Dijon, France: Mustard Capital of the Universe

This weekend we visited Dijon, arguably the mustard capital of the universe.  This store, Moutarde Maille, is ground zero for mustard.  Mustard with basil, with pimento, with figs, with truffles, olives, cherries and on and on....a veritable mustard heaven on earth.  Naturally, we had to support the local economy and bring home our share of mustard products.  Now, the question is how will we use all these different concoctions?  Just slapping some this nectar of the gods on a bratwurst just doesn't seem quite right.  Well, it will be an interesting culinary winter.

Besides mustard, Dijon is the capital of Burgundy, or Bourgogne.  And we all know from Julia Child that the local favorite here is Boeuf Bourguignon.  We sampled some, along with a serving of Coq au Vin, just to make sure we weren't missing anything.  Quite tasty, but I think we'll stick with our Mediterranean diet for now.  One cool thing about Dijon, is the Owl's Trail, a very clever, and useful, marketing gimmick to guide visitors through all the hot spots of old Dijon.  You start by rubbing your left hand (the side closest to your heart) on the owl which has occupied the corner of the cathedral for centuries.  This is to bring you good luck, and so far so good.

Another highlight is the town clock, which was taken as war loot from Courtrai (Belgium) by the grand duke and given to the people of Dijon in 1383, in recognition of their help in the war against Flanders.

The clock originally only featured the statue of the single man, Jacquemart.  People joked about his bachelor status for a few hundred years (I guess a good joke can go on for a long time) until in 1651 a female companion was added for him, Jacqueline.  Then, people made fun of their infertility and so that joke went on for another 60 years or so until in 1714, a little Jacquelinet was made for the clock.  Having one child proved to be so hilarious for the next 160 years until in 1884 little Jacquelinette was added to the clock.  The people of Dijon have been getting a good yuk out of this whole thing up to this day.  Who says these folks don't have a sense of humor?  

Here's a sample of other photos from our weekend.

Santorini

This was our second visit to Santorini.  When we first were here in March, 1992 it was a quieter place.  We had arrived about 5am on the ferry from Piraeus, were dog-tired and took a shuttle bus from the dock up to the main town of Fira.  This time we arrived on a luxury cruise ship, anticipating recalling happy memories of the place.  Of course, much has changed in 21 years.  Santorini is on the "must stop" list on cruise ship itineraries, a cable-car now whisks travelers up and down the hillside to town and the primary streets of  Fira are packed with people ogling the T-shirts, jewelry and other required items for the tourists to show the folks back home.

But, the island still has charm and I'm sure, from a material standpoint, life is much better for the 11,000 or so people who live here.  Prosperity has enabled Santorini to improve the facilities at its primary archaeological site, Akrotiri.  Money, generated by tourism, has enabled the islanders to improve education, with over 90% qualifying to enter university.  Apparently, local agriculture is even making a comeback as it attracts tourists to sample local produce.  So, while Santorini was, of course, not the same place we visited in 1992, it was still beautiful and, yes, romantic.

Ruins of Ancient Akrotiri

Messina, Sicily

OK, I know Messina is of historical importance.  But spending about four hours here really didn't give us a real feel for the place.  In the photo you can see the Strait of Messina, which separates Sicily from the mainland of Italy.  The thing I remember most about Messina is from the movie Patton, where the American Third Army, led by General George S. Patton and British General Montgomery were both trying to get to Messina first, in order to gain the glory for driving the Germans out of Sicily.  It's a great scene in the movie, by the way.  But for us on this beautiful October morning, we had to be content with a little drive around town and a peak at some of the streets of town.  Tanya and I both vowed that we need to come back to Sicily and spend a proper amount of time here.