About 2 weeks ago I received a message from a friend of mine in Pittsburgh asking if I wanted to join her family and a couple of others who were renting a whole Chateau in France this week, realizing that I was already in France and relatively close by. She said that there would be plenty of room. It worked perfectly into my developing travel plans, at the time, so I said YES! I then figured out how to get to this tiny town through Romeo2Rio, a website that searches all possible ways of getting from one place to another. Which was why I chose Dijon for a couple of days as it was halfway between were I was in Avignon to the Chateau. From Dijon Rome2Rio suggested that I take Bus #124 to Chatillon Actipole, then transfer to another bus, #BAS23 to reach Mussy-sur-Seine (14 minutes away) and the Chateau would be less than a 5 minute walk. I stopped at the Tourist Office in Dijon to double check and find out where the bus station was. She explained to me that it was at the Train Station and checked the times. All confirming what I’d already figured out. I did learn my lesson from the last oopsie! Got on Bus #124 this morning and just over an hour and a half later arrived at Chatillon Actipole stop. It cost a whopping $1.50 (in euros, of course). The Chatillon Actipole stop was in the middle of an industrial development field. The pole at the stop listed three other bus numbers and their schedules, but not the one I was looking for. I walked to a nearby McDonalds (yes, McDonalds) to see if one of the younger people could help me in English find the correct bus stop or a taxi or Uber. After several people got involved trying to help with various smartphones out looking for Bus #BAS23, another man with a son approached “our group” and suggested some additional possibilities. After about 15-20 minutes with lots of Google Translate discussions, hand gestures, and mock English and French, the man said, “Oh, I’ll just take you.” So, I got in his car - his name was David and his son’s name was Sebastian and he drove me to the Chateau. Just another example of amazing generosity from total strangers. Of course, I offered to give him some money for his trouble which he refused, but after thanking him profusely I just put money in his hand and he graciously took it.
The Chateau is beautiful and huge. It sleeps 24 people, although our group only includes 12. I’ll post some pictures of the place below. When everyone had arrived, we decided to go out to eat as we had not done a grocery run yet. Most of us do not speak French, although 2 among us have said that they could get by. We found a restaurant that was open very close to Chatillon (right past where I’d gotten off the bus, lol) and for some reason, I ended up being the only one that the waiter spoke to, so I ordered for all of us. Thankfully, a group of 4 at the only other table occupied in the restaurant translated most of it for me. Adventures in traveling continue! And now with a whole group of people!
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