Today:  Changing rivers... moving north.  We left Chalon-Sur-Saone early this morning for a bus ride to Dijon.  I learned that mustard is no longer the big industry that gave its name to the fantastic mustard that we can buy at Costco, two big jars for what one of those jars costs in Dijon.  The big mustard factory in the region is located in nearby Beaune where the good stuff is made mostly from mustard seeds and other ingredients that are shipped in from Spain and other places... another thing I thought I knew for sure that I definitely didn't know at all. Anyway, I like Dijon anyway.  Arches are a big thing for the French.  They represent significance and power... like the palace that the first Duke of Burgundy built for himself that would show the people of France that he was even more powerful than the king. They modern-day Dijon folks know how to mix in its cityscapes a little whimsy with somber architecture.  I especially liked a carousel placed strategically in a noble square in front of a red stripped house just up the street from a noble church.

Mid-day we took the TGV to Paris where the traffic is even more congested than I remembered.  But the Old wonderful stuff there is worth trouble of getting to it. We're headed out tomorrow to Giiverny for a visit to Monet's garden and house.  Other good stuff awaits us as we head north on the River Seine. We'll be back down to Paris at the end of next week.

And then Paris...