Search

Au revoir Provence

lindaglamour
May 22, 2016
3 min read

I made friends with the Black Rhino today. I had always appreciated its gifts mainly the GPS for taking me to where I wanted to go even if that route seemed like a goat track on the side of a mountain or through a deserted forest for which I was competing with the local deer population for space on the road. But today I truly made friends with the rhino.

The passage from Provence to Lyon takes one through the Auvergne - a rocky volcanic part of France. The scenery changes from Provencale cragginess to bucolic scenes - white cows sit and watch you pass and the mountains are shrouded in thick white mist. Via tunnels through mountains that seem that long I felt that I was part of a Star Trek/Sci Fi experience as the coloured lights on the inside of the tunnel whisked past.

Out on the autoroute between Aix en Provence to Lyon, the speed limit is 130 kms per hour - I have great respect for french drivers, they always move to the right when they are not passing, they wait patiently as one traverses narrow roadways and they obey village speed limits. However, on the autoroute its all up for sport! They speed like crazy, pass without being able to see what is ahead and beep you if you are doing 120 KM in the slow lane! It is for this that having the presence of the Black Rhino on the road was a blessing - it could hold the road, speed up when needed and I thought - protect me adequately if it all went south badly! But it didn't and I arrived in Lyon on a cool, wet day.

I shall save my experiences of the Cour de Loges in Lyon for a separate blog, but to summarise, their assistance, warm welcome and valet parking service made my experience of Lyon so much more pleasurable than it would have been otherwise.

Firstly, Francois the Concierge came to my rescue when I arrived with umbrella to protect me, a smile and a willingness to take the keys of the rhino.

Secondly, Francois recommended a stroll across the river to The Institution for lunch. It was like entering a warm club (sans friends however) and feeling very cosseted indeed. I wonder if my arrival under a Cour des Loges labelled umbrella gave me some je ne sais quo? Lunch was salmon linguine and glass of Sanceere.

Lyon is a beautiful city built in three distinct stages. Francois recommended returning back to the Old Quarter after lunch and taking the Funiclure tram to the Basilica for a view of the city. Indeed a wonderful experience and the views were amazing even if a tad soggy from the rain. Lyon begins in the medieval old quarter and from there one can see its expansion - to the 17 & 18th centuries to the modern in waves spreading out from the river. The Basilica was ornate and worthy of a view along with the nearer Church of St Jean.

Back into the old quarter local bistro were touting the local specialty however I settled for a cafe creme and time to ponder life passing by. Walking back to the Cour and taking an ambling way to get there, I passed lots of intriguing doorways and passageways that in a blink could be 15th century rather than 21st.