Dijon (like the mustard)

I went to Dijon this weekend with my study abroad program group and it is an absolutely beautiful city. We arrived in the morning and had some free time, so we were able to check out the open-air market (which had clothes, jewelery, purses, etc) and also the indoor food market. It was really fun, and they really do have a ton of mustard. I think they have about 30 varieties of Dijon here. So after walking around and having lunch, we had a guided tour of Dijon. She talked about this beautiful park (Place Darcy) and how the huge fountain in the center of the park was the first source of water found in Dijon and how it was used for drinking and such. Apparently Dijon used to have about 30 towers around the city, because it was a station used during the French Revolution. There is only one tower left, but unfortunately it is on the outskirts of the city and we weren't able to see it. They also have a mini Arc du Triompe (probably spelt that wrong) looking statue in the center of town with a beautiful flower garden in front of it. I'll have to post some pictures when I get them from Cesar (my poor camera eats batteries...) We also got to see two churches, and the Palais du Justice and there was a wedding going on there. Their weddings aren't anything like American ones, well at least this one wasn't. The bride was wearing a short white dress, nothing fancy and her husband was wearing a real simple suit. We also saw a bachelorette in Place Darcy. It is a French tradition for a newly engaged bride to get all dressed up (like in a costume, this bride was dressed kinda like Cruella de Ville with her face painted half black/half white) and they go around with their bridesmaids with a sign saying she's newly engaged and they collect money for the bachelorette party. If you donate money, they're supposed to give you something back, like a piece of candy. So that pretty much sums up the tour of Dijon. Dijon has three specialties: Dijon mustard (obvious), cassis (it is a 15-20% alcohol content black currant liquor that you're supposed to mix with white wine or champagne as a kir), and gingerbread. So the second day (today) we got up and went to Beaune, which is right outside of Dijon in the same region of France and we had a tour of the last family-owned mustard factory in this region of France. At one point in time, there were 250+ factories. The name of the mustard manufacturer is Fallot, and the lady said some of the varieties are shipped all over the world, and that you should be able to find it in specialty shops in the US. So we got to make mustard. Yes, we took some mustard seeds, salt and vinegar and ground the heck out of it. It was really hard to do. We tried the "mustard" and it was really bitter. It is supposed to sit in an open jar for 48 to mature before you bottle it to sell. We got to see some of the old machines that they used, and at the end we got to sample four different types. We had one Dijon mustard that was made with this white wine from the region, one that was made with cassis, one with the gingerbread spices, and one with tarragon. It was fun. I bought alot of mustard and some cassis jam. We also went to an old hospice that had really cool tiled roofs, they're tiled in patterns because the land is relatively flat and in the old days people used to see the roofs from a distance and they knew that was a place they could go if they were sick and needed help. They still have the beds lined up against the wall, and the guide said that it was generally 2-3 people per bed because it was always crowded and also because it would keep them warm. They were tiny beds too, like twin size. Anyway, we had a 3 hour drive home, and now I'm back in Grenoble. I made some spicy meatball subs tonight for dinner because I found some hot ketchup in the store the other day and was really excited so I bought some. They turned out really well. Hope all is warm and well back in Texas. I miss it :)