Blogs from Rhône-Alpes, France, Europe - page 7

Lyon is one of those cities that some rate as the best in France. It did deserve more time than we allocated this time through. That wasn't really a slight on Lyon but more an indication that our key priority was to get some laundry done, then have a look around and move on to Marseilles before we had to fly home. Our being able to enter into the discussion of whether it is the best in France will have to wait until we have had a look at the rest. The three km walk carrying and towing luggage to our accommodation in Lyon wasn't the ideal introduction to the city. It wasn't that far but, by the end, we were starting to wonder whether we should have given the idea of getting a bit of ... read more

Finally, we have a relaxing day. After we enjoyed a great breakfast, we relaxed in Michelle's beautiful garden, catching up on the blog, emails, and reading. It is great to just hang back for awhile before heading to today's destination, Megeve, France. The landscape now turned from vineyards to agricultural, and before long we could see the Alps in the distance. France certainly is a beautiful country, with something for everyone. Along our route, we passed through several long tunnels, carved through the mountains that stood in our way. Exiting the last of these we were treated by white capped mountains, as we entered the French Alps. Entering one of the small villages, we stopped at a bakery for a quick lunch. Their bagettes are to die for. We then headed for the B & B ... read more

Am letzten Samstag bin ich nach der 13. Woche in Bern nach Annecy gefahren. Das ist eine schöne Stadt an einem See und ich hatte eigentlich gedacht, dass ich die schon einmal 2003 besucht habe. Aber mittlerweile bin ich mir hier nicht mehr so sicher und ich glaube, dass ich damals im benachbarten Annecy-Le-Vieux war, denn ich kann mich an keinen See und auch nicht mehr die Kanäle der Stadt erinnern. Diesmal habe ich das Ziel dank Navi und dem neuen Tunnel hinter Genf prima gefunden. Nur mit den Parkplätzen war es schwierig da bei dem schönen Wetter viele Leute am See und mehrere Parkhäuser voll waren. Zum Glück habe ich nach einer gewissen Suche am Bahnhof noch einen entdeckt. Von dort bin ich zu Fuss in die Altstadt. Dabei bin ich auch an der ... read more

Day 6 This was an unplanned day as we had not signed up for any of the special tours. We discovered that hundreds of years ago Lyon was the center of the silk trade. Catherine found a silk scarf shop yesterday when we were on tour but knew that there is a silk weaving shop in Vieux Lyon that has been there for hundreds of years. These merchants came on board yesterday and gave a silk dying demonstration but we missed it because we were in Perouges. We decided that we would hoof it back to Vieux Lyon and see if we could find the shop among the many twisting and turning streets in the old town. We were able to retrace our steps we took on the tour yesterday to the center of town, then ... read more

Day 5 Part II Our second tour of the day was an hour bus trip to the medieval town of Perouges. Walking up the cobbled street and entering through the arched gateway was like stepping back in time. I expected to see knights in shining armor and women washing clothing at the well in the center. The town sits high on a hill with spectacular views of the French alps and is built of boulders and stones. Perouges played a big part in the development of commerce in the area. Travelers would stop here over night on their way to the much bigger town of Lyon. Our guide Christopher brought us into the hundreds of years old church and as his voice echoed against the walls he walked us through the incredible history of this town ... read more