My Grandmother turns 90 this year and has been planning for her party since the last time I visited France in 2023. I was told in only half jokingly that if I didn’t show up I would be banished from the family so I made sure to have 2 weeks of PTO for this trip. The first week was spent near where she lives in southern France. I didnt take too many pics, other than the ~800 I took at the party which are only getting shared with family. The party itself was amazing. She rented out the entire hotel for the 30~40 family members so we could party without worries. The rest of the time was spent eating, planning on where to eat next, and when adventurous some little hike or excursion around town or the nearby Canal du Midi.
One of the big meals was Cassoulet, a dish with beans and some meats cooked in basically duck lard. Damn good, super heavy especially for lunch, and 100% worth it.
After the 90th party we headed off to Dijon in the East of France, somewhere I had never been. It is one of the old cities in France that had been a center of wealth since the 1400s and was spared from both World Wars. Its had so many wealthy religious people living here in the middle ages and they all wanted to go to heaven so they built massive churches and hospitals to “buy” their way in. We stayed in an old convent converted into a hotel that had a sizable sequoia growing in the courtyard. The thick stone walls killed any free wifi except in very precise locations in the rooms. This was a reoccurring trend thru out this trip. In between all of our meals we went around and visited a few museums and churches. And yes, we of course went to both of the super famous Mustard places in Dijon. We also visited the Hospice of Beaune, a hospital that was in use from the 1400s to ~1970s and is roofed in colored tiles. Also in Beaune we visited an underground wine cellar that has 4km of tunnels for storing wine as it ages. You may have imaged as I did that it would all be in barrels but nope! Its already been bottled and then just stacked there in massive piles lining the walls.
There were a ton of streets in downtown Dijon that looked exactly like this one. Same with the churches
We climbed up the ancient tower at the center of town which had a great view of the original main town center. Walking around town we caught this baker in the middle of making some local delicacy.
This wooden carving folding showcase. So much fine delicate work.
Breakfast at one of the indoor marketplaces that had all types of different foods.
We then spent a few days at my cousin’s new farm house for a few days. The nearest neighbors are a 10~15 minute walk away and town even farther, with fewer than 1000 people. They even have a tiny spring in the back yard tubed to the stone water basin found in front of many farm houses, and big stone walls that killed wifi and kept us quite chilly at night. The lack of house-wide heating might have also been a factor for the night chill. This was once again a lot of chilling but we did go ride Mobylettes around for an afternoon. They are a cross between a bicycle and motorcycle created in the 1970s France, fitted with an engine that made more noise than power and pedals to help kick start it or when going uphill. My parents have spoken throughout my life about how they rode these when they were teens.
Views from near my cousin’s place. And of the Mt Blanc from my flight home.
The Mobylette were indeed a blast, though some needed help going uphill. Make sure to watch those 2 videos with the sound on to get the full experience! While showing off the natural spring we saw this salamander.
