Fine and sunny, 14 to 28 deg
Took our time over porridge and coffee in the apartment this morning and then rode off into a perfect day. First stop was Barbe Island on the Seine only a 100m or so from our B&B. Mr Barb wanted to visit “his” island, and a fine little isle it is too. We then rode along the left bank (did right side yesterday) into the city on a smooth concrete cycle/walk path, before making our way to the 16th century Parc de le Tete d’Or, a large English style park and gardens North of the city. There’s a mini-zoo, important botanical gardens, numerous hothouses, fair rides, restaurants and even a velodrome there. Thousands of people were out enjoying the park and perfect weather. We encountered our first little objectionable local today, he served Bob a coffee in a park cafe. You would think that with the price they charge he could be just a little pleasant, or even not unpleasant. Bob said the coffee was a bit ordinary.
By the time we’d finished in the park it was nearly lunchtime, so we rode back to the city centre via the Red Cross area, which is known for its street art. Lyon does it very well actually. Now it’s not your normal run-of-the-mill graffiti this is serious art. Whole buildings have been transformed into works of art depicting the “good old days’. We managed to locate one building anyhow; we’ve got a bit of spare time tomorrow for another look. The street art does not appear on any maps so a little difficult to find.
A little French fresh bread shop was our next stop to pick up some lunch which we ate on the banks of the Seine. The bread here is seriously tasty.
Culture was then on the menu in the form of one of the best Fine Arts Museum / Gallery either of us have seen. All the Masters were represented in some of their classic work, along with all forms of art dating back to the 12th Century. Scattered amongst the art were artefacts from all over the world. The French, like many others have done some serious pilfering over the centuries. I should imagine it's all paid for by now.
We then went for a bit of a ride around the city but by now the traffic, combined with the many roadworks sites were getting to us so we made a beeline to the serenity of the river path.
A nice cuppa green tea back at the B&B hit the spot. By the time we’d booked our apartment in Nantes for the next two nights it was time for our Tour Chef to cook up another masterpiece. I forgot to get a photo, but it was excellent; stir fried chicken and vegetables.
No comments:
Post a Comment