With a ticket already in hand from Chambery to Dijon, a short ride to Chzmbery was necessary. At the Chambery station, a man was playing thepiano quite well, so I lingered. I recognized Lara's theme from Doctor Zhivago.
At a restaurant in the city center frequented by locals (1), the owner (Christine) and I agreed that I would speak in French, and she would respond in English. "That's the polite way," she said (2). If nothing else, speaking in our non-native tounges made us speak more slowly. The local ravioli with Dauphiné and Savoie cheeses and walnuts was delicious.
Back at the station, someone else was playing Lara's theme again, this time with more artistic flourishes. After switching to the TGV (Train de Grand Vitesse, High Speed Train), the train arrived at Dijon with about an hour of daylight remaining. Along the way, the train passed (at 100+ mph) the cemetery in which Claude Nicéphore, the inventor of photography, is buried (3), attested to by a large sign visible from the speeding train.
A good stroll through Dijon voty center revealed a charming combination of old and new, with both French and German style influences. The former Palace of the Bourgogne Dukes, dominating the main square (Place de la Liberté), was illuminated at night.
(1) The placemats had advertisements for plumbers, the local optician, etc. Christine knew the orders of some people as soon as they walked in; she made quite a potent potable for Michelle.
(2) Louise Penny describes a similar phenomenon in her Inspector Gamache novels, set in Quebec (although they usually quickly switched to all English).
(3) I would have guessed DeGuerre of the eponymous Deguerreotype, but Nicéphore preceded him.
No comments:
Post a Comment