Rain, flamingos and Jazz

Four days in the Bouches du Rhône passed in a blur of wind, thunderstorms, and a handsome hound named Jazz. Oh, and wine. Hence the blur.

Saturday duly arrived, and we made our leisurely way down south. A short detour took us via our favourite Coteaux du Tricastin viticulteur and a picturesque tea room in Grignant, and a longer detour took us on an increasingly desperate search for petrol. Fumes and a kindly boulangère eventually got us to a service station, and we thus managed to arrive at the gorgeous Mas de l'Hermitage in the early evening, to a friendly greeting from the proprietors and an enormous dog named Jazz.

J&C duly made it through the fishermen's blockades and arrived an hour or so later, comfortably in time for the table d'hôte. An interesting evening all told, from our hosts - an exotic couple, in both the gay & unusual senses of the word - to the copious supply of wine. The tales of past lives as ballet dancer, biochemist, restaurateur and nuclear physicist were finished off with home-produced peach schnapps. Not a good idea.

Needless to say, the following day was a bit of a write off. La bienheureuse & I did make it out in the pouring rain before noon to the local village to buy provisions for the day, but that finished me off and necessitated a couple of hours in bed to recover. I did later manage to offer a modicum of help and advice during the cooking of the evening meal, but alcohol consumption was drastically reduced.

Still some way off full health the next day, we ventured out for a drive round the Camargue. The Romany gathering at Saintes Maries de la Mer was virtually over, but we watched the local cowboys delivering a bull for the evening event at the bullring. Flamingos and other birds aplenty were on view at the Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Gau. An elusive aquatic mammal was less in evidence, but eventually turned out to be a coypu. Non-indigenous...

Le maitre cusinier was in action in the evening, which meant more good food and more good wine, consumption ominously on the rise again. And it stayed dry until the end of the evening, allowing us to eat outside with faithful companion Jazz.

While JW went on a forty mile cycle ride to collect croissants the next morning, the rest of us stayed in bed. It was Tuesday and going-home day for la bienheureuse et moi, so we bid a sad farewell to our hosts and Jazz, but J&C accompanied us on a drive up the Alpilles to visit an umpteenth pretty Provençal village named les Baux de Provence.

The sun almost shone and after lunch it was time to point la voiture north and set off for home. And wouldn't you know, it was a lovely sunny day by the time we reached Lyon...

Fishing for fuel

Quiet few days chez nous, but elsewhere in France the noise level rises. Fishermen on strike and blocking ports, general transport strike yesterday, pensioners and teachers still protesting, etc, etc...

The strike in Lyon yesterday was only partial, which meant la bienheureuse only had to cope with overpacked metros rather than none at all. Meanwhile, les marins-pêcheurs are still not happy, despite some government concessions on Wednesday to help with fuel costs.

We are keeping fingers crossed that Calais remains open, at least till Saturday afternoon, because les amis J&C are ferrying over in the morning. La bienheureuse has taken a couple of days off next week so that we can meet up with them in the Camargue for a few days. The weather forecast suggests we might spend the holiday indoors. Summer is definitely taking its time in arriving, though ironically today it's a lovely day in Lyon...

2nd thoughts & 7th heaven

I may have been a little previous in my assertion that spring had arrived. Last couple of days have been somewhat cooler, and today is positively chilly. Just hope it warms up by the weekend...

La bienheureuse is currently in Milan for a couple of days, and preceded her trip with a bit of a spring-cleaning frenzy over the weekend. We thus didn't get out much, apart from a dutiful stroll out on Saturday evening to sample the atmosphere as OL finally confirmed their 7th league title in a row. The match was being shown on a big screen in Place Bellecour and we got there for the second half, by which time the suspense was over. Towards the back of the crowd there was a less than excitable atmosphere, but as the final whistle approached plenty of flares were going off further forward, and the walk home was to the ritual continuous accompaniment of car horns.

Apparently a crowd of several thousand stayed up till 2am to welcome the team back from Auxerre, and Place Terreaux was packed yesterday as they made the expected appearance on the balcony of the Hotel de Ville. Sleep and the vacuum cleaner respectively exerted the greater pull for us on those occasions though...

Sept titres d'affilés

In the end, a noisy night in Lyon last night. The final day of the French league season ended with a bit of a bang. OL needed only one point from their final fixture, away at Auxerre, to be sure of the title once more. It was never in doubt. We were watching the build up on Canal+ just before kick-off (the subscription satellite service has a couple of periods 'en clair' per day, ie when they broadcast unencrypted). On our cable service this often means the first minute or two of football games can be watched before the 'you are not subscribed' message flashes up and the screen goes black. Such was the case yesterday, and no sooner had I said 'what we need now is OL to score in the first 30 seconds', than Benzema had done exactly that. A minute later the free broadcast was cut.

We thus decided to venture out to sample the atmosphere in Place Bellecour, where the game was being broadcast on a giant screen. By the time we got there just after half-time, Lyon were 2-0 up, and then scored a third soon after. Suspense over, despite a late Auxerre goal. The real excitement was elsewhere. It literally rained goals in the battles for the third champions league place and against relegation. PSG won away to save themselves from the drop, sadly sending Lens (the real northern hotbed of football) down, and Marseille came from behind to win 4-3 to pip Nancy, who lost at home for the first time this season, for 3rd.

At the back of the Bellecour crowd there wasn't much excitement or atmosphere. Towards the front may have been a bit different, with flares going off as it became clear OL were going to take the 'septième titre d'affilé', but it was hard to avoid the feeling that the Lyonnais have become a bit blasé about winning the title. Even if it was been a bit more of a struggle this year than those past. OL now have a chance of their first cup & league double, with the French cup final next weekend against PSG. Ironically, the coach is widely expected to be shown the door at the end of the season whatever the result...

Couacs & grèves

Tuesday saw a stunning victory, albeit temporary, for the opposition in the National Assembly, beating the government by one vote in a motion to reject the reading of a bill on controls on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Seems the government were caught by surprise, with scores of MPs absent from the chamber. It didn't take long for Sarko and Fillon to whip the troops into action though - the reading was pushed through the next day and the environment minister made a hasty appearance on the main TV news the next day, bleating on about how the bill would give France the most restrictive GM laws in the world.

Meanwhile discontent in the education sector rumbles on. Teachers held a one-day strike yesterday to protest against cuts & low pay. The government have been trying to push the idea of maintaining le service minimum (ensuring that pupils are able to attend school when there's a strike, even if there are no lessons), and in Lyon the mairie of the 2nd arrondissement (one of the two out of nine which are controlled by the right wing) attempted to maintain le service minimum themselves. They managed to keep one school open & 30 odd kids out of 130 turned up in the morning. By afternoon the number had dropped to 20...

One notable thing about the education protests is that the pupils themselves (the older ones anyway) have been taking a leading role, with regular marches & demonstrations supporting their teachers. Something of a contrast with attitudes in the UK I suspect. Can't imagine the recent strike in England was greeted by anything but delight at having a bonus day off by most schoolkids there. Would I be wrong...?

Spring is in the air

Ignoring a wet yesterday, le printemps lyonnais seems to have definitely arrived. Lovely weekend, spent mostly recuperating after exhausting holiday apart from a Saturday evening trip to watch OL stumble & slog towards a 7th successive title. Tight and uninspired game against 3rd placed Nancy was finally decided 15 minutes into the second half when a Juninho free-kick was deflected into his own net by an Alsacien defender. Lyon retain the 2 point lead going into the final game of the season tomorrow at Auxerre.

The other sign of spring in this part of the world is the annual platane (Plane tree) seed invasion. In the current breezy weather, the fluffy pests blow everywhere. Most somehow seem to find their way into one's eyes. Some days goggles are necessary.

Meanwhile, on the home front, I finally signed the surrender in the battle of the leaking pipe. Le plombier was duly called on Tuesday & turned up on Wednesday. Quite impressive service for a plumber, particuarly as having originally said he might make it on the Tuesday afternoon, he actually phoned in the early evening to apologise for not doing so.

On the political front Sarko continues to make somewhat heavy weather of his 2nd year in office, though not quite as heavy as Mr Brown. This week we've had a totally unexpected oppostion victory in parliament, defeating a bill on OGMs (genetically modified organisms - though said bill was pushed through the next day after the government mobilised forces), and a teachers' strike to protest against pay and cuts in education.

3000km later...

13 days, 9 separate 1 or 2 night stops, nearly 2000 miles - not the ideal itinerary for a holiday, but, for me at least, it was a pleasant & relaxing trip. Perhaps slightly less so for la bienheureuse as it was she who did all the driving, due to my decrepit spine. Fortunately the longest stint was the 5 hours from Lyon to Laon on the first day...

lundi 28 avril
La bienheureuse has a meeting at work but takes the afternoon off and we're away from Lyon by 2pm. Five hours of near incessant rain later we arrive in the hilltop town of Laon. We manage to find our hotel (a sort of French version of a slightly more upmarket Fawlty Towers) in time for an hour's stroll in the drizzle round the mediaeval centre, complete with 12/13th century gothic cathedral. Overeat during dinner in the hotel restaurant empty but for one other couple.

mardi 29
Weather steadily improves during two hour drive to Calais. Sunshine greets us in Dover! Two hour drive to Cambridge becomes nearly three when one of the Dartford tunnels is closed due to an accident. The weather in Blighty might have improved but the traffic's as bad as ever. Arrive chez Mr G, takeaway curry is ordered and the big M and lady K arrive for a pleasant evening, spoiled only by events in Barcelona.

mercredi 30
Weather reverts to true English form and it's raining as we set off for what is nonetheless a leisurely drive up to Cheshire. Arrive chez la belle-mère mid-afternoon and spend a leisurely evening hearing about the adventures of la grande-mère and the conmen. Dinner at the local curry-house.

jeudi 1 mai
The sun reappears. Spend an idle labour day with a pleasant wander around Chirk castle,
then meander through Flintshire to visit la belle-famille et les chiennes. Pleasant evening as ever, bar a minor case of canine incontinence. Fortunately a suitable change of clothing is available.

vendredi 2
Return to Cambridge for la grande soirée chez J&C, with bonus appearance by mademoiselle H. As is usual in such convivial company much good food and too much good alcohol is consumed.

samedi 3
Catch early(ish) train into London for rendezvous with la belle-mère in Kings Cross. Deposit bags at hotel round the corner from the station(no, not that kind of hotel), and spend the afternoon wandering the streets of the West End. Settle eventually on Pizza Hut for an early dinner before crossing the road to the theatre for a bit of high culture. Spamalot. Okay, maybe not high culture, but a very enjoyable musical spoof of usual Monty Python high standards.

dimanche 4
Breakfast in the new St Pancras concourse,
then escape the nightmare of a West End shopping trip with épouse & belle-mère for the infinitely better dream of a trip to the home of football. Meet up with J&C for a quick couple of pre-match pints, necessary in the light of the tedious game that followed. Still, any football is better than none, and Wenger's young heroes complete an unbeaten home season.
Post-match, eventually successfully meet up with la bienheureuse, la belle-mère, and the betrothed couple, N&M. They take us, via a bottle of wine in a bar in Upper St, to a delicious curry in the East End and dessert in Spitalfield Market. The 3rd curry of the week, making up for the lack of good English grub in France, is the best.

lundi 5
Spend the morning wandering around Regents Park in unseasonably warm sunshine before seeing la belle-mère onto the Heathrow express at Paddington. Make our way back across town and catch a train back to Cambridge in time for a spot of sun-bathing and aperitifs in the back garden chez J&C. More good food & more good wine follow.

mardi 6
The sun continues to shine during the morning drive back to Dover, and continues shining for the 2 and a half hour drive to la côte des blancs in the Champagne region. Check-in at the pleasant little chambres d'hôtes, enjoy a champagne aperitif on the terrace in the sunshine before sharing a delicious dinner for two. With champagne.

mercredi 7
Spend the morning exploring Epernay, visit the caves of the maison Mercier on a little laser-guided train, then set off on an afternoon driving tour of the côte des blancs vineyard country.
Restrict ourselves to one degustation, with charming young female host, and 2 cases of champagne. After the bacchanalian excesses of the previous week decide on a picnic dinner on the terrace at the chambres d'hôtes. With bottle of locally-produced champagne, of course.

jeudi 8
Short, leisurely drive across to Chalons-en-Champagne.
Arrive just about in time to witness VE day commemoration, wander amongst yet more handsome mediaeval buildings and picnic in yet another pretty park. Continue via the scenic route and a short stop at Lac Der-Chantecoq, on to our next overnight stop in Langres. Another leisurely wander around another fortified, hilltop mediaeval town. Dinner at the hotel is simple but tasty, and this time we share the restaurant with at least 4 other couples.

vendredi 9
Alas, the last full day of the trip. Buffet breakfast is enlivened by eavesdropping on English father & son on bonding road-trip. Bonding still on-going, by the sound of discussions over the wheres and hows of their next destination. Still, they had a nice old MG to do it in. We spend another couple of hours exploring Langres before setting off on our own road trip towards the Bourgogne.
Arrive in Beaune mid-afternoon, check in to the hotel, then spend spend a couple of hours wandering around yet another old town full of handsome old buildings, most of it spent looking for the star of old Beaune buildings, the Hôtel Dieu.
Worth the effort though, despite the front part of the building being currently covered in scaffolding. The main attraction, the colourfully patterned roof of glazed tiles, still visible in all its glory.

samedi 10
Final must-do item on the agenda: a degustion at a Bourgogne vineyard. On the recommendation of the hotel manager find a small proprietaire-recoltant in Pommard, where we partake of a highly informative degustation in the cave, given by a most charming young lady. Persuade la bienheureuse that we really ought to take advantage of the opportunity to buy a few bottles of decent Burgundy which need several years of cellaring to mature. End up buying and spending twice as much as intended, and la bienheureuse threatens to ban me from any future degustations with delectable young females.
Afterwards, via a short scenic tour through the hills above Pommard, we reluctantly set course for Lyon and arrive home in the early evening. I decide that my back is sufficiently recovered to take over the onerous driving duties for the final 90 minute stretch. A man has to do his share, after all...