Day four is almost in the books and let me tell you, what a day it's been. At times it was challenging, particularly in syncing up with our bus, but it was a fantastic day nonetheless.
A visit to Notre Dame de Paris
The day began with another Spiritus first: a concert at the famed Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris. We attracted a bit of a crowd as we sang sacred selections from our tour repertoire. Thanks to the wonders of technology, I can work on creating a video of one of the selections that Spiritus sang in Notre Dame so stay tuned for that.
Following our concert, we had a chance to scatter for a few hours. Some, like myself, attempted to get a tour of the towers, which leads to a most breathtaking view of the city next to some of the gargoyles. Alas, that will have to be a return visit, because we simply didn't have enough time to wait in the rather long line-up before we left for Dijon. That's OK, though: there were a lot of pictures taken, given the grandness that Notre Dame offered.
From Paris to Dijon
We spent most of the afternoon travelling to Dijon, where we will be stationed for the next few days. And believe me, there's definitely more to Dijon than mustard.
I'm definitely struck by how much quieter it is in Dijon. I don't have to worry about skateboarders outside my window, which is a big plus. It's also a rather lush city, with lots of trees and green vegetation. I'm definitely settling into the city rather nicely.
There's also a lot of construction going on, which made things rather interesting for our tour bus. Thankfully, Angelique, our driver, navigated the rather narrow steps like a pro. I'm pretty sure I'd be hitting every building with a bus that size.
We had a rather pleasant group dinner at a place called simply La Grande Taverne, where we were reminded that Dijon - and the Bourgogne region in general - is home to outstanding food. Along with my fantastic dinner of chicken and mushrooms, I indulged in what's called a Kir Royal, which is a popular French cocktail consisting of blackcurrant cassis and either white wine or champagne (mine was of the champagne variety).
After dinner, we walked back to the hotel - but not before getting lost, perhaps another reminder that the day wasn't entirely perfect. Oh well, the important this is we all got back safely, and are definitely looking forward to a new day, which will be highlighted by our next concert.
Let the adventures continue!
A visit to Notre Dame de Paris
The day began with another Spiritus first: a concert at the famed Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris. We attracted a bit of a crowd as we sang sacred selections from our tour repertoire. Thanks to the wonders of technology, I can work on creating a video of one of the selections that Spiritus sang in Notre Dame so stay tuned for that.
Following our concert, we had a chance to scatter for a few hours. Some, like myself, attempted to get a tour of the towers, which leads to a most breathtaking view of the city next to some of the gargoyles. Alas, that will have to be a return visit, because we simply didn't have enough time to wait in the rather long line-up before we left for Dijon. That's OK, though: there were a lot of pictures taken, given the grandness that Notre Dame offered.
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| Not many people see this entrance to Notre Dame… but Spiritus did (not that we used it, of course)! |
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| A look from the altar toward the front of Notre Dame |
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| The Pieta, which sits behind the altar at the back of Notre Dame |
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| Notre Dame definitely looms over you. Fantastic piece of architecture. |
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| Three archways lead into Notre Dame. The central arch is not used. The one on the right is used for entrance, while the one on the right is used for exits. Around the corner from the left-hand archway is the line-up to tour the towers. |
We spent most of the afternoon travelling to Dijon, where we will be stationed for the next few days. And believe me, there's definitely more to Dijon than mustard.
I'm definitely struck by how much quieter it is in Dijon. I don't have to worry about skateboarders outside my window, which is a big plus. It's also a rather lush city, with lots of trees and green vegetation. I'm definitely settling into the city rather nicely.
There's also a lot of construction going on, which made things rather interesting for our tour bus. Thankfully, Angelique, our driver, navigated the rather narrow steps like a pro. I'm pretty sure I'd be hitting every building with a bus that size.
We had a rather pleasant group dinner at a place called simply La Grande Taverne, where we were reminded that Dijon - and the Bourgogne region in general - is home to outstanding food. Along with my fantastic dinner of chicken and mushrooms, I indulged in what's called a Kir Royal, which is a popular French cocktail consisting of blackcurrant cassis and either white wine or champagne (mine was of the champagne variety).
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| Kir Royal (champagne variety) |
After dinner, we walked back to the hotel - but not before getting lost, perhaps another reminder that the day wasn't entirely perfect. Oh well, the important this is we all got back safely, and are definitely looking forward to a new day, which will be highlighted by our next concert.
Let the adventures continue!
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