Hey guys. I'm back in Australia after 4 wonderful weeks in France and I'm feeling quite depressed. Does anyone else feel like that after a holiday?
This was our second trip to France and I was reminded why I had such a yearning to return. Yes, it took 5 long years to get back but when you live so far from Europe, have a husband who isn't as enthusiastic about travel as I am, and have to travel with the weak Australian dollar, it is a little difficult. I plan to return alot sooner next time (dreamer!)
I love our sunburnt country and am always grateful to come home but I am really having a hard time adjusting this time round. I can't wait to return.
Anyway, enough of my whining. I'll tell you of some of our highlights.
We had a great flight with British Airways via Singapore and London to Lyon. We had been there before and loved it so wanted to return for a few days. Even though I had been warned by many of you, imagine my surprise and excitement when flying over snow covered fields on our descent to Lyon. I have never seen snow in the city! And, of course, I did'nt have appropriate clothing- we have no need for it down here. We spent our first day in Lyon shopping for a warm jacket and revisiting some of our favourite spots in the city and trying to get over jetlag - it took 2-3 days for our bodies and sleeping patterns to adjust. That night we had a great meal and a great bottle of Bordeaux blanc sec at a seafood restaurant, called Assiete et Mer (I think) - the soupe de poisson was just what the doctor ordered on such a chilly night.
Day 2 saw us travelling through mist and snow covered fields to Annecy. What a beautiful town and magnificent lake. I played in the snow like a child - kicking and throwing snowballs - so what if I got wet and cold, I was having fun and feeling carefree and totally relaxed (haven't felt like that for a while). Back in Lyon that evening, we had a traditional meal at a little place in Vieux Lyon. The walk back to our hotel over the bridge must have frozen my brain as I don't remember too much of that evening. I do, however, remember how f@#$%ing cold it was! The wind ripped through us - we could hardly breathe, our lungs hurt. Back in our room, it took ages for our lungs to recover and warm up again. It may not have even been that cold for Europe but we are not used to such climate. The glasses of vin chaud in a cute little pub on that side of the river certainly helped warm the cockles!
We just had a lovely autumn day of 29.4 degrees Celcius but all that talk of snow has given me goose bumps - I need a warm cuppa (tea). I'll be back soon with more. See ya, MiriamDeBa.

Miriam, living in sunburnt Las Vegas, I can relate! I remember arriving in Dijon in mid-summer and spending the first day buying sweaters.

So glad you had a wonderful time. What was your hotel in Lyon?

I am eager to hear more. We too have long flights, even though it would only be 5 hours if we could fly a polar route. We've met Aussies on other trips and have always found them to be outgoing and warm!

LVSue, we stayed at the Libertel Wilson in Lyon. It's on the right side of the Rhone river, about a 5 minute walk to Place Bellecour on the Presqu'ile. The hotel is nothing to write home about - it was comfortable and clean at about 107 euros for a double room and in a good location. The reason we chose it was for the car parking it provided (10 euros/night). Parking was a priority for us when choosing a hotel. Breakfast at the Libertel Wilson was very good with a wide range of foods on offer. The muesli cereal was particularly good.

I've just remembered what I had for dinner on that freezing second nightin Lyon - my brain has finally thawed out - about time as I'll be starting back at work soon. I don't remember the name of the place. It was a bouchon in Vieux Lyon, extremely small with maybe 5cm between the tables (I believe they have a room downstairs too) and filled with locals - that's why we chose it. The waiters knew everyone walking in except us , of course. We both had the menu at 17 euros. This included a complimentary kir which tasted too sweet after the vin chaud we'd had previously at a little bar. I had chevre chaud on toast, quenelles de brochet in a prawn sauce and the apple tart with coffee. My husband had a seafood terrrine, lamb chops and the pear tart with coffee. Oh, before dessert they served a little pot of fomage blanc. We washed this down with a half bottle of Beaujolais.

Day 3 and our last in Lyon. I needed some retail therapy so we start the day with some shopping. Bought a nice pair of pants that fit really well - pants in Australia don't seem to fit me as well as they do here in Europe. Then off to do some more sightseeing around the city and walking around Vieux Lyon - I love those little cobble-stoned boutique-lined streets with a bouchon at every 10 paces. We did some morning exercise by walking up the snow covered path to the Basilique and surveyed the city of Lyon from up there. I said good-bye and make a promise to come back.

Back to our hotel, we pick up our car and head towards the Beaujolais vineyards. Those that read my posts before our trip might remember that we love wine and basically were on a mission to taste as much as possible form different regions. We stopped for a quick lunch on the way to Villefranche-sur-soane. Although it was out of season and there was not a soul to be seen, it was lovely to see the snow-covered vineyards. We drove through Bagnols, a gorgeous, little town with streets so small we had a hard time getting the car through the narrow streets. By this time, we had really worked up a thirst and were feeling quite parched. We spotted a winery that seemed to be open for degustation and we were on our way to savouring some fine examples of Beaujolais wine - not premium wines but certainly drinkable. With two bottles under our arms, we headed back to Lyon as it was getting late.

Back in our room, we made the mistake of taking a nap. We were still jetlagged and quite sleepy after our long drive and wine tasting. Anyway, what was supposed to be a 30 minute catnap turned out to be a 3 hour sleep. Hence, we missed dinner that night. We were'nt really hungry anyway - I suppose the half kilo of butter we had consumed for lunch kept us going for a while.
With our body clocks still out of whack, we awoke in the early hours of morning to find the Melbourne Grand Prix on the TV. How nice for the French Renault team to win in my home town when I'm in France. It could'nt have finished better.

Day 4 and off to Sarlat ...

looking forward to more, MD

Sarlat? Day 4?