South of France and Paris for 20 days

We arrived in Lyon to our airbnb and had a great location off of Victor Hugo blvd to walk the city. We took the first afternoon to see the basilica that sits on a hill overlooking Lyon……BEAUTIFUL. The church is gorgeous and the views from there are breathtaking. We enjoyed dinner that night at CARMELO’S, such an incredible meal. If you get a chance to eat there GO! Make a reservation as it fills up very quickly….the line of people without reservations was not moving very quickly and though we called only a few hours before eating we were so glad that we did. We took the next day to do a walking WW2 tour of resistance sites. Lyon was the capital of the resistance movement during the war and the tour was full of information. We were so impressed with the beauty and size of Lyon. We had no idea it was such a big city and that it had so much to offer. The spots to eat went on and on and on. It was an easy city for a newcomer to adjust to. An afternoon walk through the old city was delightful. We caught our train the next morning for Avignon where we would pick up our rental car and head to Gordes.

We drove to Gordes after picking up our car at the Avignon train station. Gordes has always been a favorite of ours….small, quiet, gorgeous views, kind people, easy to walk….fields full of red poppies. It did not disappoint. We drove to see Abbey Senanque after arriving and the lavender fields are getting ready to bloom. We struggled to find a meter in the P lots that worked-after trying our third one a Gordes policeman we sought out laughed and told us to ignore them! We ate one night at Airelles Hotel……a gorgeous property for a hotel that sit on the side of the cliff where Gordes is located. This restaurant has numerous patios and beautiful settings for dinners….glad we did this as it was a very special night. We love to stay at Le Jas de Gordes for their rooms looking over a restful garden with their big and tasty breakfast buffets. The staff is so kind and helpful. Gordes is a wonderful place to base for travel to this area. We drove to Isle Sur la Sourge and spent Sunday at their market……great market, fun day. It poured rain the next day but was a good day to spend in the car visiting 5 small towns in the area…..Menerbes, Bonnieux, Loumarin, LaCoste and Rousillon. Loumarin and Rousillon were the definite favorites. There are always shops and sidewalk cafes to frequent. Woke up the next day to enjoy the Gordes market before checking out at Gordes and driving to St. Remy de Provence.

Thanks for sharing, love being in France vicariously. I’ve gathered that Lyon could be worth 4 or 5 days, would you agree?

Absolutely!

St. Remy is a wonderful town to visit. We made certain we were there for its Wednesday market and were not disappointed. Our airbnb was a short walk away from the carousel and perimeter road that circles the old town and most of the interesting shops and squares. I think it makes a great base for a visit to Provence. We also spent a morning at the Castelas olive farm and the afternoon at Les Baux de Provence. LBdP is a beautiful village of France and is obvious as you walk its charming cobbled streets. We loved adding a few santons to our collection and seeing the santon museum there. It is a climb if you go so be prepared. Honore is a wonderful place to enjoy breakfast in St. Remy. The free parking lot was a close walk from our airbnb in St. Remy and the grocery nearby as well….all very convenient. Years ago we discovered the Chateau de Alpilles, just outside of town. It is a beautiful property run by a mom and her daughters and serves an incredible French lunch on its charming grounds. More people need to know about this place…..delightful! Left the next morning after turning in our car at Avignon and training to Paris.

I wish I could say that the 3 hour train ride i looked forward to into Paris was quiet and restful…..but it was anything but that. We were squeezed into our seats like sardines and had absolutely no place for our luggage…..are these trains in France not aware that those tiny racks on the cars will never be big enough to hold the luggage people travel with on them????!!! We ended up having to put our luggage in empty seats and hope no one got on the train that needed those seats! AWFUL. We arrived at Gare du Lyon and taxied to our hotel, Le Relais des Halles. We have never stayed in this area but so far have been very pleased with the neighborhood and convenience. The huge canopy that is Westfield Forum de Halles is nearby and an easy way to always find our way back to our hotel. We breakfasted at Matin de Oliviers-wonderful. We spent Sunday at the Saint Ouens flea market…..specifically Dauphine, Vernaison and Paul Bert…..lovely things, some way over priced and others reasonable…..Vernaison the most affordable in my opinion. We had dinner at Le Train Bleu in Gare de Lyon train station…..such a beautiful old building but the food disappointing. Walk through and see it and enjoy it from that view. We ate delicious Sunday afternoon French Onion Soup and White asparagus salad at Le Grand Colbert….a wonderful rainy afternoon in a beautiful old French building. This morning we headed out to walk to Galeries Lafayette and discovered a few lovely old passages to see and shop. That is an amazing store and the view from its rooftop is breathtaking. Note Dame and its towers tomorrow!

I noticed you wrote May 24, did you mean April? Or is this a report for another year? Lovely report.

Sorry Judy B……should have said APRIL 24! Thanks for noticing!

I always enjoy reading trip reports, especially ones about France. I know they take time and effort, so thank you. We leave for a My Way France tour May 24th, so it’s nice to have restaurant additions,etc.

I'm enjoying your TR!

I'll bet you booked a "OUIGO" for that trip to Paris. I've avoided them based on recommendations from others on the forum but sometimes it's hard to figure out what's what on the SNCF website.

"Caught a train the next morning to Dijon, got settled in our airbnb and enjoyed taking the “owl walk’ through the old town."

Inquiring minds want to know what the heck an Owl Walk is? I know what kind of Owl Walks I've done and it normally involves looking for owl "pellets" on the forest floor but I suspect that was not what you were doing in Dijon, lol!!

Thanks for posting!

Jane, thank you for the TRs. They take time and effort, and they are so appreciated! My husband and I will be traveling through France in June. We will spend time in the south, from Barcelona (where our cruise ends) to Cannes (where our daughter will be working). We are excited to explore the Provence region for a week or so and then drive along the coast towards Nice. We will then travel north to Normandy (my history-loving husband's dream) and then explore the many gardens around Paris, including Versailles. The details you provide of your day-to-day activities along with restaurant reviews are super helpful as we finalize our itinerary. Enjoy!

Pam….for some reason Dijon’s mascot is an owl and there are brass plaques shaped like arrow heads with owls on them embedded in the cobblestones that direct your path through the old city as you walk……fun to follow.
Chrislyce….I do TONS of planning and research-part of the fun of traveling for me-in hopes that the 2 of us miss nothing and that others can profit as well. Glad to see the reports help! You learn so much on your trip that you want others to enjoy. Thank you!

Jane, thanks for sharing your trip report. We toured Beaune and Dijon many years ago while on a barge trip. Burgundy is a lovely area. So glad you had a wonderful time.

As Pam said, it sounds like you were on a OUIGO train from Lyon to Paris. You're experience reminds me to avoid those trains and stick with the InOui trains.

"there are brass plaques shaped like arrow heads with owls on them embedded in the cobblestones that direct your path through the old city as you walk……fun to follow."

Oh gosh! That sounds like so much fun! I love a walk like that!

And Jean....if only they hadn't named the different train classes Ouigo and InOui which sound way to similar too a non-French speaker like me. Fail. on the part of the marketing department as far as I'm concerned!

Pam, I agree. Everytime I look up a schedule on SNCF I have to double check which name is the "normal" train, not the economy train.

As usual you all have taught me something new…..was not aware of the difference in the train systems in France…..next time I pay more attention. The two of us have already said from now on at our age we will always go first class with the train tickets.

We had a gorgeous day Tuesday and took off to the towers of Notre Dame. We were there for a concert a year before the fire so we wanted to see the improvements. I randomly chose 11:15 for our ticket tower time never thinking that it might put us in the tower during the noon bell chorus……WOW. It was so special to be at that lookout over the city and hear them ring. We are both 73 but managed the 400+ steps just fine. The breaks on the way up were helpful. The church is glorious….so clean and bright. Such a special place. We wanted to see the Eiffel Tower once again at night in lights but it has been so cold that we have opted out of that. Walked the Marais neighborhood to eat our falafels at L’du As Falafel……never disappoints…..and followed it up with the delicious pastries at Aux Mereilleux de Fred…consistently good everywhere you find them! St. Germain was our goal yesterday to shop City Pharma and Le Grand Epicurie……vacuumed packed the butter and cheese and ready to travel with it. I would wander if the entire plane of luggage was opened on the way to the states if you would see French butter in every bag! I love to cook so I cannot wait to try it at home. St. Germain has such lovely storefronts that it is a joy to walk past and discover them. Bought some personalized gifts for family at Officine Universells Buly 1803…..quite an experience as you wait in line outside the store to be called in. Unique gifts for special people so the line was worth it. Ready to work a miracle and squeeze it all in for home!

I just have to add a humorous airbnb story from us 2 74 year olds that are still learning new things….maybe someone can identify with this. You know how hard it is on travel days to keep everything charged up and running when you are moving from trains to cars and then back to walking. When we arrived in Lyon last week it was midday….iPhones had been running since early morning. Our host met us at the huge door that opened up to the street…..so we missed watching him use the code to open that door….i am good about visually memorizing things like this when needed. We got settled after he showed us around…..great apt, great location. We walked up to the basilica on the hill, took pics, sat on a bench by the river, had dinner and started our walk home……UH OH, iphone with map was dead…….that also had the code to get into the building. We racked our brains at 8 pm in Lyon as to where we could get a 5 minute Iphone charge for me and get the info…..even found a sweet hotel clerk that lent me her charging cord but could not get my phone awake for longer that 1 minute……HELP. PRAYER….LORD, WE NEED AN ANGEL. Made our way home….it was an easy route to remember but no door code! We stood on the street, looking up at our airbnb window on floor 5, PRAYING for God to move someone living there to open a window and see us…..as it was getting darker and darker on the street. AN ANGEL named Isabel had her windows open, saw us flailing our arms and came down to our rescue……and she even spoke perfect English. THANK YOU JESUS for an angel named Isabel, Just so curious as to how many times this has happened to others! Maybe we are too old for airbnb rentals!!!!

Jane your last post is a good segue with the current topic of another thread about ditching paper and only using one’s phone. There are definitely times in a day when the need to charge one’s phone battery becomes the priority.

Last October on our trip to France we found ourselves in 2 different ERs (long medical story). Both times while I waited for my spouse who was the one needing medical attention, there was a constant stream of folks coming in to charge their phones. They weren’t all there for care either. The clerk had several versions of charging cords that folks could use depending on their phone. And there were multi charging units available to use in the waiting area. I always have my charger with me when travelling but have occasionally been stymied trying to find an outlet. As I don’t rely on my phone for everything each day I manage but there can be glitches.

Travel days are so hard on your devices…..I am constantly watching my laptop, Apple Watch and Iphone to make certain they are full and ready….so far my Apple Watch just does not seem to have any easy attachable charger….of course since it sits on my wrist….to keep it charged and full…..the small compact chargers you can buy from Amazon are wonderful for your phone and laptop but the watch still needs a better way!

Jane, I usually charge my Apple watch during the overnight on the airplane. I bring a charger with a USB end and the magnetic Apple Watch end and take it off for an hour or so during the overnight to pump it up. On Delta there are usually USB chargers at the seats but the power bank I have also accommodates a USB so I can charge everything with the power bank too. I don't use the power bank on the plane but I carry it with me thru the day.

I do have a note for myself in my electronics cord/charger cube to make sure I've got cords with the right ends so I do a run thru a few days before and make sure I can charge everything either with my Euro adapter plug and the power bank. It works better for me to do this ahead of time when I can think clearly, hahaha!

So smart Pam!!!!