Damn this is going to be a hard update, a lot has happend since Aix En Provance which leigh is going to write about, probably has written about it already. So what this post is going to be about is how the group split off for a couple of days and what Stef and I did in Avignon, Lyon and what we all did when we reconverged back in Dijon. There, nice little summary, now its time for the detail…..
So after Steff and I left Leigh and Maia to go off to their wedding, we went a wandering through the city (I must say, wandering through Avignon during the day is much easier than trying to find your way back to your hotel at 2am). We visited the Papal Palace where the Catholic Church was run from during the 14th to the 16th century…or around that time at least. Grabbed our stuff from our hotel, which was really cool (medieval style) and quite cheap and then jumped on the next train to Lyon.
Got into Lyon in the evening and managed to find our way to the backpackers we stayed at. Up to this point we have managed to avoid backpacker hostels apart from 1 night in Athens and now 1 night in Lyon. The hostel that Lonely Planet recommended overlooks Lyon so it has a spectacular view, but really thats all you can say about it. The she bitch at the door had a real attitude problem, so I am seeing a pattern as there was also a she bitch at the door in Athens. I was lucky as my room was with 6 beds, 2 bunks on the bottom floor then two beds on the mezzanine. The two beds on the mezzanine were pushed together, which actually was a bit concerning considering it was a split sex dorm, but i threw my stuff on my bed pushed the other away and headed off to dinner with Stef. By the time we manged to get out at to a restaurant it was 11.30pm so we were a bit concerned but we found an amazing place which had brilliant food. Stef and I decided to splurge so we both ate Escargot, my first time ever and I must say very nice!! Followed by my next dish….I think we managed to get out of the waiter what it was, I know it was from a cow, and he pointed to his kidney area … it didn’t taste like red meat so I think it was actually cow kidney. When I chose the dish it was because Stef didn’t understand what it was and she speaks pretty good french. All I can say is that it was absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!! This was then followed by Fromage (cheese for all you plebs), and espresso. After dinner we hightailed it down the road to a rather dodgy bar, a bar you tend to end up in after all the other bars are closed… Lots of neon lights to attact the bar flies. We ordered a couple of house special coctails each, these tasted like rocket fuel but they did the trick. We then walked around a bit and back to the hostel by about 4am.
Up at 9.30 for a 10am checkout followed by a nice breakfast crepe and a brilliant espresso, we managed to see 5 minutes of 10.30 catholic mass in a brilliant cathedral, a walk around Lyon markets where I picked up some travel gifts for my two fabulous sisters 😉 and a lesuirely stroll through the business district of Lyon. Grabbed a bite to eat and a beer and then headed back to the hostel to grab our stuff. Lyon is very different to the other french towns we were in but very nice. No old city walls that I could see unlike Avignon and Aix. Pretty much everything in Lyon was closed, it was a Sunday after all, but at least we got to walk around the city and have some fun. Oh I must say that I also got to ride the Funicular…such a great name for a cable car up to the hostel. Grabbed our stuff and then headed back to the train station to grab the TGV to Dijon.
Arrived in Dijon around 6.31pm to catch up again with Leigh and Maia to stay in another great hotel, not Medieval but nice none the less. So far we have really only used the Lonely Planet for accomadation in France. For that it has been real handy! Stef and I arrived bedraggled and very vague, carrying a huge load of stuff that Stef has been lugging around since Aix to the hotel in 30+ degree heat does that too you I guess. Quick shower then we headed off to the nearest pub with Leigh and Maia to watch the World cup. If you think that while travelling in Turkey and eating Kebap after Kebap Leigh and I would be sick of them, you would be wrong. French Kebabs would have to be the nicest ones so far. If you order chips with your kebab, they put the chips in the kebab…now thats cool. It was dissapointing to see France lose the world cup, I didn’t see any flares or broken glass nor any crazy rioting. It was great to be able to watch France play in the Final whilst outside a French pub, eating a Turkish kebab, drinking an Australian beer (fosters is everywhere!!)… some definate novelty value in that for sure. We walked around the town a bit more and then headed to bed exhausted.
Next day we got up late, had some pastries and hired bikes to ride around the town. It was a brilliantly warm, sunny french day. One thing I love about France that in summer, the grass is still green everywhere! We rode along a river to the lake where there is a fake beach to eat some lunch. Stef and I had an interesting lunch to say the least, Meat fondue….. When we ordered fondue we thought it was going to be cheese, when they came out with a pot of hot oil and a bowl of raw meat you could say we were a bit surprised!! So we got our skewers like any good french person would and plunged hunk after hunk of raw red meat into the boiling oil. That, followed by the chips and the very creamy sauce left us both stuffed and sleepy. A nap soon ensured under a shady tree.
After getting back to town we checked out the local haunts where Leigh managed to find a brilliant resturaunt, he has an inate sense for great resturaunts in small side streets. I ate, I would have to say one of the nicest meals on this trip. Kir Cassis for appertif, some tuna thing as a surprisem before the Foe Grae entree, Swordfish for mains, Creme Brulie for dessert and espresso after it all. When we got the espresso they brought out buscuits and caramel, I was that full I couldn’t eat the buscuits! Afterwards we all staggered home to bed with full bellies and for me a mild case of indigestion.
After a brilliant meal like that you think we would have a break, nup, never. Wine tasting the following morning was the best way to finish in Dijon! The tour we booked through the tourism office probably wasn’t the best one we could have done, only 3 hours and 2 wineries but I thought it was still fantastic. The first winery was Chateu Andre Ziltinger where we tasted from the dodgy wine all the way up to the Grand Cruz….very nice!!! We all spend some serious dosh and bought a bottle of the 2003 Grand Cruz. After Andre’s joint we legged it through a few towns in the Burgandy region and ended up in another winery. Unfornately I can’t remember what the name was but we bought some more wine from there as well. Not as good as Chateu Andre Ziltinger but still nice. I must say drinking wine at 10 in the morning until 12 kinda hits you pretty hard. I didn’t have breakfast because the previous nights dinner was still lingering around so it went straight to everybodies head! After the tour we bummed around town, grabbed our bags and caught the next TGV to Paris.