Yesterday, we took our long-overdue trip to Dijon, by far the largest town we’ve visited on this trip. Dijon has a big-town feel, with a thoroughly modern urban sprawl on the outskirts (KFC anyone?) and an old section in the center of town that attracts all the tourists (like us).

Pictured above is a room in a palace that belonged to the Dukes of Burgundy. Pretty swanky! But the old section of Dijon also offered a dazzling array of pastry shops (pictured here), bread shops, etc. I swear I’ve gained 10 pounds in two weeks!

Also interesting to us were all the medieval carvings that adorned the buildings in the old part of town. These faces were everywhere on wood-framed buildings. And what I also find fascinating is that these monuments to antiquity — each at least two hundred years older than the oldest structures we have in the United States — are not assigned museum status, but rather are used for every kind of commercial enterprise you can think of, every day, with folks living on the top floors.

The images are kept precisely within the outline of the building or wall, as you can see in the picture here, which is displayed on the front of a medieval tutor-styled building.

Each one is different. This one seems to be an introduction to Beaune, but others detail the changing seasons or the history of the cathedral here. Very cool. Everyone stops and watches for a moment then moves on. Just a little joi de vivre courtesy of the town.

We went to see a showing of three silent films last night. They were housed in an old barn (timbers shown here) and the movies were accompanied by solo pianist.

Unlike the overpriced restaurant we stumbled into off the main square in Beaune (full of Americans), this event was attended mostly by French people. And how French it was: Silent movies of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and Harry Lloyd. Who else is trying to preserve that little slice of film history?

The kids loved the movies, by the way. Laughed right along and didn’t miss a beat. Tiny snippet here. Excuse the shaky cam and the brevity and the sideways view; the phone was bright, and I didn’t want to tick off the French!

The abbey is 1000 years old and was founded by St. Bernard. It thrived until the French Revolution, when, as usual, all hell broke loose. Before long it was a paper mill.

As is typical of these historic buildings throughout France, this one was taken on by a forward-thinking benefactor and restored to its original condition, which is stunning.

The grounds are so severely pruned and picked over that not a pebble is out of place. With my own backyard labors as a benchmark, I’d say it takes no fewer than a dozen people to keep this place looking so pristine.

Alas, the religious history was lost on me, but I loved the grounds.

During the revolution (1789), if you were an aristocrat like the Duke of Burgundy, you got out of dodge as fast as you could, and you didn’t look back. Mobs roamed the countryside and looted/destroyed many of these abandoned castles. This particular castle lost its keep, the largest tower, when a mob pulled it down over the side of the cliff.

Many townspeople incorporated architectural elements from the looted castles into their much more modest homes. So you might see an unassuming cottage with an insanely ornate window.

Beginning around 1799, after a decade of looting, the new French government seized all these abandoned estates and, to raise money, sold them to demolition companies, which extracted timber and stone and what not. Piece by piece, a good number of France’s castles were dismantled around Napoleon’s time.

Estates that were spared typically belonged to someone who either flew under the radar (as opposed to the Duke of Burgundy) or who was notably kind to the local folk prior to the revolution (apparently, the castle Chananceau was saved that way).

The Duke’s castle pictured here was restored beginning in the 1870s. It took about 25 years. It took two full years just to re-excavate the 72-foot well!

That’s all for today’s history lesson. There will be a quiz tomorrow.

This particular castle is surrounded by a carp-filled moat. Huge fish that lunch at the bread chunks you’re given in the gift shop for that purpose.

More splendid that this, however, was the drive to and from. I can’t get over how restorative this landscape is to one’s office-trapped soul. Vineyards and stone walls, framed on one side by mountains and the other by a lush valley, over which clouds pile on top of each other in dramatic fashion.

A note about the weather: What I first described as sunny and temperate is in fact more complicated. It seems there is a pattern to the daily weather. It’s never particularly cold or hot, but the cloud/sun/rain dynamic shifts throughout the day. You can wake up to blue sky and have rainfall by noon. Or vice versa. The rain never lasts long, but it’s often a downpour. At worst, you’re stranded in a book store for a while. At best, you are treated to the kind of views that have made Burgundy famous.

We stopped in a town called Autun, which has some Roman architecture, including an amphitheater. Perfect semi-circle of seats cut into the mountainside with a river as a backdrop. Those Romans!

Later, I took the boys to get our hair cut. New experience. Finley was still in teenager mode (“Why are you trying to ruin my life?!”) so I was down my ace translator. Henry and I limped along with hand gestures and managed to get our hair cuts. Good cuts, but far too much gel!

Today, we’re heading to Dijon, about a 30 minute drive. Dinner out tonight to celebrate.

Later, stopped in a cheese shop. I felt like Wallace from Wallace & Gromit. I asked the owner if a particularly stinky cheese was sufficiently strong, and she winked at me. Ah, France!

Kids are holding up pretty well without their usual electronic aids. Henry’s taken to journal writing, which is a freak out. We’re not saying anything for fear of jinxing it. Finley’s on book 100 or something, and Esmé has entered imaginary stuffed animal world. Deeply.

I’m reading the first Harry Potter book. Yes, the first. All the others have read all the books, but I like to see if something has legs before I jump on board.