope it survives. Most of Dijon’s tourist attractions are within the ‘Quartier Ancien’ – the medieval centre. Typical decorative tiled roof Dijon's most famous product No, not beer...

I had intended this post to tell you how much we have enjoyed our stay in Dijon with its quaint medieval streets, handsome Place de la Liberation, imposing Palais des Ducs,   cathedrals, restaurants, mustard, pain d’epice (gingerbread) and more. Sadly, all that has been overshadowed by a couple of incidents. For the first time in our 6 years of cruising we have been bothered by thieves – twice in one week. Perhaps we have just been lucky up until now. The port at Dijon is a short tram ride to the city (and, for those Melbournites amongst you, the trams are great. You can easily buy a rechargeable cardboard ticket at any stop and you touch on by waving your ticket in front of the machine as you board – works even if it’s in your wallet or bag. No touching off. Simple, efficient, cheap.) The port has water and electricity but no captain to collect mooring fees and so, at the moment, it is entirely free. Thank you city of Dijon. Perhaps that’s the reason that one or two ...