May 17, 2019

We had to be out of the house by 10 am this morning, so we finished our packing and had a quick breakfast. Fabien kindly came over at 9 am to help us get our luggage downstairs to the car and we were on the road by 9:30.

Suzanne took this picture of the rock we drove under everytime we left Venasque.

There was always the feeling that we wanted to get out from under it as quickly as possible. After all a small part of the village is probably sitting on it.

In Lyon we passed the Fountaine de Jacobins which was built in 1556 and made into a fountain in1856. The square and fountain are UNESCO world heritage sites.

We lost the good weather and had an overcast drive toward Lyon with intermittent rain. The drive went smoothly until we got to our hotel. It is on a bus lane with no parking or luggage drop. We did a big circle through the Historic center of town and when we had it in sight again, Suzanne jumped out to go ask if there was a valet. In the meantime Babette and I were on our own trying to navigate back around (she doesn’t always have the up to date info). Luckily I ended up on the highway we came into town on and was able to slip into an underground parking structure we had previously passed. I called Suzanne and directed her as best I could to where the car was parked. I couldn’t leave it to find her, because rule #1 is NEVER leave anything in your unattended car. Resourceful Suzanne eventually found me and we got all the luggage out of the car and through the streets to the hotel.

As our room wasn’t yet ready, we opted to wait and have a glass of wine to steady our nerves. The photo above shows the serving cylinders of wine, which are inserted into the top of a D-Vine that aerates and brings the wine to the correct drinking temperature. I think we’re getting into serious wine country.

Once we got into our room, it was off to find something to eat…..a very late lunch at 3 pm. The restaurants were all closed, so we ended up in a little bar/cafe. The only thing they had left was Quiche Lorraine, so we each had a slice served with salad. Afterward we took a little walk though a mall that runs through 2 blocks.

Our favorite was the French cooks store.

Above is liquid chocolate, eating chocolate and cooking chocolate, with a little caramel thrown in for good measure. Below is a color of sugar for every mood or color scheme.

There were several umbrella stores (not taking that as a good sign). These umbrella’s are just so French, love them all.

There also seemed to be several shaving and fragrance shops for men.

Suzanne and I were both taken by the little figures in this shop window.

The featured photo is a window display in a women’s fragrance store. I thought it was innovative and very attractive.

A very short day in Lyon with all the driving. So it’s Au revoir, until tomorrow.