(Kam) Champagne was such a sparkling success it was bound to happen that anything to follow, even in a place as wonderful as Burgundy, would struggle to compete for a number reasons….
We left the Champagne area in perfect sunlight and warm weather and arrived in northern Burgundy just south of Les Riceys to a lovely little campsite in the middle of the countryside. We had just enough time to put up our tent before a massive spring storm hit and didn’t let up until the next morning – perhaps a little omen of things to come (??).
Good news was that with all the wind and heavy rain, our little tent passed with flying colours! Not a drop of water and our vestibules were even dry! I was so snuggly in my down sleeping bag! I did have visions that I would wake to find the tent leaking in an un-welcome puddle of water. But the downpour was not match for our little microfiber house!! It did prove to be a bit miserable having to pack up a pretty wet tent the next morning though and jump into our car between showers.
Our day was spent travelling toward Dijon and south via the Burgundy wine route. We had high expectations of Dijon because good friends of ours (hey Scott and Lisa!!) loved the place and I am sure we would have loved it, however, (as a warning for anyone visiting the city any time soon) the entire inner city of Dijon is in utter chaos and in gridlock due to massive roadworks for a tram transport system they are putting in place throughout the city. After sitting in a traffic jam for almost 2 hours getting into the city, Duncan and I had had enough (we were not on holiday to put up with a traffic jam!!! 😉 ) we gave up trying to get any further into Dijon and then spent over an hour trying to get out of the city. Three hours of our life that we can never get back!! Frustration meant that tension in our little Peugeot was high.
We continued on the wine route south of Dijon with a new frustration starting to creep in with every passing mile. The countryside is faultless, simply gorgeous; rolling hills, medieval towns, cobble stones roads, the landscape full of the famous vines. However, town after town seemed to look very much ‘closed for business’. Attempts to stop and get out to investigate a little town proved quite brief as nothing much was open to look at and we ended up walking deserted and shuttered streets. We managed to visit a few caves (wineries) but the dreary and drizzly weather just added to the overall bleakness, and unfortunately even the area which is dripping with history and amazing scenery could not warm my feelings.
After two days of travelling through the countryside, dreary weather and being stuck in the car took its toll (we did have a lovely morning in the Burgundy self proclaimed capital Bourne at the local market and a little wine bar catching up with family via Skype). After a number of ‘tense’ conversations in the car Duncan and I knew something had to change – we had the Burgundy Blues.
Please, please understand that Burgundy is certainly worth the visit and we can certainly recommend visiting larger caves as well as some of the small family providers such as Gervey Chambertin, however Duncan and I must have hit the area at the wrong time (perhaps better in later in the summer season or around wine harvest time in Sept –Oct). Another recommendation would be to perhaps to do an organised winery tour with a tour company.
After one of these ‘tense’ conversations one of us exclaimed “so what are we going to do!!?”. “Let’s bomb it Lyon!!” the other exclaimed in frustration. And that is what we did, and hooray we did ’cause we loved every moment of it!
Lyon’s population including the outer regions is about 1.7 million. To us the core of Lyon, the old town, reminded us of Edinburgh. Little lanes with an amazing amount of dinky character pubs bursting at the seams with the funky university crowd, as well as (strangely) the Italian bucks parties. Lyon was the perfect city with the perfect vibe at the perfect time.
(Dunk) We were soon to discover that Lyon was the capital of everything (except of France, a title they were very reluctant to loose to Paris), the Gastronomy Capital (Check), the Religious Capital (Check), the puppet capital (I guess….), but Kam and I found it the capital of getting out feet back in the game! We stayed at a campsite just outside of Lyon (Indigo Campsite in Dardilly), and we quickly took advantage of the “Park and Ride” scheme that Lyon had in place to ensure the CBD wasn’t clogged with cars. Our first night involved enjoying the Bouchons (Local diners serving local food at local prices! Brilliant!) and then finding our own “Local”, St James’ Pub. After a few Kilkenny’s the Campsite had actually locked us out and we had the fun task of punching in codes and scrambling into our campsite after-hours which was worth a giggle or two!
The next day we took advantage of the “Lyon City Pass”, a great initiative from the Lyon City council to encourage tourism within the city. For €20 for 1 day or €30 for 2 days, we could experience all the museums of the city, get a guided tour, a boat ride, catch the Guignol puppet play that Lyon is famous for and ride non-stop on any of the plethora of public transport Lyon has to offer (Bus, Train, Metro, Tram, Funicular, even discounts on Bicycles)! So we caught the Musee de Beaux Arts which is full of sculptures, Egyptian relics and modern art; then we took a boat ride along the Saone to discover a bit more about the city.
Although we ventured out, we just couldn’t shake the appeal of the old city. Thick with cobble stoned streets, packed in Bouchons the old town was pumping with life, something we had been missing in the small towns through Beaujoulais and Burgundy! After moving the car we managed to stumble on “Swing O’clock” a tiny alley spewed to life with Jazz music, a DJ, live horns and cheap (but rubbish) drinks! A great welcome back to the city! We then quickly ignited our routine; dinner at a Bouchon (sampling the likes of Chevre Cheese, Lyonaisse Salad, [French] Onion soup, Saucssion, Charcutrie, Lentils, Chicken Pot, Meat Pot, Terrine, Andtoilette, Steak, Creme Brulee, Pear Tartine, Rum and Raisin Glace, Berry Tartine… seriously the list goes on); then to our local (where we were actually referred to by name, and were asked if we wanted our “regular”; seriously, felt like Cheers – thanks Claire!); then a metro ride to the closest station; followed by a 2 minute drive to the campsite for a Fort Knox style entrance! Only to be repeated the next night!
Our last full day in Lyon took us to the Notre Dame Basilica, with a great look out over Lyon, where we picnicked (with everyone else) before joining our organised tour through the Troubules (old city corridors). It was great to see how the city used to be linked together without organised streets, but with corridors between buildings. We then scooted off to see Guignol, a local puppet play, similar to Punch and Judy, but with a lot more talking, and less slapstick, but it was worth it just to see the kid’s panto-esque interaction with the performance. Very fun! Again our night ended at the local with the “Top 14” rugby final between Toulouse and Montpellier on the big screen! Kam and I opted for Toulouse and luckily they came up trumps, as there were a few die hard supporters!
We woke the next day and were very sad to say goodbye to Lyon, a place we had never planned to see, and a place we loved so much! The 3rd biggest city in France, but our favourite so far! We were happy that our road out of the city took us right through the centre of it, the best send off, for our revitalising pitstop! And now with no plan of where to go, we have decided we are this close to Italy, we have to give it a go. Torino onward!
