Lyon, Hmmmm! I’m not quite sure!

With only 2 two days in such a big city, its difficult to form an opinion with so many conflicting images.
Some beautiful - some very sad. I guess it’s the same in most large cities as opposed to the more regional and rural areas of France we enjoy so much and yet Lyon has given us some special moments such as today at lunch, but more about that later.
After catching the bus and then the funiculaire (the cable carriage) to the highest point of Lyon, we marvelled at the two Gallo-Roman theatres and the never ending view of the city sprawled below. The ancient amphitheatres were being set-up for Lyon’s festival of arts. Amongst the artists are names such as David Byrne (ex talking heads & Marianne Faithful).
With both the Saone and the Rhone winding below my viewpoint, how could you not marvel at the city’s beauty, yet close-up and personal it loses some its lustre.
After descending back down and into the old Lyon you find some of the homeless sleeping in bus stops, church steps and down narrow alleyways. In sections of the city, the gutters have litter of many days and the smokers of Lyon shed cigarette butts without thought. I saw one young female shop assistant having a cigarette outside her shop and just flick it on the pavement, still lit and walked straight back into the shop without a thought of littering her great city.
And yet, we met others who were very proud of their city and its history, willing to offer advice on the best attractions and places to eat. Others on seeing us confused with the city map in hand would ask if we needed assistance.
Today we stumbled on a perfect Lyonnais Bouchon bistro and were seated beside an elderly well dressed French couple. They warmly welcomed us to their table and with his limited English and Sue’s limited French, we entered conversation that shared a little of each others lives in different parts of the world.
On the other side of us were four people from the USA who joined in conversation and we discovered that they ate at the same restaurant as us in Bourg-en-Bresse the previous night. Incidentally, the food was great
but the conversation with “Pierre and Andrea” at the table will be long remembered.

Tomorrow late afternoon, we catch the TGV to Paris where we can unwind for a full week. I get to ride the bike, Sue gets to shop and cook: oops, don’t take that the wrong way. If you have been reading the blog, by now you know that cooking is Sue’s passion and quite frankly, better than some of the restaurants I’ve eaten in at home.

Autun to Bourg-en-Bresse, Vienne and Lyon.

There are times you wonder why you put a city or village on your list and not others along the way. The trip from Autun to Bourg-en-Bresse opened our eyes to the beautiful village of Cluny for a stop-over lunch break. The village had a really great feel about it. The 910 AD Abbey remains was its main feature and its streets are a delight to wander through.
Leaving Cluny, we travelled onto B-en-B via Macon which to us had no redeeming features but having tried their white wine recently I will now look up a bottle or two back home.
We probably should have stopped at Autun for a few hours and had two night in B-en-B where we had a great dinner of Frogs Legs (my 1st time) and the local famous chicken of the district.
Next overnight stop was Vienne on the river Rhone. Again we picked a village to break the drive and stumbled on the medieval hilltop village of Perouges. With a population of 900, the village has been the scene of several movies such as the three Musketeers and Monsieur Vincent. The streets are all paved from round river rocks and uncomfortable to walk on yet you still see fashion conscious women in high heels.
Only photos can describe the serenity of the village - it really was a special highlight of the day with our overnight stop, Vienne a very close second.
To us Vienne was special and would have been worth more than overnight stay. The locals seem to have a real pride in their special city with clean streets, leafy squares and a feeling of calmness. The hosts at our hotel were so helpful in recommending what sights to see and place to eat.
Our meal that night was at La Provence, a family owned restaurant hidden down a laneway. So helpful was our waitress, the daughter of the mother/father owners that Sue invited her to stay with us if/when she comes to Australia. They even swapped email addresses.
Vienne’s main features are its Roman remains which are beautifully presented.

The ancient foundations have been partly preserved as a children’s playground.
We left Vienne with the feeling that we needed to return one day for a longer stay. (a bit like Chinon in the Loire).
Our drive to Lyon would be our last drive before handing back Cyril Citroen. The 1.4L diesel has been a great little car and for those like statistics, it returned 4.7L/100k over 2800 kms.
The most stressful part of the journey to date was to come.
Find the drop off point for the car, catch a bus to the airport, catch another bus to Lyon and find our hotel while carrying a back pack, two suitcases and a bike bag.
Well here we are finally in Lyon after dinner and

looking forward to the sites this second biggest city after Paris can offer.

Dijon to Autun

Today was basically a transitional day taking in Beaune for a lunch time stop with an overnight stay in Autun.
The highlight of Beaune was the visit to the Hotel-Dieu, a hospital for the poor and sick, but much like a palace. Built in 1443, it is perfectly preserved and a great feature of the city. From the middle ages up to the late 20th century the Hospice had been in continual use. Taking on the title of “Palace of the Poor” the building housed some masterpieces of paintings and tapestries from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Beaune was hosting a weekend Australia festival of some kind next month and I've attached a poster advertising the event. There's even a character riding a bike that looks very much like Crocodile Dundee. Make what you want of it all but we couldn't stay to find out.
After a superb pizza lunch, we waddled off to the car for a drive to our overnight stay at Autun. Being only under 50k away, we thought we would wander the back roads and villages along the way.
The rolling hills are just covered in vines and produces some of Burgundy’s best wines.
We finally arrived with Tommy, our GPS (Tom Tom) having a minor breakdown looking for our hotel. Giving up on him, we spied two local Police on a round-a-bout and rather than proceeding thru, I drove up on the pavement and Sue wound down the window and said “je suis perdue monsieur” at which he good heartedly laughed and offered directions.
Autun has some historic points of interest, being the remains of their Roman theatre. It held 20.000 people during the 1st century AD and yet the town’s population is just that now. Founded in the late 1st century BC it must have been huge. Part of the roman walls still exist today however on our visit the town was less than lively. It maybe something to do with the unusual heat wave that this region of France is having. The last two days have been in the high 30s and the little Citroen Air-con is getting a good workout.
Again this part of the country is perfect for cycling with rolling hills, quiet back roads and plenty of villages for a stop over.

Our Last Day in Dijon

Sue and I have a friend in Melbourne who is a Foodie just like Sue. This photo is for Tony Milton. Tony took up cycling on his brother's Perkins bike which he still rides today. The bike was built by a chap who was an Australian champion and today both a friend and mentor of mine. Daryl Perkins is the father of Shane Perkins, a future elite world champion in my opinion.

Tony's greatness stems from his time as a chef in Paris and being all round nice guy. (He's also a bit round but after all he is a foodie).

The last home cooked Supper in Dijon was seared scallops with an orange aioli, crispy proscuitto and tomato, eshallot and avocado salsa. She's not bad for a home cook is she Tony?

I thought I'd just post a few photos of our time in Dijon as we move on in the morning for three days of meandering down to Lyon and returning the Citroen C3.

A special mention goes to our Hostess, Coco who couldn't have made our stay in Dijon more comfortable. The apartment is well stocked and beautifully presented, all this and on the doorstep of all the Dijon attractions. She mentioned that a car was not necessary but a bike sure comes in handy.

The photos:

1. our meal.
2. a Brocante store and an old Citroen H-van

3. The canal cycle paths at one of the locks.
4. Tomb of one of the great Dukes of Burgundy in the Musee de Beaux Arts.
5. Sculptures and carvings that attracted my attention in the Musee.
6. Finally our apartment from Coco's website www.myhomeindijon.com

I'll miss Dijon as I've become acquainted with its layout and somewhere hidden is a network of cyclists that I was unable to locate, but they were lurking there somewhere.

Looking forward to reaching Paris where I can ride with my friend Leigh and meet some local riders.

Talk soon.

Cycling by the Dijon Canal

That's me with my Fyxomotosis musette, team CSC cap and bagette.

After last night's superb meal, I thought that an early morning ride was in order to shed the excess calories. Those who know me might say I'm a little obsessive about my cycling - all things in life are relative. My father, my mother and my brother rode bikes, my many friends ride bikes. I think all of France must ride bikes so I can't possibly be obsessive.



I forgot to take the camera this morning and missed out on a lot of great shots. My ride took me out of the Centre Ville, looking for the Dijon Canal and the lake within the parklands for a car free ride. I didn't realise that there was a network of bike paths within the parklands and all along the canal. The surroundings at that time of morning are so relaxing. Being spring the lake and the canal are full of ducks and geese with their young. Barges are moored along the canal and one was flying the Aussie flag - had it been on the side I was riding, I would have given them a G'day.


This would be the perfect spot for a cycling holiday (but aren't they all in France) with its network of cycling routes. One even takes you back to Auxerre where we were last week (seems ages ago). After breakfast and a stroll into the square for coffee in the mid-morning sun, we hit the Navette bus which is free and takes you on a circuit of central Dijon, stopping at the main points of interest. Having seen a few already, we stopped at Dijon's Notre Dame. I took a few pics of the gargoyles. I have a fascination for gargoyles.

Another sit down at an outside cafe for a glass of Rose, "but its only 11.30 am" Sue said. When in France!!!! There was a local on the next table having a beer when we arrived.

Then off to shopping. Its true about Blokes and Sheilas when it comes to shopping. We just do it.

I said to Sue I wanted to buy some jeans the same as I purchased from Celio (a bit like Just Jeans) in Avignon last year. They had a shop in Dijon. In, try on, pay and out. 15 mins at the most.


Sue wandered in and out of shops looking for gifts without success.
Galleries Layfayette, Mustard shops, clothes shops, home shops and shoe shops were all explore in great detail.
"Oh well" she said, "there's always Lyon and then Paris".







Off to the Musee of Beaux Arts this afternoon for some Kulcha.............

Charles Aznavour is 85

Just a quick blog before I go to bed....

For those who have a little maturity in their lives, I'm sure you would be aware of Charles Aznavour. My first three vinyl LPs were presented to me by my mother and older brother. Mum introduced me to Charles and Sammy Davis Jr, my brother gave me Bill Haley and the Comets for my first record player.

Tonight after dinner, Sue are watching on France 1, Aznavours 85th birthday celebration with popular French artists and American Liza Minelli (another favourite of mine).

However I did want to share dinner with you tonight.

Duck breast, Asparagus, red capsicum and potatoes roasted in the duck fat with a local Burgundy Pinot. Unbelievable.

Why go out for dinner?

A great way to end the day - tomorrow an early morning ride to eat up the calories and maybe an extra cholesterol tablet.

A Day in Dole

The heavens opened up last night with torrential rain, tremendously loud thunder and lightning that lit up the apartment. For two Victorians it was a pleasure to see and hear, hopefully we are getting something similar at home. CNN here has reported the floods in both Queensland and NSW - are we getting any in Vic?

Fortunately we were eating in last night after Sue had prepared chicken breast stuffed with comte cheese and tarragon mustard, wrapped in jambon cru (proscuitto) and pan fried with a little white wine sauce. Wish I'd taken a photo before I ate it!!!!!!!

Tonight's meal is Duck breast with a bitter orange sauce, asparagus and sauteed baby potatoes, Yum!!! How I love bringing the Cook with me to France (shhhh, don't tell the wife I said that - just some Aussie humour). Forgot, apricot tart for desert. I make coffee and then wash up.

Anyway the day started at the market to buy tonight's ingredients before returning to my poor lonely car for a drive to the town of Dole in the Jura region about 60 out from Dijon and only 150k from the Swiss border. With a population of close to 30,000 it really is a very pretty "Centre Ville" meaning the historic centre of the village. With the Rhone to Rhine canal passing at the bottom of it's steep and winding narrow streets above we viewed the house where Louis Pasteur was born in 1822. The village had its origin in the 12th Century when a fortress was built to watch over the river Doubs. I'm sure in the space of only 3 hours we miss out on a lot but how lucky are we to sit in the sunshine and soak up the ambiance of a village of this age, 1000s of kms from home.

With only two days left in Dijon it will be a little sad to leave as we have only just touched on its many wonders.

Our hostess Coco has recommended many things of interest and it will be difficult to fit everything in. I must say that the people we meet are fantastic ambassadors for their country.

We were lost, looking at our map of Dijon when a local woman asked if she could help with directions. Hopefully we do the same at home, I know I will in future.

Quiet day in Dijon

A quiet day in Dijon due to a holiday in France today. Went for a ride at 7.00 am this morning and met up with a group of around 100 Cyclists who were meeting up at the Dijon Velodrome. Spoke to a local who had excellent english and explained that it was a touring ride. This form of cycling is a little like the popular rides such as round the bay and the recent Marysville ride for the bushfire relief fund.
The photo of the Dijon is for my Trackie mate from Oz, Mike Goldie whose blog keeps me informed of local cycling.

The fellow I met told me that the future of the Dijon velodrome is in doubt and may be demolished soon.

The picture of the bikes lined up is a similar project to the rental bikes in Paris. Mainly for locals, you can pick up a bike and then deposit it at another location during the day. Note that the bikes have no chain or drive wheels, its all by way of internal drive. By the way, I'm amazed at the courtesy shown by the local drivers to cyclists here, in fact its all over most of France that I have ridden in.


Later in the morning Sue and I went to breakfast at a local cafe before taking the Owl walk around Dijon.

The photo of the baby playing the cello is in our street, Rue de Bon enfants - street of the good little children (I think).

The Owl walk passed by Dijon's most historic buildings and landmarks. We did take a detour into the local "Monoprix" for some lunch-time ingredients and some more local wine. My friend Clive who is coming to France for Le Tour is concerned there will be no wine left in France after we return... Be very concerned Clive.


Speaking of friends, several of my Bayside Bandido riders are currently in Italy for the Giro. Go Michael Wilson, an Aussie in 3rd place so far.



The more I see of Dijon, the more I warm to it. Our hostess, Coco is wonderful and I suggest you look at her website on my blog. This apartment is perfect.


Well, time for an afternoon walk to wear off the lunch-time Rose. Or maybe not, the rain has just started. Maybe the museums are the choice this afternoon.