Day 75, Saturday, November 11, 2023

I wanted to go find the Reims owl that is on the Notre Dame church near us before we leave.  There is a little story about an owl saving the town from a fire by sounding an alarm when everyone was sleeping.  Rubbing this little owl is supposed to bring good luck.  There are owl  medallions set in the road that lead tourists to the sights in Reims, kind of like the medallions we followed in Arles when we found the spots where Van Gogh painted.  Too bad we didn’t get a chance to do that here.  I didn’t get to see much of Dijon but Bob was able to do more sightseeing.

One more photo of the Notre Dame church with all the gargoyles, and the little owl.   At the top of the church tower there’s a clock called the “Jacquemart de Dijon.” Jacquemart means “bell-striker”.

This clock has mechanical people who hit a bell with a hammer to signal the hour. This one has  a whole family.  The mom and dad are Jacqueline and Jacquemart and their two children are named Jacquelinet and Jacquelinette. The parents strike the hours and the children strike the quarter hours. ~ Photo from Wikipedia.

Bob says he can drive today…I must say that I am relieved.  I am sure I could have driven if  needed but I am very happy that I didn’t  need to. We take the toll highway and it is a three hour drive and a 30€ toll, but it is the fastest, easiest way to get to Reims.  That is what we need today. Taking photos while we are driving helps pass the time and keeps me occupied when I am not feeling great.

We have seen these growths on trees before but now that the leaves have fallen they really look strange.

This looks much like the fields we see in Alberta.

The trees have really turned colour in the last couple weeks.

We stop at one of the rest areas along the highway to have our lunch and then we both have a sleep for about an hour!  Feeling somewhat refreshed we are on our way again.  The sun comes out for a bit, so much better than driving in the rain!  We have not seen many animals in the fields on this trip, but we see quite a few dairy cattle today.  I like cows…one day I will find a herd and spend the whole day drawing them.

We see several of these big modern grain elevators…

and lots of wind turbines…

After just another hour of driving we stop for another break, and another wee nap!  There are lots of little towns and villages on the hilltops in the distance.

It rains on and off again and we see lots of interesting clouds…

and just before we arrive in Reims we see a rainbow!

I like these trees all in a row.  There have been so many beautiful shades of green on the drive to Reims.  I think that there are winter crops that are just starting to grow so the greens remind me of the the fresh spring green colours I see in Alberta.We are both tired and thankful that we our Reims Airbnb host is letting us check in early.