"We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment". ~Hilaire Belloc
After a good night sleep and very pleasant breakfast
I went to the city centre to do some sights. Estella was a very nice
host and I really appreciate her flexibility and no objections to my late
arrival. You know, I just do not want to be a nuisance to anyone,. Currently,
she does not have much time because she is finishing her PhD in Geology, but I am
really thankful for having the opportunity to stay overnight.
As I have already mentioned, sightseeing on the
bike is much more comfortable than on foot. I can scurry through the town
very easily and fast with no effort which is particularly handy if you want to
see many things in a short time available. Today is another resting day
for me and I am writing this post in a nice city park while having
only 60 km to make later in the evening. Therefore, I can afford the
luxury of sitting in the city park, enjoying my rest time, drinking wine and
eating cookies. It is just awesome!
...
Sightseeing in Dijon was great; I had plenty of
time to walk around, muse about and even attended a mass in the cathedral.
The way out from Dijon; however, was extremely difficult – I just could
not find the right direction in an endless amount of various roundabouts,
one-way roads, squares etc. It took me about half an hour to figure it out.
Afterwards, I went to a supermarket to buy something for food and
quite honestly, I was a little bit afraid of leaving my bike unattended
in one suburb of Dijon. There is a huge prejudice in the western world
about people living in high building flats. The reason is simple. I hate broad generalizations,
but it is difficult to put the solemn true in other words. In France, similar
buildings are allegedly homes for uneducated people, mostly living from
paycheck to paycheck, just earning a living wage as sweat labor. Of
course, in Slovakia, the situation is somewhat similar, however there is one
little difference: The overall level of education is somehow mixed and in flats
you will find both blue collar workers and families with solid academic background
(like me, for instance ) and in general, it is not considered as shame in broad
public to live in those suburbs because there are not many people who can
afford living in a house unless they inherit one. Ouch, I am totally
talking around the bush, what I was to say is the simple truth that people
living in such suburbs in France look somehow different than people I usually
see every day on my street. Those people looked culturally different and far
away from the typical French image. They had rather a blank face expression
which did give a scary look. I do not want to judge anyone,
I have no idea what he or she had to get through, but the point is that
suburbs in France are vastly different from suburbs in Slovakia or in central
Europe in general - this I can say with utmost certainty. That is why
I rushed to finish my shopping to get out of that place as quickly as
possible and was quite afraid that somebody can steal my bike anytime.
For the evening I did not have any intensive
workout planned – just about 60 km. The route, as usually, surprised me once
again when it changed from the perfectly paved street in Dijon area to a country
road for the next 50 km. It was not such a hell as yesterday, but still,
I am fully covered with mud and thus my great impression from finally
being tidy and well-cared ended unexpectedly soon. Now I look again as
a disheveled tramp – well, why not.
On the way I decided to listen to some favorite
songs, but they all rekindled old memories and made me homesick. I could
not bear that so I got back to my French course and philosophy readings.
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