The Month Of Travel Begins!

Drew's visit at the end of March actually kicked off a month of guests and travel all over France. (I didn't have a chance to sleep write while I was away, hence the total dearth of posts in April, so now it's time to catch up!) After Drew left, my first visitors were his mother, Marty, and her best friend from college, Jinny.

Marty arrived late afternoon on April 1st (no joke!), and after she got settled in, we headed out to the Wednesday market right down the street at Place Carnot to pick up a few essential dinner items: cheese, wine, fruit, and bread. We also picked up a sausage wrapped in brioche for something a little more substantial. Pleased with ourselves, the two of us caught up while waiting for Jinny to arrive a few hours later.

We had decided to spend a few days together in Lyon before driving down to Provence for a long weekend. So, after class for me and a slow morning for the two of them on Thursday, we headed out to explore Lyon. We started out with a hike up to Fourvière, where we admired the elaborate interior of the basilica and took in the panoramic views of the city.

From there, we decided to stop next door at the Gallo-Roman museum, which overlooks the ancient Roman amphitheaters. I had visited the museum once on a class outing last semester, but I was excited to go back because it has a really great antiquities collection. In particular, it has some of the best ancient mosaics I've ever seen.

Having had our fill of Roman history, we made our way back down the hill to the bank of the Saône to explore Vieux Lyon, the Renaissance quarter of the city. We walked through the cobblestone streets, peeking into a couple of Lyon's famous traboules, until we came to La Boulangerie du Palais, which is supposed to be one of the tastiest bakeries in Lyon. Figuring that we probably needed a snack before dinner, we picked up a praline brioche (praline pastries are a Lyon specialty) before heading back to their apartment to rest up before the evening's main event: dinner at a bouchon!

Discovering the traboules

Lyon is famous for its bouchons, but I had only been to one so far back when Drew first arrived in France in December. This was the perfect occasion to try another! After getting some opinions from friends and reading reviews online, I landed on Le Musée. The owner of the place was adorable, greeting us with a hearty “bravo!” when I told him I’d made a reservation and sitting down at the table with us to explain the menu and give his recommendations.

As expected, the meal was incredible. I started with a creamy carrot soup laced ever-so-slightly with anise, Marty had a mushroom and lettuce salad with a mustard vinaigrette dressing, and Jinny tried the terrine du chef, made of pork and filet mignon. Our next course, a surprise slipped in by the kitchen, was pommes de terre dauphinois, which are basically potatoes in a delicious, creamy sauce. Then came the main dishes, quenelle (pike dumplings) in a lobster sauce, lamb, and joues de boeuf (beef cheeks). The owner told us the biggest problem with this last dish is that it would make us cry with joy, leaving mascara all over our faces. He was only half-kidding. As Marty put it afterwards, this dish was"the tenderest, savoriest morsel ever to find a plate." (Have I mentioned that Lyon is the gastronomic capital of France?)

 

We were already stuffed, but somehow we found room for dessert: chocolate mousse, crème brulée, and pain perdu au chocolat (like french toast with chocolate sauce drizzled on top). It was a decadent ending, but it was worth it! Then, just as we were finally getting to ready to leave at the end of our meal, the restaurant had one more surprise. Beckoning us towards the back of the restaurant with a few other English-speaking tourists, the owner proudly showed us the traboule and inner courtyard tucked behind the building. Since they aren't normally open to the public, it felt like he was letting us in on a little Lyon secret. All in all, it was a wonderful meal and a lovely night!

Les Gorges de L'Ardèche

After finishing class early Friday afternoon, I hopped right into the car, which Marty and Jinny had retrieved from the rental company and valiantly steered through downtown Lyon. Armed with maps and a GPS, we got on the highway headed south to Arles. Despite our fears of Easter weekend traffic, we moved along steadily without any significant backups. In fact, we were making such good time that we decided to take an unplanned side trip to see the Ardeche Gorges, a region a classmate had mentioned to me a few weeks earlier.

Marty masterfully guided the car along the windy road through the park, pulling out at lookout points along the way so we could take in the view. Everything was gorge-ous (you knew this joke was coming), but the Pont d’Arc was particularly impressive! 

Pont d'Arc! If we had had more time, I would have loved to go kayaking under the bridge!

After our stop at the Gorges, we finally made it to our home base for the weekend near Arles. Famished, we drove to nearby the nearby town of Fontvieille (our place was out in the country) and found a pizza place for dinner. Then it was off to bed to get a good night’s sleep before starting to explore Provence!