Saturday, 22 May 2010

We said farewell to Brent and Rosemary (we will be returning in three days) and drove down the winding mountain road and through the small villages, joining the autoroute near Ambreiu-de-Bugey and then into Lyon, about an hour, arriving around 9.30. Parked in a parking station, then had coffee at Bistrot de la Passerella on the Quai St Antoine which runs alongside the Saone River. There were fresh food market stalls set up along the river selling all sorts of yummy stuff including un-shucked oysters which several people were enjoying at nearby tables. Obtained some maps at the tourist office then split up for some exploring/shopping. Lyon is a wonderful city (second largest in France according to one book) and is great just to walk around and explore. Bounded by two rivers, it has beautiful buildings and squares. We thought it may be quiet on Saturday of a long weekend but was very busy by midday. We met up for lunch at a lovely old restaurant, Le Bistro de Lyon, sitting outside but in the shade. It was a beautiful day with the temperature now in the mid twenties. Braised leg of rabbit and Navarin of lamb were very good. We then walked across the pedestrian bridge to the old city, taking the furnicular railway up to the Fourviere, which provides spectacular views over Lyon - visited the the beautiful Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere which dominates the hill. We then had a brief walk down below in the old town, full of bars and cafes - plenty of tourists, many of whom appeared to be French. Back to the car and headed out about 4.00pm - we could easily have spent a couple of days in Lyon. Down the autoroute heading south with lots of holiday traffic. The country changed from the lush green fields and forests we have been so used to since arriving in Europe to lower scrubby trees and rockier, less fertile ground as we neared the coast. Arrived in Aix-en-Provence just after 8.00pm, and did another merry-go-round in very narrow streets trying to find the hotel we booked - eventually arrived at Hotel le Manior - lovely setting with a courtyard room, but the rooms small and pretty basic and a Basil Fawlty clone on the front desk. The big advantage here is that we are vey close to the centre of town. Walked down the narrow streets and were immediately in the thick of crowds, cafes, bars, noise, colour - it is Saturday night of a long week in Provence and the place was going off. France has a big immigrant population, very evident here in the south. Had a drink at Bar Le Cezzane to settle our nerves after the drive in then had some fun trying to find a place to eat it was so busy. Eventually found a nice outdoor table just of the main drag, Cours Mirabeau - La Caleche. It was a wood fired pizza place with great pizzas although the practice of a raw egg on top at the end, which does not fully cook through, is interesting. Louise had prawns Provencale - big prawns, very familiar, cooked in the shell - excellent. The wine was a very nice Domaine del la Lauzade - Cotes de Provence.