Aisha Isabelle

Day 3– Sarena and I visited the Musée des Beaux-Arts. It houses a lot of paintings of Angels and saints as well as works relating to royalty of Bourgogne (Burgundy) and Joan of Arc’s (alleged) sword.

After eating lunch we headed to the Musée Magnin. The museum is small and private and our Passe Éducation got us free entry. All other museums in Dijon are free to the public.

It was a nice museum to visit and there was a kids’ workshop scheduled for that afternoon (how cool to do artwork in a museum!). There were also a lot of clocks on display and we stopped at another church nearby after leaving the museum.

Later on, we had a bit of trouble finding the Musée de la Vie Bourgogne but we eventually made it there. This museum was much bigger than the Musée Magnin and it was great to see the rooms set up to resemble actual storefronts at certain time periods. The displays gave a really get a sense of the atmosphere of the city according to each era. There were also multiple displays of mustard (Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard, obviously).

After the visit, I requested to gain access into the Musee d’art sacré.

 I wasn’t there for long since we had to get to the Musée archéologique before it closed but I did get to see many goblets, or shall I say chalices, made of gold and I came across Saint Jacques once again.

At the Musée archéologique I was interested in the displays pertaining to ancient dieties. There were also beautiful blown glass vases (I want some). On the very bottom level of the building is funerary related stonework.

When we exited the museum at nightfall, we headed to the Christmas market at Place de la République and Sarena was able to get her friend a llama key chain. I’d gotten a friend of mine two types of mustard earlier, one with black currants and the other with lavender and honey (oooh la la!). We stopped for dinner before heading in and I arranged transportation back home (in Brittany).

The next day I woke up early and as I dragged my luggage to the bus stop I saw that it was 0 degrees Celsius. I was happy that morning and nothing could bring me down. It was as if I were in a Disney movie; I was singing songs, talking to myself and the birds, and cultivating happiness within me. The bus driver was cranky when I was paying for my ticket and when I arrived at my stop, I was the only person on the bus. I didn’t see the button I had to push for the doors to open so I walked up to ask her to let me out and she started griping but I didn’t let that sour mood bring me down.

My ride on the final leg of my journey back to Brittany was amazing. We talked about learning languages, family, and my experience in France. When I got back in, I discovered pistachio ice cream I had saved from a few weeks ago.  Throughout the next few days I kept discovering food that saved me from making a trip to the store until the New Year.

DEC 16