Spoiled rotten. Friday 17th April 2009.

Alex opted for some down time for a while today and Fran and I cycled over to the food mecca of Les Halles marketplace. I knew she would love it and she did. We weren't there long before our tummies responded to the eye-popping displays of all things gourmet around us.

We propped ourselves up the bar at Maison Rousseau http://www.maison-rousseau.com/ for a feast of oysters from Bretagne (near to where we will be staying in Nantes later this year) and Normandy. The crevettes (prawns) were from Madagascar and were sweeter than normal. The house vinaigrette and mayonnaise were sublime. We sipped an appropriate vin blanc with a slightly dry finish from nearby Macon. David, our waiter, pulled up a bar stool and chatted to us over lunch. He prepared us each a snail from the Bourgogne region which arrived bubbling with garlic and parsley butter and showed us how to clamp the shell while prying out the meat. David made it the total experience as we sat at the bar happily eating, drinking and chatting.

We wandered the aisles of Les Halles, stopping in on Romuald at Bellota-Bellota. Romuald gave us both a sliver of his jambon, we swooned. I will never forget how delicate this jambon is. It is vastly different to any other I have ever tasted, nothing comes even close. We said hello to Pierre Bastin, the lovely purveyor of the Bresse chickens, we drooled at the cheese displays, foie gras, charcuterie, quenelles etc. I booked in for a cooking class at 'Atelier de cuisine Philippe Lechat' at Les Halles for next Thursday morning, should be delightful!

Leaving Les Halles behind I took Fran to see the Place des Terreaux surrounded by the beautiful Hotel de Ville, its crown glistening in shinning gold, and the Musee des Beaux Arts with its inner couryard that is home to my favourite little garden.

AJ, Fran and I dolled ourselves up to go to Le Cintra Piano Bar/Restaurant where Fran was playing piano and singing. We had a dinner booking at 7, allowing Fran time to eat before her set. My entree was the highlight for me. A 'tartare d'ecrivisses et sa chiffonnade d'herbes' which was a tartare of crustacean brought together with a delicalte mayonnaise, served with a little crustacean on top. Alex was in heaven with 'ravioles au basilic', tiny raviolli like pillows served with a pale basil-green cream sauce with a perfume to match, they are a speciality nearby to Lyon. Fran shared her escargot and I shared my tartare, the escargot was not a patch on our lunch time treat from David at Les Halles, but they were nice all the same.

Fran lit up the room with the heartfelt lyrics of her songs. The piano's sweet notes danced around the restaurant, she shone her bright light in Lyon and we were so happy to be part of it. My dear friend Isabelle joined us in time for Fran's first song, and not long after, David, (our lunch time waiter and escargot eating coach) arrived with a friend. We all listened to Fran's vocals, chatted and drank. Alex got through a few hot chocolates while I was introduced to my new favourite digestive called 'Jet', it shimmered bright emerald green, hypnotic as it became illiminated by the lamplight.

It was fun riding home on the velov's late at night, the city lights twinkled as they reflected playfully on the Rhone, the sound of gravel under our tyres was a good sound and I smiled a big smile at the thought of how happy I was... again.

Parc de la Tete d'Or, Lyon. Wednesday 15th April 2009.

Fran packed the cheese, pate, and all things necessary for our picnic and we stopped at a boulanger where we bought two baguettes, one sesame - my favourite.

Our three bicycle baskets were filled with picnic fare as we cycled along the Rhone until we reached Parc de la Tete d'Or. Lyon could almost be forgiven for not having much green space when you walk in the gold gates of this lush park. Spring had arrived here and it looked so different to the last time we visited. The cherry blossoms in crisp white and soft pink were as showy as they could be.

Alex took his favourite ball from his pocket and we played catch for what seemed like ages, it was my favourite part of the day.

The childrens fairground was alive with the jingle-jangle music from the carousel, children licked cool ice-cream and plucked fairy-floss from spun sugared masses. Life was better than good today in the park.

Philippe dropped in tonight and had a glass of vin rouge, he brought Smack (the dog) along for a visit too. As usual, he bought a few flutes from his boulanger for Alex, gosh he is gorgeous.

Hangin' in Lyon. Tuesday 14th April 2009.

It was mid morning by the time AJ, Fran and I left the apartment. We jumped on bikes and cycled to the bottom of the Croix-Rousse hill. Up we climbed until we reached the bustling market street of Boulevard de la Croix-Rousse. One side was busy with market stalls of seasonal food and the other was filled with everything else. Mostly junk but fun to rummage through and have a giggle at the things people buy and sell.

From here we found one of Lyon's most famous painted walls, on rue Denfer Rochereau. We stopped there to rest a while.

John and I had had a lovely lunch sitting in the sunshine at Brasserie Ecoles on Boulevard de la Croix-Rousse weeks ago so I brought AJ and Fran here for lunch. AJ was delighted to find tartiflette on the menu, Fran had a delectably crispy skinned confit duck thigh and I opted for steak frittes with a firey mustard. It was nice to stop and let time slip by.

I paid Christelle Lardet (at my favourite chocolatier Praline & Chocolat) a visit and she treated us to the house specialty of pale-pink praline ganache enrobed in silky chocolate, Alex said it was the best chocolate he had ever tasted, he has young but educated taste buds.

We sat at the view overlooking all of Lyon and let the warm sun seep into our bones. Alex stopped at his favourite model car shop on the way back into the city centre while Fran and I enjoyed a drink at a riverside bar, gosh it was nice to sit, even if it was cheek by jowel with life's beautiful on the outside, ugly on the inside set. They sat looking down their noses with mobiles glued to ears, seemingly disconnected from the real world, it amused me no end.

Dimanche des Paques (Easter Sunday). Sunday 12th April 2009.

Happy Easter Alex and Francake!

We woke when we woke this morning which was nice. We had all bought eachother a little Easter surprise. The coffee table was soon adorned with poisson d' Avril, eggs, chickens and rabbits. My Mum and Dad had called on Easter Friday to wish Alex a happy Easter and had organised a special Easter treat for him which was a chicken filled with little eggs, he loved it -thanks for being so thoughtful Mum and Dad, it means a lot, especially when we are so far away. We wandered to the boulanger and bought a patisserie treat. The day was interspersed with a few bouts of cricket on the terrace and a few movies. We all prepared the rabbit together and slid it into a slow oven and there it stayed until dinner time. The meat slid from the bone, ooh it was good served with tiny roast potatoes and harricot beans, bright green and audibly crunchy. We finished with a slice of l'agneau Pascal, from the boulanger we visited yesterday, served with ripe strawberries from the market and freshly whipped cream dolloped on top.





Alex and I missed you today John. We lay on the bed together talking. Alex said he is missing you so much. Come back to us soon ok. We love and miss you with all our hearts. XXX

I'lle Barbe. Saturday 11th April 2009

Fran and I set off early to the Jean Mace marche to get supplies for our Easter feast. We came home with rabbit to cook. Everything looked so fresh and alive at the market, the air was crisp with a little reminder of winter. We filled the trolley with strawberries, tiny pomme de terre, thumb tomatoes all rosy and red, mushrooms, onions, apples, carrots, beans, the plump rabbit, and of course Easter eggs to celebrate Fete de Paques.

Lovely Lucie came to pick us up for a trip to l'Ile Barbe, just a little drive along the Saone from the centre of the city. The river became a deeper green the further we drove.

We arrived at l'Ile Barbe and the first sight was the lovely Boulanger de l'Ile Barbe, owned by Philippe Jocteur. Philippe has been baking bread for Paul Bocuse for 17 years. He supplies them twice a day for lunch and dinner. He bakes a sturdy bread which is still fresh the day after, always a good sign.

Lucie showed us around l'Ile Barbe and pointed out the old Auberge. Locals played boules in the park and the sun came out to play for a while. The bridge over the river brought us back the the Boulanger. It was lovely to talk to Philippe about his bread and patisserie delights. He is a package of pride and humility all in one, a lovely man. He treated us to a lovely afternoon tea of a tarte from the enticing display, cafe creme, hot chocolate and he insisted we try a l'agneau Pascal, a speciality of lemon infused cake in the shape of a lamb he bakes from his grandmother's recipe. It is special to him and he gives a print out of the history with every one he sells. People buy the lambs dusted in icing sugar to decorate their table when celebrating fetes de Paques (Easter).

Further up the river was the Paul Bocuse Restaurant. Far from humble, everything about Bocuse shouts 'look at me' so we did.

Easter Friday, Friday 10th April 2009

It was lovely to sit amoungst the echoes inside Basilica Fourviere on Easter Friday during the Fete de la Paques service. The congregation sang like angels, their soft notes filling up the cavernous inside of the beautiful Basilica.

We showed Fran the Roman Ampitheatres on Fourviere Hill and the expansive view. We wandered down the path, through the rose gardens which had changed so much since our last visit. Now that spring was here the gardens were awash with green, the new bright green of just unfurled leaves.

Cafe des Jacobins had a table for three awaiting us on the footpath outside. We began our next bout of people watching there, it was fun. Fran loved Bistrot a Tartine where we took her for dinner, it is already a fovourite for Alex and I. Fran and I both ordered the tartine du jour of 'magret de canard and prune butter' and Alex ordered the other special of 'tomato, chorizo and raclette'. All were stunningly delicious. Fran emersed herself in the choc-coco tarte while Alex and I repeated the happy taste experience of the best, rosy-hued praline tarte in Lyon, mine with a little chantilly creme.

We three wandered the Saone for what seemed like forever. The Basilica glowed high on the hill on the opposite bank along with all the other illunimated sights. This is such a pretty city at night. Way along the Saone we cut through the Presquile to meet the Rhone. The trusty Velo'v bikes brought us home. What fun we had.

Wednesday 8th April 2009.

The horse racing yesterday was sooooooo boring. The crowd was almost non existent and those who were there were devoid of happiness, a sad looking lot these gamblers here in France. AJ and I were very scientific about how we chose the horses to back. We looked at the nicest looking package of horse, jockey and colours - needless to say we did not win, not that we put any money on them, it was just nice to have a horse to yell at as it crossed the finish line. We caught up with our new found friend Anne who works at the track which was nice.

Today Fran arrived to stay with us until the 19th - party, party, party! It was so nice to see her after two months away. We all caught up on eachothers news and took her for a wander into the Presquille area to see some of our favourite parts of town. So lovely to have you here Francake and thanks for bringing the paw paw ointment and the caromello koalas.