John Finishes His Adventure in France

After stopping for our obligatory café and pastry breakfasts, we headed to Gare Part Dieu and John's train departure.  But, guess what!  That train was delayed.  At that point John and David decided it would be a good idea to visit the restroom in the shopping center across the street.  Here one purchases a ticket with a QR code on it, passes the ticket under the reader, and gains admission to the facilities.  However, David and John soon joined other men in line, and none of them could get the reader to work.  So, now the question, "how many men does it take to get the reader to validate their tickets so that they can use the restroom?"  The answer?  One French woman! This lady was able to hold the tickets at just the right distance from the reader to make everything work (and earn the gratitude of all the men in line - not to mention adding a touch humor to the trip).

John's train finally arrived, we exchanged our good-byes, and he embarked on the rest of his adventure.  Here's the photo he sent us of him with a family he met on the train:

John and his latest new friends (on the train).

(John wrote the remainder of this posting.)

From Lyon, I continued south to Nice and treated my beachside hotel as home base for venturing east to Menton and Monaco and then west to Cannes.  My timing put me in Monaco for the first days of the Gran Prix and in Cannes for the second week of the Film Festival.  Lunches at beach clubs along the coast and dinners in restaurant-filled plazas in Nice.  Lots of easy train rides and walking.  And I did catch some sun and get into the Mediterranean!  From Nice it was back to Paris. 

I will want to work on my language skills before my next visit.  I had a basic set of phrases to get things engaged, but I was lost as soon as someone would respond…just too fast for me!  But I never met anyone who wouldn’t try to help me in communications and English is surprisingly common in Paris.  So many details to each little adventure.  So much to bring me back for more. 

Encore une fois merci, Anna and Dave. 

John in Lyon Day 3

Once again, we began the day at our favorite boulangerie.  A VERY pleasant way to start the day!

Our itinerary for Day 3 included more Roman structures – aqueducts! There are Roman aqueducts in many places in France; one of the most spectacular is the Pont du Gard which the Romans built in the first century AD to supply water to what is now the city of Nimes.  (Definitely worth seeing!)  And, there are ruins of Roman aqueducts scattered around Lyon.  Pieces of them are now incorporated into garden walls on Forvière Hill and elsewhere.  Some impressive ruins are in and around Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, a community about 3 miles from the center of Lyon.  So, we hopped onto the metro, then a bus, and voilà - sections of aqueducts.  Large sections of aqueducts!

Here's a close-up of John
checking out the aqueducts.

And, this photo will give you an
idea of these size of the ruins.

It’s really amazing how many Roman structures still exist!  And, the many ways the local residents incorporate them into their homes, yards, and parking structures.

After we got back into Lyon, it was time to think about…FOOD!  We ended up walking over to a restaurant David and Anna had eaten lunch in and found that their dinner selection was a variety of tapas.  So, we ordered a variety of tapas, a bottle of Champagne, and “made do.”

Then Anna and David ambled back to the apartment and John to his hotel to prepare for his journey through Europe to continue. 

John in Lyon Day 2 continued

As we mentioned in the previous posting, we rode the funicular up Fourvière Hill.  We could see The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière as soon as we left the funicular station.  (With thanks to John for most of these photos.)  The Basilica was built by the grateful people of Lyon to thank the Virgin Mary for saving Lyon from invasion during the Franco-Prussian war. It was built with private funds between 1872 and 1896.

The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière

John took this photo of the very impressive altar.

And, here is the statue of the Virgin Mary blessing Lyon.

And, yes, the view is amazing!

Here's John with that remarkable view behind him.

Do you see the Cathédrale Saint-Jean down the hill?
(Hint - It's at about 5 o'clock in this photo.)

The view from a different vantage point.

But, there's more to see up on this hill!  Lyon was, as you will remember, the Roman capitol of Gaul, and the Romans built two amphitheaters on this hill.  The larger one is still used for concerts and other events.  In fact, we have been to a concert in the larger one, and, yes, those seats are hard!

John took this photo of us with the amphitheaters in the background.

A great view of the larger amphitheater.

Up close and personal view of the amphitheater.

Since it was time for lunch, we stopped at La Ficelle, a cafe at the base of the hill and near the entrance to the funicular.

We started with a nice Rose while we perused the menu.

There's an interesting story about the next photo.  Anna typically assembles the blog postings, and she had no idea how this photo fit into the story.  Then she was reminded that John had mentioned seeing a particularly attractive woman working in the florist shop across the street. I believe his words were "hot babe." So, after lunch John and David decided the walk over to the shop so that they could get a glimpse of her.  The florist shop is next to a grocery store, and John decided to take this photo of the grocery store display as "cover."  Unfortunately, she had disappeared inside the shop.

You have to admit, it's a nice display.  😉

After a leisurely walk back through Vieux Lyon and a little souvenir shopping, we got on Anna's favorite C3 bus and returned to freshen up a bit for the next stage.  Our final destination on Day 2 was The Café Juliette for a large plate of charcuterie and a bottle of Jolie Fille, a very nice Rose.  (Jolie Fille means pretty, lovely, or beautiful girl in French.  So somehow the wine choice seemed like a fitting way to end our day.)

More adventures coming tomorrow, Day 3.

John in Lyon Day 2

Our first stop the next day, was at our favorite boulangerie for coffee-crème and their delicious pastries.  We go there so often that they anticipate our requests and stop for short conversations when we bump into each other elsewhere in the neighborhood. And, of course their pastries and baguettes are amazing.  (John was impressed enough to these photos.)

Our next destination was Vieux Lyon, the oldest part of Lyon.  We got off our bus at the stop by the Gare St Paul and wandered down narrow rue Saint-Jean while taking in the many old buildings and shops and reading many of the history plaques.   

A view of Vieux Lyon

This area was once the center of Lyon’s silk industry before it was moved up the hill to Croix Rouge.  In order to protect their silk from the elements, the silk workers used Traboules, covered passageways between buildings, up stairways, between apartments, between streets, etc., as they carried the silk around.  (These Traboules also came in handy for the Resistants during WWII as they dodged any Nazis or friends of Nazis chasing them.) 

This door to a Traboule looks innocent enough, but where does it go?

To an ancient stairway and then where?

To a patio and another door?

We continued our walk through Vieux Lyon and reached Place Sainte-Jean with the impressive Cathedral Sainte-Jean, completed in 1476.  Unfortunately, the Cathedral is closed on Mondays, and we were unable to go in.  (Something to save for next time!)

Cathedral Sainte-Jean

We were heading for the nearby Metro station, and the Funicular that would take us up Fourvière Hill. Fourvière Hill is home to La Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière and arguably the most spectacular views of Lyon as well as some impressive Roman amphitheaters.  (It is possible to walk or drive up Fourvière Hill if you like a lot switchbacks and hair pin turns, but taking the Funicular is much more fun.)

Climb in and get ready to go!

Watching a funicular car heading up the hill.

At the top of the hill, we got off and walked across to the courtyard in front of the Basilica of Notre-Dame of Fourvière. The Basilica is the work of the architects Pierre Bossan and Sainte-Marie Perrin. It was built thanks to a public subscription in 1872 and consecrated in 1896.  It is sits at the top of Fourvière hill and is visible from almost everywhere in Lyon.

The Basilica from part way down the hill.

And, speaking of views, in our next post we will next share some spectacular views with you.

John Discovers Europe!

What can you say about an American adult of retirement age, who has never been to Europe, speaks only English, and decides it’s time to take a big dive and remedy that situation?  Further, this adventure involves traveling alone, visiting multiple countries, and using Europe’s rail system.  Adventurous? Brave? A bit foolish?  All of the above?

Well, we know that person well, and that pretty much describes him. He is Anna’s brother!  And, we must admit, we are impressed!  We were really pleased when he told us that he was taking that great leap and coming to Lyon to visit us.  Then we found out his plans were to begin his trip in Paris, then go to Lyon, then on to Nice and the lovely south of France, then back to Paris, and, finally back home to California.  That’s quite a journey for someone who has never been to Europe before!  (We have invited John to contribute to this blog posting, by the way.)

FROM JOHN:

So, I did finally make it to France and finally took up the offer to pay Anna and Dave a visit in their adopted city, Lyon.  I most certainly recommend the experience.  I thoroughly enjoyed the tours of the city and the good food and wine. 

Lyon was the second part of my two-week tour of France.  I started out in Paris, staying at a nicely updated hotel on the Right Bank and wandering about both sides of the river.  I ended my stay back in Paris, staying at another updated hotel on the Left Bank.  I was able to take in the Musee d'Orsay and Versailles and take a cruise on the Seine and into the city through the canal and locks.  But mostly I wandered, just taking things in and finding refreshments in cafes.  Throughout my trip, I averaged about 20k steps on the fitbit each day. 

So as John reports, he spent the first part of his visit in Paris wandering around, soaking up the atmosphere, and generally enjoying himself.  (He was in PARIS for heaven’s sake – of course he was enjoying himself!)

He caught the TGV at Paris’ Gare de Lyon and arrived at Gare Part Dieu a mere 2 hours later.  Now this is where things unraveled just a little bit.  David was at one end of the train’s arrival platform watching for John, and Anna was at the other end.  Somehow, we missed each other.  Thanks to some texts back and forth, we finally connected, exchanged happy greetings, and escorted John to his hotel. The Radisson Blue is a very nice hotel with spectacular views from every room, and it is conveniently close to both Gare Part Dieu and our apartment.

That's the Radisson in the middle.  You can see why
folks in Lyon call it the "crayon" (pencil in French).

After he got checked in, we escorted him to our home-away-from-home.  For those of you who haven’t visited us in Lyon, our place is in a building dating back to the 1880s. (Our apartment is the one below the mansard roof and with two windows facing the street.  This photo is missing Anna's red and white geraniums on the railing outside the living room windows on the left.)

And, our apartment retains some of that gracious, old-style.  (One of John’s first questions was to ask if we minded if he took photos.  Of course, not, help yourself!)  

David and Anna in their apartment kitchen.

Since it was Sunday, and almost all restaurants are closed on Sundays, we had dinner at our apartment.  We decided to give John a "typical" Lyon dinner (appetizer, 1st course or "entrée", main course or "plat", followed by cheeses, then dessert, with baguette and wine with each course, bien sûr).  So, while Anna put the finishing touches on dinner, David and John walked over to Les Halles Paul Bocuse to get cheese at Mons and fresh baguettes at a boulangerie and give John a quick tour of this up-scale, indoor, marketplace. 

Mons is definitely our favorite fromagerie.  The counter extends around
the corner to the left.  They seem to have every kind of French cheese
imaginable.  (And, offer samples to help customers with their choices.)

Over dinner we planned the next couple of days' explorations.  (John told us he had done some homework and had listened to Rick Steves’ advice on what to see and do in Lyon which definitely helped.)

More adventures in Lyon to come....

Bike ride day 1 - June 16

After a lapse of four years[!], the four of us [Tom, Gérard, Roger, David] were about to start on our annual bike trip through a part of France.  This time David had been given the task of coming up with ideas as to where to go.  The area chosen from among the alternatives presented involved taking the train to Geneva, Switzerland. We would then bike to an overnight stop on the Rhone, and then around at least part of Lac de Bourget.  We would stay overnight in Aix-les-Bains, a famous 19^th century spa town on the lake.  From there, we would bike to Annecy, an old, scenic town on Lac d’Annecy.  The next day we would bike around the lake, and with luck, take a train back to Lyon. This trip was a bit less ambitious than in the past, as we were careful not to attempt too much after our four-year hiatus.

Lunch at Roger and Dominiques the Day Before

Monday morning, we were scheduled to meet, with bikes and saddlebags, outside Lyon’s Part-Dieu station at 8AM, for our 8:38AM train.  Anna came along to take the required photos and see us off.  Weather forecasts were a bit concerning, as there were predictions of heat and thunderstorms, both of which can make cycling unpleasant.  But we figured that each day’s trip was only 50-60km, so we should be able to start in the morning in cooler temperatures.  The short route would allow us the time to wait out a thunderstorm under shelter.  

The Four at Lyon's Part Dieu Rail Station

Ready to go at Geneva Rail Station

In two hours, we reached Geneva and unloaded our bikes and got ready to set out on our adventure.  The first day we would be following part of the Via Rhona, a marked bike route down the Rhone River to the Mediterranean.  Gérard’s cell phone has a GPS Ap on it that allows him to program our route, and even to select from such options as lighter automobile traffic, and amount of elevation gain.  This generally worked well, as it prevented us from ever getting lost, but in Geneva, led us on to some bike trails that were steep, narrow, and winding.  After that, a good part of the route wound through small neighborhoods with little car traffic.

Once out of Geneva, we descended on a 3-4 kilometer, gently sloping, paved bike path that more than made up for fighting our way through Geneva.  We crossed a small dam, and wound our way through the Swiss countryside, passing through small villages.  We stopped in one for a snack, where we paid in euros and got change in Swiss francs! 

Bridge over the Rhone at Seyssel

Eventually we reached the town of Seyssel, on the Rhone, where we would stay for the night.  It turned out to be the same hotel Roger and David had stayed in in 2012, the second year of the annual bike rides.  Covid, European regulations, and changing habits among the French have led to a decline in the number of these small-town hotels.  This one had changed its name and the front desk was only open at certain times.  So, we went into town for a drink while we waited for the reception desk to open about 5PM.

After checking in, we took our bikes down to the secure bike-storage area under the deck.  As we removed our batteries for charging that night, David had a difficult time getting his battery out.  It turned out that the plastic case on the lower battery-mount had cracked!  The concern now was – would the battery fit back into place and would everything work if it did fit?  Luckily, Seyssel had a train station if David had to drop out, as did the other overnight towns on our itinerary.

Gorgeous View over the Rhone at Seyssel

Dinner on the Terrasse at the Hotel in Seyssel

That night, we had dinner at the hotel, outside, overlooking the Rhone.  Distance for the day - 66 kilometers.

Day 4 continued - Back to Lyon, or, the excitement waited for the last day!

The train ride back to Lyon turned into its own adventure, as weather stopped our train by cutting powerlines feeding the electric engine and dropped a tree across the tracks.  After sitting on the train for a couple of hours, watching wind and strong winds beat against the train windows, we were glad to be inside.  Eventually, the rain stopped, and we were directed to exit onto the ground.  Luckily, we were only a couple of hundred yards from a railroad station in the town of Rumilly, and the ground was flat enough for us to push our bikes to the station.  Railroad maintenance crews had appeared, but passengers got very little information as to what our options were.

Roger and Gérard Waiting out the Delay

David and Tom Waiting at the Station in Rumilly

After another hour and a half or so, we were informed that another train would arrive that would transport us to Chambery, a bigger town where we hoped to be able to catch a train for Lyon.  At the very least, there would be hotels where we could stay the night.

After the rescue train arrived, our research told us that we would have about 30 minutes in which to catch the last Lyon train of the evening.  All went reasonably well, although it was a challenge fitting one person and one bike at a time into the elevator to get us access to the correct station platform.  We managed it with 15-20 minutes to spare, but almost as soon as we got ourselves and the bikes on board, station personnel announced that the train was going to leave immediately!  So, we departed Chambery about 20 minutes before we were scheduled to leave.  We guessed that the storm had disarranged crew scheduling such that it was imperative to get to Lyon earlier than originally scheduled.

This part of the trip was without incident, and we finally pulled into Lyon at 10PM – an hour and a half trip had become a six-hour adventure!

Distance for the day - 45 kilometers.

Total for the trip - 215 kilometers.

Day 4 - Around Lac d'Annecy

Everything had gone well so far – no serious rain, not too hot, no serious mechanical problems, no crashes.   The plan for Thursday was to ride around lake Annecy and catch a late afternoon train for Lyon, thus saving a night’s stay in a hotel.  We had discussed leaving our saddlebags at the hotel and picking them up after we rode around the lake. We decided instead to take them with us in case we were pressed for time between finishing our ride around the lake and catching the train. The distance was 40-43 km with no real climbing to be done, so it should be easy.  Once again, David’s battery went back into place and the power flowed to where it was supposed to.

We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and started off, planning on a clockwise tour around the lake. David took the lead and headed out of town along the lake, along a well-defined bike trail – no cars!  After 45 minutes or so we were again sharing the road with cars, but traffic was light.  We rode through narrow streets in a lake-side town for a while, before returning to the main road and a largely separate bike path.  After reaching the top of a modest hill, David noticed that no-one was in sight behind him, so decided to wait for the others.  After several minutes no one appeared, so David retraced his route and met Gérard coming up.  Gérard said that another cyclist had pulled out in front of Tom, causing him to crash.  He was all right and would be appearing with Roger soon. Tom’s wounds were not serious but did require a few bandages, giving him quite the scarred-veteran look.  

Lac d'Annecy with a Storm Approaching.

With storm clouds approaching, and strong gusty winds with spatters of rain beginning to appear, we took advantage of a bus shelter to gauge how serious the storm might be.  After 15-20 minutes and more rain spatters, the clouds thinned and the winds moderated, so we pushed on.  While stopped, we re-posted a map in the bus shelter showing the bike route around the lake.  David put on his new poncho, black with orange spots, that Gérard announced made David look like a Ladybug. 

In the Bus Shelter, Re-posting the Map - Tom Pointing at our Location

As we rounded the south end of the lake, we transitioned to an old railroad right-of-way – flat, paved, no cars, lots of scenery.  We stopped at a history display, with a very nice restroom built in the style of an old railroad station.  The stop also displayed an interesting old compressed-air powered locomotive that had once been used in an ammunition storge base, to avoid the presence of flames inherent in a steam-powered locomotive.  Similar locomotives were once used in underground coal mines around the world.

Compressed Air Train Engine and History Display

Gérard and Lunch in Annecy

David and Lunch in Annecy - in his Ladybug Disguise.

We passed through a couple of towns and returned once again to Annecy, where we found a restaurant and ate a late lunch.  After lunch, we headed for the railway station, as were planning on taking a train that left at about 3:56PM, with an about 1-1/2 hour trip to Lyon.

Day 3 - Aix-les-Bains to Annecy

 The next day was a fairly short ride to Annecy, but was over the hills on narrow, winding farm roads, luckily without too many vehicles.  The morning began with breakfast at the hotel, after which we finished packing and brought out the bikes.  Once again, David led a charmed life, as the battery went back into place and all systems were ‘go’.

When we first biked into town the day before, we looked up and saw the fantastic structure shown below.  Built as a private house at the turn of the last century, it fell into ruin and was purchased and recently restored by another private owner.  It is a French historic monument, and as such must be preserved in essentially its current form.

Chateau de la Roche du Roi from the Web

On our way out of town, we first went to a bike shop in downtown Aix as Roger’s bike had been making worrisome noises.  On consulting with the shop, it was determined that much disassembly would have to be done for a diagnosis, so it was decided to continue on.  We wound up into the hills through Aix, guided by Gérard’s excellent electronic routing, and came out into farming country. 

We climbed further up into the hills on narrow switch-back roads, admiring the scenery, and noting the number of new houses being built, or older homes being extensively remodeled, evidently for a vacation or retirement home.

Gérard Approaching the Top

David at the Top

We stopped at the top of the hills for a short breather before descending into Annecy, admiring the views along the way.

We located our hotel, in the outskirts of town, checked in, and biked off to old-town Annecy to look for a dinner spot.  It was the night of the Fete de la Musique, so the streets and restaurants were already packed.  We eventually found a place to have a drink, before pushing on to a dinner place. 

Dinner in Annecy with the Crowd

Note: The Fete de la Musique is a nation-wide, one-night event in June whereby live music is available in many bars, restaurants, music venues, parks, etc., and LOTS of people turn out for a very festive evening.  As we ate dinner, we could hear music coming from various locations nearby. 

Distance for the day - 42 kilometers.

Day 2 - Seyssel to Aix-les-Bains

We arose the next day and breakfasted at the hotel.  After packing and bringing our saddlebags down, we unlocked and brought our bikes out of storage.  David installed his battery, and everything seemed to work!

Right before leaving Lyon, David had discovered an itinerary out of Seyssel to Lac de Bourget the took in an old 5km canal, the Canal de Savieres, from the Rhone to the lake.  Gérard, our principal navigator and bike-trip expert, pronounced it a good idea, so off we went down the Rhone to the small town of Chanaz at the Rhone end of the canal.  This town turned out to be quite the tourist draw, both for boaters and walkers.  We stopped outside of town for a water-break, and to orient ourselves to our next direction.  David was instructed to lead the way, and off we went, past the pleasure-boat moorage and along the canal.  After crossing over the canal, we found ourselves on a scenic country road that paralleled the canal most of the way to Lac de Bourget.  After arriving at the junction where we intersected the road that went in both directions along the lake shore, we stopped for a quick conference. As it was noon, and there was an interesting restaurant across the street, we decide to stop and eat.

Tour Boat on the Canal

Lunch by the Canal de Savieres

After a fun meal, we headed off along the right bank of the lake, with the idea of visiting a famous former abbey, Hautecombe Abbey monastery.  It is the burial place of the former rulers of Savoie, and a religious community has been located there for a thousand years.  

Photo of the Abbey from the Web

After riding along the lake for a while we headed up the hill towards the road to the monastery.  After climbing for a while, David came to a road headed down to the monastery, about 5km distant. Just after reaching signpost, Roger got a phone call from Gérard, stating that the monastery was now not open for visitors.  Roger yelled to David to stop and return.  David did, but climbing half a kilometer is not nearly as much fun as zooming downhill for the same distance. 

After Gérard and Tom arrived, Gérard said that if we continued up, we would reach a great viewpoint over the lake, after which we could resume our tour.  After climbing for a few kilometers, Gérard re-calculated and determined that the climb would be long and that we could not just continue on around the lake but would have to return the way we came.  We decided turn around and go back around the lake on the other side.

Although none of us liked back-tracking, the scenery was still wonderful, so we had an enjoyable ride to Aix-les-Bains, on Lac de Bourget, the largest and deepest natural lake in France.  Aix is an old spa resort town where royalty and many of the rich would go to ‘take the cure’, so there are many fabulous old hotels and houses.  We got see a number of these as our hotel was on the other side of town.  What we neglected to do was take pictures - so, we are reduced to finding photos on the web.

Web photo Showing Aix and its Setting on the Lake

Aix Casino from the Web

After finding our hotel, we parked our bikes in an unused conference room.  Tom had the idea of using tape as a temporary fix for David’s cracked battery mount, so Gérard talked to the hotel staff and obtained a role of box tape.  He and David then wrapped tape around the cracked case after David removed the battery for charging. 

We ate dinner that night on the terrasse – it had been a pretty hot day, but evening and the proximity to the lake produced an evening that was reasonably comfortable.

Distance for the day - 62 kilometers.