29th September, Pétanque

 Pétanque is an important part of French and importantly French village life and Saint Albans de Varese has its own lively Pétanque club and "courts" facility. 
Yesterday the club held an open day and players from other clubs and the locals were out in force for the challenge. We went along merely to have a look, to join in another phase of village life, meet some more people and to try and understand this fascinating game. We appeared to be the only "outsiders" and our limited knowledge of the language didn't help. I think we were asked if we wanted to play but we declined and said we merely wanted to watch the game,and were directed to some benches along the edge of the courts from where we watched.  We were still none the wiser after an hour or so.

Pétanque players examining state of play.

After a bit of "googling" we now understand a little of what it's about. 

27th September, Bonnes Idées Françaises Sanglantes # 1

Today's Blog, titled "Bonnes Idées Françaises Sanglantes # 1" (Bloody Good French Ideas # 1), exposes the first of those ideas that come under the category of  "why didn't we think of that?" 

Sanglante Bonne Idée Française # 1 - "Sac pour déjections canines"

This is probably not a French invention but we saw it here first and we will give the French the credit.
Sac pour déjections canines (bag for dog mess, excrement, doodoo, waste, faeces or whatever) dispensing stations are dotted throughout some of the larger towns we have walked. They are provided free by the local municipality and come with instructions for their use and eventual disposal. Despite the ready availability of the bags for the inner city inhabitants, who have a need to walk their dogs along the footpaths, and through parks, carparks and other public places, one must still keep a ready eye open for the errant "déjection canine" while trying to take in the scenery and points of interest which are normally above ground level. 

An unused sac pour déjections canines

25th September, A Drive Through South Eastern Isère

Our little village is in the Department of  Isère of the Region of the Rhône Alpes. We have travelled quite a bit through Isère on our adventures but never to the South East and it was granted the opportunity today to show us what it has to offer. Like all of the areas of  Isère, it did not disappoint.
We did not set off with a plan of where we were headed apart from south east and allowed the map to take us through pretty little villages which, in the majority, give the impression of recent construction. There are, of course, buildings going back to medieval times, but we imagine a lot were destroyed in WW2 and have been replaced by these "recent constructions", and new subdivisions.
The countryside, just outside these clusters of small villages, has large super markets, refuelling stations and carparks, scattered throughout. There is no land available within the villages for them and people will travel 10+ kms to go to them. A bit like us travelling from Bundanoon to Moss Vale, I suppose. It is at these supermakets that people fill up with fuel. There are no service stations (or very few) in the villages and none on the country roads. The big tollway motorways have them scattered along their routes.
The countryside is beautiful. Wide expanses of flat farmland, all growing crops. I don't think we saw a cow or a sheep all day and imagine they are locked away in barns or over the hill we didn't cross. The land is interspersed with forests  and we travelled through several "Parc Naturels"
We stopped in a village called Roybon for lunch and on the drive out encounterd a large semi trailer travelling through the town in the opposite direction, on a road which only just fitted our little Citroen DS3. He was  intent on continuing. I somehow managed to squeeze onto the narrow sidewalk and hard up against the building wall and Ann and I both breathed out. He managed to squeeze past with milimeters to spare and, I mean milimeters and probably more like a bee's knee.

Country Scene

Old tower, now museum, in Bressieux with countryside in background.

24th September, Return to The Ardèche

We really didn't see too much of The Ardèche the other day when did the train ride so we went back and delved deeper today.
Knowing that with its rivers, streams and rocky outcrops, the Ardèche has become a favourite place for canoe and kayak enthusiasts and sport climbers from around the world, there was still a lot of this mountanous and river gorge country still to see. It also hides many "towns of character" amongst its winding roads and crags and we set out to discover some more of this for ourselves. Please don't imagine that we took the kayak or climbing ropes with us, but we did pack the camera and spare battery, but on the narrow and winding roads stopping places to capture the best images were few and far between. However, here is a sample of what we did see.

23rd September - Views over St Albans de Varese

It has been a beautiful Rhône Alpes autumn day to-day. Currently at 4.30pm it is 23 degrees without a cloud in the sky and no wind at all. We have just returned home from a little drive in the local countryside, through thickly forested landscapes, tiny villages and some open farmland and dodging tractors on the narrow roads. The orchardists are picking their apples and farmers are busy ploughing and we can see the final tomatoes turning red in the gardens when we stop. Firewood is being collected for the snowy winter - we will be home in Bundanoon before this area is blanketed in snow from mid November.
Here are some photos from a hilltop over looking St Albans de Varese giving you an idea of the beauty of the place.

Looking down towards our place - the road just to right of the shed, house behind the bunch of trees on RHS

The St Alban de Varese church - see the spire

To the east of the village

To the west of the village

Further west to Vernioz and La Charinaz in foreground, our neighbouring villages

22nd September - The Ardèche

We think you could do, see or experience something different every day here in the Rhône-Alpes and wonder if we shouldn't stay longer - perhaps another 3 years or so. 
We are living in the Isère Département of the Région of  Rhône-Alpes. 
Today we crossed the "border" into the  Ardèche Département of the Région of Rhône-Alpes, about 50 kms to the south of us to see and experience a completely different sort of countryside. We headed towards Tournon-sur-Rhône from where we were looking for the Train L'Ardèche , a restored narrow gauge train operation built by 1000 men between 1886 and 1891 to ply between the Gare de Tournon-Saint-Jean and Lamastre, another town at the end of  Les Gorges du Doux, the gorge connecting the towns, and carry building materials (stone and timber) down to the riverside towns.
We found the train at 10.30am and paid for two tickets - it wasn't leaving on its 1.5  hours' return trip until 3.15 so we had some time to kill, so back to Tournon-sur-Rhône for an explore. Tournon sur Rhône's main attraction is a feudal castle that is built into a rock overlooking the town and the river, and whose foundations date back to the 10th Century. The castle fascinated us as it seems to grow out of this rocky outcrop.

Castle on rocky outcrop

Other side of castle

 After lunch, including escargots for Bob, we headed back to the train and arrived at about 2.30. Just as well we bought our tickets earlier as there were heaps of people lined up buying tickets and a bus load turned up as well. The carriages were open sided ( a bit like the "Puffing Billy" in the Dandenongs) and the old steam engine spewed soot over us all, but it was worth it. The train clung to the narrow gauge lines laid on a cutting on the edge of the Gorge above the river Ardèche. Opposite us on the other side of the river ran a viaduct through which we could see water running. The views and scenery were stunning. We passed through a 265m long tunnel, hewn out of the rock and past small sidings with one house precariously perched above the gorge and which obviously housed railway track workers back in the days when it was a commercial railway. People still live in it and waved to us as we passed. At the end of this tourist run at Columbier le Vieux St-Barthelemy le Plain (love these French names - wish I could pronounce them) the steam  engine was uncoupled, rotated on a manual turntable by two men, and recoupled on the other end of the train for the return trip.
We became aware only on disembarking that the restoration, at a cost of 8.6 million euro, was only completed this year and the first tourist train ran on 13th July, 2013. We were lucky to have had the experience.

Before departure

Le Grand Pont - Commenced construction in 1470

Engine on turntable

One of many Viaduct crossings of the river

A River view

21st September - Vienne Markets

Yesterday was rest day after a couple of days of arduous adventuring.

Every Saturday morning the 2nd largest market in France (outside of Paris) spreads for 5 kms through the city centre of Vienne. I think what this means is that the rows of stalls, and there could be three rows in one street, stretch for 5 kms in total. It is held in the area that we explored on Wednesday and it is strange to see some of the ancient buildings and sites as backdrops to this market - it looked so different today with busy streets closed off. All sorts of local produce including vegetables, fruits, cheese, milk, meats, sausages, terrines, clothes, shoes, accessories, toys, chickens, ducks and probably many more that I haven't retained - oh, and honey, olives, socks and jocks and jams.
One of the most interesting, and something we hadn't ever seen anywhere before, was people filling supplied  bottles with milk from a large, cooled and stirred stainless tank direct from the farm's output of that morning. The milk is the same that we are buying from our local dairy, ie unhomegenised, unpasteurised (lait cru) and that day's production.

Customer capping a freshly filled milk bottle

Who doesn't love olives?

Fruit of all types

Vegetables galore

Berries to tempt

Clothes to fit everyone

19th September - Cremieu

We don't normally get up at 5am unless it's for something very important like going fishing or taking Elizabeth to the airport. Elizabeth flew out of Lyon at 9 am for Klagenfurt (Austria) via Venice before catching up with her family in Rome in a few days' time. It has been great having her with us and it's what you can do when you have a house on exchange with the available accommodation.
After dropping Elizabeth off we headed towards Cremieu, a village which we have heard about and has had us intrigued since we first arrived. This 800 year old village is heritage listed and contains magnificent architecture. Its heritage has been revealed by careful restoration and as the Tourist Bureau spiel says "we are reminded of the long winding path from Middle ages to modern times. Each monument and house is a living memory of its history, passed on from generation to generation, remarkably intact and vivid". The village is breathtaking.
It contains a covered market hall from the early 14th century (1315-1321) in its original form and which is still used today as a market venue 700 years later.
Here are some photos of the magnificent village.

Covered Market Hall

Cloisters

Restored Convent

18th September - Old Vienne and Vegetables

We have been  living our village life for nearly two weeks with all of its modern conveniences - except television. Our house owners do not have TV (we wouldn't understand too much of it anyway) but we do have a home entertainment system and a BIG screen to display the images from a projector. Thank heavens  for Downton Abbey, Series 1 to 3.
Despite these modern appliances, we remain intrigued and captivated by those things ancient and Vienne does not let one down in this regard. Vienne is our nearest large "metropolis" with a population of some 450,000. The region has been populated since ancient times, from the Gauls in the 3rd century BC. The Gauls' loyalty to Rome earned Vienne  the envied title of Roman Colony in 40 AD. Its subsequent history is quite varied including religious, cloth making and metallurgical industries, until today the City of Vienne is mainly centered on tourism and the service sector with a few high tech industries. 
Relics from the Roman era remain including the Théâtre Antique, the ancient ampitheatre that overlooks Vienne. It is 130 meters in diameter and is thought to have housed 11,000 spectators. Built in 40-50 AD this stunning monument to the past has regained its original purpose, since its reclamation and resoration between 1908 and 1938, as a place for cultural and artistic events such as the annual international jazz festival.
It was to Old Vienne that we came today to see these relics and look at 12th Century churches, cloisters, temples, Roman earthenware, bronze age tools, one of the oldest churches in France, Saint Pierre, now an archaeological museum and of course the ampitheater.

Roman earthenware Pots

Saint-Maurice's Cathedral (can you find Ann?)

The Temple of Augustus and Livia, 20-10 BC

The Cloister of Saint-Andre-le-Bas, 12th Century

Théâtre Antique looking up from the stage (Bob has a prime position)

 Adventuress like today's require plenty of fuel to keep the Maccas going and this evening was food gathering time. Our wonderful neighbours had invited us to accompany them on a legume (vegetable) harvesting expedition to an organic vegetable farm on the outskirts of the closeby village of Pact. 
You pick and dig your own selections and carry or wheel your harvest to the man for weighing and payment. Can't get much fresher or cheaper than this and they are organic. The range is from spinach, lettuce, onions (all types), leeks, tomatoes, potatoes, herbs and whatever else Woolies and Coles have on their shelves plus more - and flowers.

Our neighbours off to harvest

Anyone for Artichokes

Elizabeth picking Sage

Having a rest while getting ready to pay the man.

 

17th September, Ampuis and Côte-Rôtie

It is very difficult  not to  be overawed by the western bank of the Rhône River and its hill terrace hugging  vineyards. Every time we drive into Vienne it is there enticing us back and when you have a visitor from Newcastle with you, the pressure increases.
We could not resist any longer and it was back to the Côte-Rôtie today, this time along different paths to reveal new vistas and panoramic scenery. 
Enjoy.

16th September - Lyon

Travelling to Lyon from Vienne was a breeze after Ann used her extensive French language skills to negotiate the purchase of three "aged" ("senior") class return tickets.  Arriving at Le Gare Lyon Parrache before 9am allowed us time to stop at le Cafe Victor Hugo for coffee and croissants before beginning our Lyon Adventure.
The Tourist Bureau was extremely helpful and I suggest no one should attempt to explore a new place of reasonable size without a visit  to the local bureau. They can save you hours of valuable tourist time.
We wished to visit to the Fourviere Hill on which stands the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere and which can be seen from all of Lyon and of course it can also see all of Lyon. Access to the Hill was by Funiculaire Fourviere (cable car). 

The Basilique on the Hill

Lyon from The Basilique

Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon) sits below the Hill and comprises the districts of St Georges, St Jean and St Paul.

A unique feature of Vieux Lyon, unknown anywhere else in the World of medieval towns are the Traboules. Not only are theTraboules unique to Lyon but the word itself is particular to Lyon. The word comes from the latin "trans" to cross and "ambulare" to go around. The Traboules are passageways connecting and interconnecting buildings  and have been used for obtaining fresh supplies of water, for customers visiting the numerous stalls and workshops of the area, for carrying valuable goods from workshops to the stalls and for reducing the distances residents needed to travel from building to building. An important use of the Traboules was for moving around the town out of sight of the authorities, including the Germans during WW2.

Most of  the Traboules of Lyon date back to the Renaissance period but they are thought to have existed as early as the  the 4th century.

The Traboules are open for visitors by the residents and maintained by the Municipality and the only requirement of visitors is to respect the tranquility of the inhabitants and to walk in silence.

Notice requesting respect

Balconies of residences connected by a traboule

Inside a traboule

 Lyon is known as the food capital of France and boasts the likes of Paul Bocusse as one of its own. 

We enjoyed a simple menu de jour in an Irish Pub of all places in the St Georges area (we obviously didn't listen to the Tourist Bureau person well enough). The St Jean and St Paul areas are the places we should have been looking at eating in a bouchon (local speciality food restaurants) or the like. But we did taste some of the delicacies like "Cushions of Lyon", which is a chocolate coated marzipan first made in the 16th century.

We will be in the Rhone area for another 5 weeks so another visit or two is on the cards.

The Marzipan Shop

One of many Bouchons