On May 1, 1561, King Charles IX of France received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm. He decided to offer a lily of the valley each year to the ladies of the court. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became custom to give a sprig of lily of the valley, a symbol of springtime, on May 1. The government permits individuals and workers' organisations to sell them tax-free. Nowadays, people may present loved ones either with bunches of lily of the valley or dog rose flowers.
The day is sunny and warm! A good day to travel, but a sad day leaving.
Traveled to Lyon on the back roads, since there were no trucks allowed today. Beautiful rape fields, grave vineyards, etc. quite a bit of rain for awhile and then the sun came back and the weather was wonderful.
No joy Lyon as far as finding our way around. Sort of found the museum that I wanted to see but finding a hotel proved to be impossible. Finally headed away from town and found a Novatel near the autoroute. Perfect! Room, wi-fi, lots of restaurants to choose from. Found an Italian one and it was excellent! Good dinner, good wine, good sleep.
In the morning we took the tram, Metro and bus to the Museum des Canuts where I was able to watch silk weaving on a real Jacquard loom! My weaving friends will appreciate my enjoyment of this. We took the tour which was in French, but the woman translated a lot of it for us. I found that of the 20 or so people on the tour, none were weavers and, in face, pretty much no one in France weaves!
After that, we collected our car and headed south. Charlie decided he wanted to go to Marseilles And look for olive oil soap for Angela. That was almost worse than the time we drove through Genoa, although I never cried this time!
So tired of fighting traffic and not knowing where to go. Finally headed out of town towards the airport. Hotel with very little charm, but a place to park, a bed, food. Gratefully opened a bottle of Hubert's wine! Noisiest hotel I can remember and it was like sleeping in a K-Mart with the blue light on the tv that wouldn't go away!
Friday, May 3
Day starts out sunny and bright. Breakfast at the hotel then on the road. Gave up on finding Angela's olive oil soap...
Drive, drive, drive. Beautiful countryside. We did stop for a picnic in a beautiful spot.
Finally ended up in Banyuls sur Mer, a cute little town on the Med. The water is so blue! Found a little hotel with a tiny balcony where we can see the water.
After a nice nap, we went to dinner, which was good, but nothing to write home about so I won't.
Saturday, May 4
Woke to more sunshine. Found a nice place right on the water for cafe au lait and croissants. A person could get used to this!
Wandered around town enjoying the views and taking lots of photos. Where did the time go? All of a sudden it's time for lunch. A nice salad for me, filled with all sorts of seafood and the plat du jour for Charlie.
Finished lunch just in time to catch the Petite Train that took us on a breathtaking ride up the mountain to view vineyards planted on the sides. Stopped for a tour and tasting at Cellier Des Templiers. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.
After that, we went back to our room and opened the bottle of champagne we brought from Barfondarc vineyard. The hotel had kept it in their refrigerator for us and we enjoyed it on the terrace!
No comments:
Post a Comment