In Dijon, we were taken straight to the train station. That was a shame. Dijon had been the main home of the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th to the late 15th centuries although not much from the earlier dukes remained. The oldest parts of the ducal palace were from the 14th & 15th centuries and the main portions from the 17th & 18th centuries, but it still would have been nice to have had some of that pointed out as we zipped on by.
A lot of the non-ducal architecture in the town, from the 12th to 15th centuries, remained and was undamaged by wars. The crypt of Dijon Cathedral was over 1,000 years old. Its roof was decorated much as the hospital in Beaune with tiles glazed in terracotta, green, yellow and black and arranged in geometric patterns.
The original home of Dijon mustard, Dijon has several sister cities in other countries. I was especially intrigued by Dallas, Texas as that was the city in which I grew up. Prague in the Czech Republic and York in England were two others that caught my attention as they are a couple of my favorite cities.
Dijon is an important railway junction for many cities and towns in France, Switzerland, and Italy, with its high speed TGV train. From Dijon to Paris-Gare de Lyon, the journey takes just one hour and 40 minutes to cover 190 miles (300 km).
When we arrived at the train station, we needed to wait a bit for the gate to be announced for our departing train and for our intrepid cruise director, Jean Loup, to get our tickets. We all met downstairs near the gate. We weren’t allowed onto the platform without our tickets, so we just hung out leaning against the walls and waving others, who thought we were in line, past us.
Once on the platform, it wasn’t long before the train arrived. Our seats were upstairs. So we climbed up the steps, found our seats and settled in for the ride. Nobody was in the seat next to me so I was able to pop my camera bag in the window seat and get comfortable.
Everybody pulled out the food they had purchased in Beaune and had lunch about a half hour into the ride. I had a filled pastry and a small orange. Knowing that we would be having a large dinner that evening, I had gone for a light lunch.
The journey through the French country-side was a pleasant one and we soon entered the Paris city limits, heading for the Gare de Lyon. Upon arrival, the five of us going to the Tapestry II were loaded onto one coach and the other six, plus Jean Loup, onto another coach. Then our journey through central Paris began.
The amount of lanes for motorized vehicles had been reduced by the current mayor, so moving through Paris took much longer than usual. The mayor felt that it would be better to have parts of every street made into lanes for bicycling and walking. She also wanted more people to use public transportation. So motorized vehicles had half as many lanes for their use as before.
To get from the Gare de Lyon to where our ship was docked near the Eiffel Tower took over an hour. Along the way, we passed by Notre Dame. It was the first time I had seen it in person since the fire (I had seen it on previous trips and had always visited). I took some photos as we drove past the cathedral. I also managed to take some of the Louvre, the Place de la Concorde, and the Grand Palais.
When we arrived at the ship, we were met by our new cruise director, Gayle. I had something for her from Jean Loup that I passed on before heading to my cabin. Our cabin numbers were the same on the new ship as they had been on the Poetry II. That helped. The colors on the ship were different, although the layout was exactly the same.
My cases were waiting for me in my cabin. I just needed to unpack enough to dress up a little for dinner.
This time we had 37 people on the trip. Two were Canadian and the rest Americans. There were several more women traveling on their own. I spent some time with a few of them while on excursions or having lunch or breakfast.
We had escargot again at dinner. This time I managed to free all of mine from their shells (although it did mean that I had to totally crush one of the shells).
Dinner was served a little earlier than usual, so there was plenty of time for me to fully unpack and settle in after dinner.
We discovered that trials were beginning the following day in Paris at the Palais de Justice on the Ile de Cite for some of the men who were accused of involvement in the terrorist attacks all over Paris on the 13th of November in 2015. Most of the men directly involved had been killed as they were mainly suicide bombers. The attacks took place at such venues as a concert hall and a soccer stadium, as well as at several cafes, leaving 130 people dead and 460 injured.
Once everyone was on the ship, we had turned around and headed down the Seine in the direction of the Normandy coast shortly after everyone was on board. We would spend several days in Normandy before returning to Paris at the end of the cruise.
Next time – Vernon & Bizy Castle
