Riding Around: Saint-Etienne to Dijon

A transit day today, so sort of a rest day. Which is fortunate because it is pouring outside!

I had a loll then went out to get something for breakfast. You can tell the town is actually waking up today; people about, shops opening up. I got a mini baguette ham and cheese sandwich and a Flan and then wandered back to the room to eat them, nice. While I was out I checked the opening time of the store I got the maps at yesterday and went back at 9 to get the Paris environs maps; I may as well get it now while I know where to get it.

Then I lolled some more and eventually made my way down at 9:45. It took a bit of time, then the bike packing and I began to realise I’d left it a bit too late. I wore shorts rather than cycling pants as it is only 1K to the train at each end. Of course it felt a lot longer by the time I got there in the driving rain L

I was correct; I’d left it too late and was still waiting in line 10 min after the train I’d planned to catch. No problem; there is a train to Lyon every 30 minutes and from there to Dijon every hour. In a way it is a better solution as I now have 40 minutes at Lyon station to find the platform and get there instead of having to rush from train to train in 10 min.

The ride to Lyon was uneventful (although I hadn’t worked out how to certify my ticket) and it had stopped raining by the time I got there. Once in Lyon I bought a tuna demi-baguette and coke and then stood around waiting for the platform to be announced; then with only 8 min until it was due headed up to the platform. The train arrived a few minutes early and I eventually discovered the bike area right at the front of the train. Pretty luxurious for a bike, 6 hooks and a large empty carriage with nice seats. About 20 minutes after we set off the conductor came through and explained that this carriage was closed to passengers; the bike was ok I just needed to move back a carriage.

The new carriage was also quite comfortable, mainly because it was almost empty. I’ve often wondered why trains keep having sitting with 2 x 2 facing each other; everyone is uncomfortable… The trip was over 2 hours and I read and may have dozed off for a bit as well. The conductor was funny, he would read out his script at each stop incredibly quickly. I could never pick out the train station name but I think it may have been at the beginning.

Once into Dijon, the final stop I retrieved the bike and then rolled down to the hotel. The hotel is very modern, key codes not keys, and we just managed to squeeze my bike into the luggage room. I don’t think you’d be getting two bikes in there!

I went and showered and then went for a walk around town. It is a nice town, historic with lots of charming streets in a large mall area and several old churches. The one near the hotel had a crypt so I popped down for a look; 11^th century although there is a burial area from the 2^nd century. As I left there it started to rain so I stopped outside a restaurant which it turned out had a 150 Euro degustation. Sigh, where are Ken or Paul when you need them?

After the rain stopped I continued to wander through the old town and took a look at the Ducal Palace but did not go in as it was already late. It rained again and I stood outside another restaurant which had 70 Euro tasting menus. Sigh. There are lots of nice regional food stores (Dijon mustard of course) but everything is too bulky to take on the bike so I had to pass it all up. I picked Dijon because it was a large town (I could point to it on the map at the train ticket office) and because it was reasonably close to Paris. What I hadn’t really given any thought to was where it was… Burgundy! If I’d gotten off a bit earlier I could have gone to some of the most famous Burgundy wine areas. Bum.

After a long walk I got a lemon tart with strawberries (to tide me over until dinner) and went back to the hotel to eat it and have a read. I finished my last e-book so I bought a few more to read now and later on the plane.

Around 7 I set off again, this time in search of dinner. I’d done some searching and a few sites recommended Dr Wine which was quite close. I checked out a number of other places but how do you chose? So I went to Dr Wine and, as I was early, was able to get in without a booking. The meals are actually quite small but I had a basket of really scrummy bread with the entrée and with the main so I was fine. The entrée was a Salmon Carpaccio with a 2011 Grand Cru Chablis. Delicious! The main was, naturally, Beef Bourgignon with a 2013 Pinot Noir; also delicious. I used the bread to get every last drop of the sauce out of the bowl! I was then pondering whether to have dessert or get another main (I went a la carte) but in the end decided I wasn’t that hungry so I got a lime cheese cake with a nice 2012 Sauterne.