Slowing down the pace

We hopped on a train to Dijon this morning.  Well, we didn't actually hop on the train.  That makes it sound like it is easy to travel with this much luggage.  More likely, we crawled on a train to Dijon this morning.  It was only a 1.5 hour train ride, which was pretty manageable.

After we arrived at our apartment (and hoisted our luggage up three flights of stairs -- must get to the Y more often...), we settled in for a much more relaxed pace.  This is the portion of our trip where we breathe deeply and relax.  We kept a breakneck pace in Paris with very long hours, so this will be a vacation from our vacation.  The kids were able to watch TV for the first time in over a week (Disney Junior, mainly in French), while I hunted down the local MonoPrix, which is the French equivalent of Super Target.  I brought lunch in and Jack was actually able to take a small nap this afternoon.

We headed back out late this afternoon to explore our part of Dijon.  According to my guidebook, Dijon was the capital of the duchy of Burgundy from the 11th to 15th centuries.  We are going to tour around tomorrow, so I will fill you in on some of the history then.  All I know right now, is that it has really beautiful medieval buildings everywhere you turn.  Our apartment is a half of a block from the main square in front of the Palais des Ducs.  Our kids (and lots of local kids, too) are already loving the fountains that run through the square.

We walked around a bit and chose a spot for dinner (outside of course).  The kids were just excited that I let them wear flip flops, since I knew we didn't have to walk far.  I have been making them wear their Keens every day, and apparently that hasn't been letting their feet feel some freedom.  Dan and I ordered a carafe of a local Burgundy wine, expecting it to come in a glass carafe.  Instead, it was served in a pottery jug.  I had to take a picture.

Dijon considers the owl a good luck symbol for its town, so there are plaques of owls that create a walking path to follow through the town.  We are going to attempt to follow the owls tomorrow.  This was a very exciting discovery for Sidney, since owls are her favorite animal.

Jack wouldn't be a part of the picture.  He says, "I no like owls.  I follow dinosaur path."  We will see how that goes tomorrow.  We have assured him that he will see dinosaurs in Brussels.  If we get to Brussels next week and the Natural History Museum is closed, I am in deep trouble.