Les Dijonnais

The Frenchies are still here - blame it on the capricious weather. Our designated destination displays cloudy weather today so since we had no reservations this week, we decided to stay put in our little chez nous and enjoy what Dijon has to offer.

First on the list was Louna's haircut. Since it's vacation time, we finally decided to say bye-bye to her baby-hair and she gamely obliged. I think that she even enjoyed her pampering time at the salon, she talked non-stop while her coiffeuse cut her hair. A promising talkative little girl.

We were also able to enjoy our little garden which is most often neglected because of our busy everyday lives. Some little pleasures like going to the restaurants, leisure-walking at the town center, walking at the nearby forest, eating out with friends, watching DVDs with Louna and simply doing siesta every afternoon are already priceless rewards for us. Who would say we aren't on vacation yet?

Tomorrow, we will probably load our car with our stuffs and finally hit vacation... did I said probably?

Folklorique Dijon

The whole weekend was totally animated in Dijon. As it was frenchguy's birthday last Friday, we decided to while away our time outside, just like the old times. Downtown Dijon was packed with young students due to an open-air concert offered by France Bleu Bourgogne to celebrate the school opening. Yes dudes, back to school! The noise was unbearable (are we getting old?) so we decided to scout a restaurant far from these party people. And the choice was just fantastic. We didn't even notice it before considering we lived just nearby.

Saturday was family day. Oh, actually, we just stayed at home the whole day, doing household chores. Hehe, is that family day for you too? That night, we were invited at a friend's house for dinner..to celebrate frenchguy's birthday!

Yesterday, Sunday, we decided to go out to attend the fêtes de la vigne and to watch the parade of all the countries invited in Dijon to showcase their folklore. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves (if only I could equally capture the ambiance..)

Burgundy, France

Brittany, France

Bulgaria

Ukraine

Poland

Slovakia

Serbie and Montenegro

Italy

Portugal

Israel

India

Futuna Island

Sakha Republic

Brazil - the star of the parade!

It was a 32°C afternoon, so imagine those europeans with their national costumes! Good thing there were these hot Brazilians to change the atmosphere. Whoa!

Fête de la Vigne

The still timid color-changing of the leaves at the park and around the area announces another season - the coming of autumn! September promises a festive ambiance in Côte d'Or - the harvest time where viticuleurs (wine growers) stick to their old tradition by harvesting their grapes manually!

What's remarkable in this region is the long coast of vineyards where Burgundy wines are extracted and aged to perfection. In fact, the autumn color of these vineyards reflects the name of the region: Côte d'Or. Côte which means Coast and Or which means Gold (the color of the grapevine during autumn). Some oldies even consider that the name came from the fact that this region is a haven, a gold mine for viticulteurs, which isn't faux after all. And who wouldn't? You could buy the best and the most expensive wine here.

The 1st day of September opens the much-awaited Fête de la Vigne (Wine Festival) in Côte d'Or. Every year, the region offers the biggest international cultural show. A batch of representatives from all over the world come to this region ready to showcase their folklore to bag a recognition. This year, representatives from Brazil will surely fire up the ambiance in the avenues of Dijon. Other delegations are from Italy, Serbie and Montenegro, Ukraine, Sakha Republic, Greece, Slovakia, India, Israel and Bulgaria.

Tracking back, Fidji Island made the Dijonnais scream with enthusiasm year 2003, Africa hit the road with powerful energy (and kilikili power!!) as they paraded last year. 2002 was my first Fête de la Vigne, and what's so special is that, we had a delegation from the Philippines. Honestly, at first, it was a lousy parade. While everybody was dancing in the streets, the Pinoys were walking leisurely while singing Bayan Ko accompanied by their guitars. And then, infront of the jury, they started singing Douce France. Oh well, I was thinking, f***, that's not even our folksong! But hey, after a while I started to hear everybody singing the same song...so who cares hehe..after all, we're karaoke champions, right?

That night, I invited frenchguy to watch the championship (participants are already preselected) and was surprised to learn that the Philippines were among the contestants...Ano pa nga ba? Of course, we got the first place and the audience's favorite category (sipsip, kumanta ba naman in french hehe)..laban ka?

This Saturday, the streets of Dijon will surely be busy with cultural delegations from France and all over the world. That would mean: FIESTA! Sunday promises a long queue of dégustation (wine tasting) of non other than the best wines of Burgundy (on the list are 1er Cru and Grand Cru!) and a parade of all the representative countries just before the show where the best among the bests will be selected. So if you haven't booked anything for this weekend, consider Dijon and remember, I'm just a click away.

PRINTEMPS

Spring season will officially ray its light on the 20th of March, that’s in two weeks time, and that would mean closet reorganization – thick pullovers and jackets a shelf higher – thinner pullovers and skirts on accessible shelves. I’m actually impatient to see those leaves and flowers sprout up from their dormant season – the glow of the sun as it gently caresses each petal, the birds coming back from their winter hideaway, longer daylight, more people crisscrossing in parks and centre-villles, the world transforming from grey to green and eventually, reopening of the very French terrace cafés. But with the snow endlessly covering the whole of France and the rest of Europe, I guess my thick pullovers will still conquer the lower shelves of my closet.

Never had I considered Dijon as a winter wonderland, but this year, I guess it merits to be nominated! Since December, snows come and go, as if they found a new playground, sometimes they rest, sometimes they don’t. Already in mid-march but snow downfall is still forecasted eventhough they’re not anymore le bienvenu.

Luckily, I succeeded to persuade frenchguy to buy a maison de ville (houses in the city center) rather than a maison de campagne (houses in the outskirts of the city). Roads are well salted (to increase the friction between the road and the tire) and well kept in villes than in the suburbs. Hmm, not really. Dijon had a heavy snow downfall last Friday and inspite of the efficient road maintenance, snow persisted.

As I take the same road itinerary everyday, I don’t really pay attention anymore on road signs or road conditions. I know it by heart. I can even go to work with my eyes closed. I know where the radars, the traffic lights, the policemen, and the schools are, hence I know where to decelerate. I was then in complete surprise (I was actually frightened!) when I glided and almost touched the parked cars as I shifted left to join the next avenue. That was my first ever car-slide! Lesson learned!

Well, enough for me. I already had a good dose of winter this year, but as I am writing this entry, the snow outside still continues to tease me. A big PRINTEMPS is printed on the 20th of my calendar, but the sole indication that it’s really coming is the longer daylight, other than that, everything reminds me of winter.

journées européennes du patrimoine

this weekend is like an open-house here in dijon. everything is open to visitors for free: universities, museums, city hall, everything! it's the europian patrimony day. in exposition is dijon's liberation from german (nazi) occupation way back 1940 - 1945. it's very interesting to see those pictures of the past, making you re-live the history and have a feel of it.

on the same weekend is the braderie here in dijon..yep, weekend sale! it's just so sad that shopping is not at all my stuff. i hate checking and searching with all those varieties and choices...i prefer buying something which i already saw somewhere, so i just have to search for this particular product..no hassles...so dont be surprised if you see me with the same clothing as that of the manequin infront of the shop...yeah, that's how lazy i am...

ill try to bring a camera tomorrow and grab some shots so you could get a snap of dijon too..