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September - November 2024
  • Danielle and Co travels
Heading off with my BFF to Scotland and then meeting Ian in France to make some wonderful memories. Read more
  • Danielle and Co travels

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  • Danielle and Co travelsTravelerEurope 2024
    On our way to Annecy
    On our way to AnnecyOur morning trainBeautiful foliageMore beautiful foliage along the canalOne of many churchesCoffee breakAnother canal viewThiou CanalFurther along the Thiou with the Alps in the backgroundPalais de L'IleTrying to take a selfie with the Palais d' IleIan with the canal, lake & alpsBeautiful buildings at every turnLake Annecy with the alps as a backdropA lot of boats, canoes etc along the lake frontPont des AmourWhite swanJust past Le Pont des Armors

    Fancy Annecy

    October 21, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    This morning we had an early start, as we went to Annecy for the day by train. We walked to Lyon Part-Dieu train station and waited for our train. In France they don’t announce the platform until 20 minutes before departure, so everyone waits downstairs for the platform number to go up and then there is a dash to the platform to wait for the train to arrive. We had purchased first class tickets but, guess what, there wasn’t a first class compartment on the train (Bugger, Not happy Jéan!). It was a lovely two-hour (approx. 100 km) train trip through some beautiful countryside as we made our way up into the mountains to Annecy.

    A little bit about Annecy, located at the foot of the Alps on Lake Annecy It is considered one of the most picturesque cities in France. It is the former capital of the Duchy of Geneva, a division of the Duchy of Savoy, which became a part of France in 1860. Before, Savoy had been ruled at different periods by the counts of Geneva, the kings of Sardinia and France. Savoy is a very distinctive area of modern France, and Annecy is a distinctive city, with a heritage that is Alpine more than French. There are a number of canals and waterways running through the city, earning it the nickname “Venice of the Alps”.

    We arrived in Annecy just after 11 am, with blue sky and the sun shining. After consulting maps we decided to head in the general direction of the lake, wandering along the laneways and small streets of the old city. It definitely is a beautiful and picturesque place, and very photographable. We walked along the Canal Thiou down to the lake, and then along the lake to the Pont des Amours. We passed the Palais de l’Île and found a lovely Creperie on one of the canals to have lunch. Ian had a Tartiflette (a local specialty) made with sliced potatoes, onions, lardons and reblochon cheese, which is baked in the oven. I had a galette (a crepe made with buckwheat) and chose one called “Le Fôret” which had chicken, champignons, reblochon cheese, an egg and béchamel sauce, which was delicious. We shared a half bottle of local wine called “La Tacconniére”, a dry and crisp white wine from the Seyssel region in Savoie. We also shared a crepe Citron with a cup of coffee for dessert.

    Following lunch, we continued to stroll around the old town, discovering some lovely old buildings, small gardens and laneways. About 2.15 pm we decided to stop at “Auberge du Lyonnais”, a lovely hotel nestled by Le Thiou, for a glass of wine and to people watch until we needed to head back to the station to catch our return train. On our return train there was a first class section, which we secured seats in. The two hour trip home went relatively quickly as we chatted to a lovely young British couple about everything from politics - American, Australian and British - lack of rental properties for young people, sustainability, Australia’s voting system, travel, jobs we and they have, tennis, cricket and much more.

    On returning to Lyon we bid them farewell and Ian and I headed off to the Paul Bocuse market to pick up something for dinner, but found the market basically closed. Plan B was to buy a baguette and some other supplies and have dinner in. I am so glad we are having another quiet evening in as I am knackered and I know why - I have walked in excess of 19,000 steps which translates to 12.35km    Read more

  • Danielle and Co travelsTravelerEurope 2024
    Ian at Le Pont des amors
    The water is just so clearThe foliage is just stunningLunch timeDanielle had a GalletteIan's lunchWe shared crepe citron for dessertMore lovely foliageCute Corgi alertInteresting water tapNear the end of the old town - clock still works2Another fabulous viewTime for an afternoon tippleLovely flowersUrban artUrban art

    More Fancy Annecy

    October 21, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Annecy was such a lovely place I needed a second instalment to get all the photos in!

  • Danielle and Co travelsTravelerEurope 2024
    The building that houses the museum over about 6 floors
    Lights, camera actionOriginal EwokModel of one of the monsters in GhostbustersIan's gonna get ya with the proton gun!ChuckieOriginal latex Mrs Doubtfire maskJohn Malkovich mask from Who is John MalkovichLatex mask from The MaskThe Fantastic FourGremlins21Danielle with one of the monsters from BeetlejuiceHell Night vicious and scary dogGordy the singing pig - we know as Babe!Miniature of a corner storeMaxims, ParisMiniature NewsagentsMiniature old fashioned kitchenMiniature of characters in a bar

    The Musée Cinéma and Miniature

    October 22, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    This little quirky museum is about 50 metres from our apartment and is housed in an impressive Renaissance building. If you like movies, and I do, it is definitely worth a visit. There are the original sets from movies that have been reconstructed in the museum, and so many props and costumes from many well known movies it is impossible to list them all. There are also models and prosthetic masks of a range of characters such as the original Ewok, the Chuckie doll, The Mask, Mrs Doubtfire, John Malkovich and many more. It has a section devoted to Beetlejuice and Tim Burton’s work, and there is also a room on Ghostbusters.

    There were nine exhibition rooms in total and the final two were full of miniature shops, ateliers, buildings and other scenes from the past in Lyon, as well as miniature items. They are very intricate and are so well done. The majority were made by Dan Ohlmann, who was a cabinet maker and sculptor in his twenties. In his thirties he became an interior designer and also built sets for the theatre and Opera. A client suggested he make models of his work and, as they say, the rest is history. He became interested in miniatures, and these have become his passion. Dan is also the owner of the museum. It was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours on an overcast morning.    Read more

  • Danielle and Co travelsTravelerEurope 2024
    Fabulous Restaurant
    CheersCheersRoast chicken and vegetablesFish with turmeric sauce and cous cousPanna Cotta and appleIan spotted this little guy blowing bubbles this morningAndré-Marie Ampère, born in Lyon he was a physicist and mathematicianA very green building we spotted on our walk this afternoonMusée des ConfluencesThis is where the Rhône and Saône rivers meetClimbing many stairsEgyptian mummyEvolution of manAnother dinosaur skeletonDinosaur skeleton of a mammothInuit sculpture

    A confluence of Lunch and Learning

    October 22, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    This afternoon we had a booking at a restaurant called La Table d’Ambre, that was recommended by our host Frédéric. We had a nice walk over to the restaurant, building up an appetite. It was a great little restaurant, with simple decor and very welcoming staff. We were seated at a lovely table in the front room, and decided to go with the “Menu du Jour”, two courses of a main and dessert for 24 Euro. Ian chose the fish and I chose the chicken, and we both decided on the panna cotta for dessert. I had a Marguerite Rosé champagne as an aperitif and Ian went for a Chardonnay from the Màcon region.

    Our meals arrived, and they smelled wonderful and looked amazing. We were both extremely impressed and happy with our selections. With the main meal I chose a glass of the Chardonnay and Ian selected a Pinot from the Côte Chalonnaise region in Burgundy. Both wines were a wonderful accompaniment for each meal.

    If that wasn’t enough wine, we were talking to the owner and he mentioned he had a Gamay which Ian hadn’t seen on the wine list and thought this a better choice of red wine for the fish. The reason he hadn’t seen it was because it was listed as “wine of the week”. He decided he needed to try it before he had his dessert. I had wanted a dessert wine to accompany my panna cotta, but the owner recommended I go with a glass of wine of the white “wine of the week” which was 100% Roussanne (very unusual), and it was perfect with dessert. The dessert was one of the best panna cottas I have ever had. It was served with confit apple, buttery and crunchy biscuit crumbs, chantilly cream and some thin slices of fresh apple - absolutely heaven on a plate. This is one of the most reasonably priced meals we have ever had; we spent more on the wine!

    We left the restaurant about 2.15 pm and decided that, since we were already a third of the way there, we would continue down to the Musée des Confluences. This ultra modern science museum has been built on the pointy end of Presqu’île at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. It was quite a walk - a bit over 3 km - but nice to do after a fairly large lunch.

    The museum is very impressive architecturally. We started off looking at their permanent exhibit. This tells the story of humankind across four different exhibitions: (1) Origins, stories of the World; (2) Species, the Web of Life; (3) Societies, human theatre; and, (4) Émile Guimet Gallery. The current temporary exhibits included: (1) Secrets from the Earth; (2) Epidemics; (3) Into the Forest; and (4) Within the space of a dream.

    Within the permanent exhibits we saw some interesting carvings on Inuits and their folklore. We also saw some mummies and carvings from ancient Egyptian times. There was an amazing collection of dinosaur skeletons and a huge fossil collection. In the temporary exhibits we visited “Into the Forest”, which was an amazing collection of photographs of animals from the forest. We also ventured into “Within the space of a dream”. There were exhibits using several types of media. It was an interesting exhibit but after 3 glasses of wine at lunchtime my ability to focus had wained. We also went up to the top floor via many stairs to hopefully get a bird’s eye view of the confluences, which we did.

    We then retraced our steps and made it home (a bit over 4 km) in under an hour. All up today I walked 16,887 steps, which equates to 11.3 km. So, once again I was quite tired physically.    Read more

  • Danielle and Co travelsTravelerEurope 2024
    Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
    A Rodin in the garden courtyardA sculpture we both likedAtrium in one of the staircasesDancers on the Stage - Edgar DegasCoco. The Artist's Son, Writing by Auguste RenoirDelightful Days. by Paul GauginWoman Seated on the Beach by Pablo PicassoThe rooms within the building are just stunning20th & 21st centuryHead of a Woman "Medusa" Shadow and Light by Alexej von JawlenskyA painting we both liked but no idea who the painter isSpanish Dancer by Albert GleizesSummer Field Painting by Brett WhiteleyKatia with a Yellow Shirt by Henri MatisseFlowers RoomEclair display at the Salon de ThéI went for classic chocolate and Ian went for PistachioAmazing detailed painting on the inside of Egyptian CoffinsNow that's a large vase

    Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon

    October 23, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    The weather today was looking like the standout day of the week. We decided to visit the art museum, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, which is located along one side of the Jardin du Palais Saint-Pierre. To get into the museum you walk through a lovely courtyard garden area, where there are a couple of Rodin sculptures. As we arrived fairly early, there weren’t many people. We started up on the second floor, where the majority of the paintings and sculptures are displayed. We saw some amazing art from the 14th to the 21st century. This museum has a wonderful collection, although our preference is for the more modern painters from the 19th century onwards. We saw several Rodin sculptures and paintings by Van Gogh, Courbet, Sisley, Cézanne, Renoir, Gaugin, Degas, Manet, Monet, Bonnard, Matisse, Picasso, Rubens, and Bacon. And, they even have a Brett Whiteley.

    After touring the entire 2nd floor, we headed down to Level 1 to tackle the Decorative Arts and Ancient Sculptures, the Coins and Medal collection, and the Antiquities of Egypt, the Middle East, Greece and Italy. However, before starting we went to the Salon de Thé for a refreshment. We had an eclair and a piccolo and we were able to continue the tour. Ian was quite excited as they had a chorizo eclair as a savoury option. My favourite part of these diverse collections was the antiquities of Egypt, the Middle East, Greece and Italy.    Read more

  • Danielle and Co travelsTravelerEurope 2024
    The gates to enter the park - there are several around the park
    Chicken baguette for lunchMini fig tart for dessertThe park is just lovely and well used by the people of LyonFriendly gooseFlamingoesLemurs in the treesTurtle doing some sunbathingWhite HeronGiraffesSuch a beautiful park, especially on a sunny dayWork of the "pavement surgeon" EmememThe funicularBasilica Notre Dame de FourvièreRooftops of LyonLooking back across the Saône to Presqu-ÎleRoman ruinsRoman ThéâtreDanielle amongst the ruinsDescendingNoisy flamingoesSuch gentle giants

    Time to get back to Nature

    October 23, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    After spending a couple of hours indoors, albeit looking at fabulous art, it was time to head outside. We headed to Parc de la Tête d’Or, which translates to Park of the Head of Gold. The name is the result of a legend that a treasure with Christ’s head could be buried somewhere in the park. It is the largest urban park in France, is located in the 6th arrondissement, and is about 117 hectares in size. It incorporates the Lyon Botanical Gardens, a huge lake, a small free public zoo, a velodrome, boules courts, mini-golf, an equestrian facility, and a miniature railway.

    On our way up to the park we stopped at a boulangerie to buy some lunch. We entered the park and found a seat in a lovely shady spot where we settled in to have lunch and people watch. There seemed to be a lot of kids around, and it turns out French kids are on a two week break; it’s called the all saints break. After finishing our chicken and salad baguette, and our little treat of a tiny fig tart, we headed off towards the zoo. On the way we met a friendly goose.

    When we arrived at the zoo we saw an enclosure with flamingoes and other wildlife, including monkeys and lemurs. The flamingoes (well a few of them) were quite noisy. We saw more flamingoes here than we did in the Camargue! We walked around a little more and saw Pelicans, Turtles sunning themselves on a rock, Blue Cranes, White Herons and, in the distance, a couple of Giraffes. We also saw Red Pandas and some deer. We walked back around to the Giraffe enclosure and saw five of them up close.

    We planned to go up to the hill of Fourvière, which has great views back over the city of Lyon, so we left the park and started walking back towards our place to make a quick pit stop before catching the funicular for the journey up the hill. It was a lovely walk back from the park and, as we crossed a bridge, I noticed some random mosaics around a concrete block. It turns out that there is someone in Lyon who is filling potholes and other unsightly cracks and gaps with mosaics. It is called “flacking” and is being done by a Lyon-based artist Ememem, who refers to himself as “the pothole knight”.

    We headed to the funicular to get up to Fourvière. After purchasing our tickets we were confronted by a huge line of people also waiting to get up to the top of the hill. It took us about 30 minutes to get on and I was lucky enough to get a seat at the front. It is a very quick ride, about 5 minutes. We went to the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière and got some lovely snaps across Lyon. We then walked down to the Roman ruins in the Jardin Romain. They are very impressive. Excavation of the theatre started in 1934 and in 1946 it was inaugurated. In 1973, the construction of the museum started and the site was used for concerts and other performances, and still is to this day. We spent a bit of time walking through the site, which is very well preserved.

    We then headed back down to the city on foot through the Rosary Garden and the final descent was about 200 steps. We definitely got our steps up today and the day wasn’t over, as we were going out for dinner.    Read more

  • Danielle and Co travelsTravelerEurope 2024
    The restaurant
    The decor is stylish but understatedIan perusing the extensive wine listOur aperitifs with the first amuse boucheAmuse bouche no.2Amuse bouche no.32Ian's entreeMy entree minus the mushroom and spinach sauceCevennes Lake Char in Beeswax, Lemon Butter, Fried ArtichokeShellfish and Mushroom 'ragoût' and HollandaiseThe cheese trolleyMy selection of cheeseCheers with our digestivesPalate cleanser before dessertPart 1 of Ian's dessert- Figs and Panna CottaPart 2 a warm fig tartPart 1 of my dessert- baked apple and caramel saucePart 2 - Lemon flavoured ice-cream and a crisp caramel pastryThis cake came with coffeePlus five petite four

    Dinner at Le Neuvième Art

    October 23, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Tonight we were booked in to have dinner at a two star Michelin restaurant headed up by Christophe Roure. The venue was elegant and stylish, and the staff were excellent. They were very passionate, knowledgeable and professional. Our sommelier used to work for Neil Perry at Rockpool, and he loves Australia and our wines.

    I decided to go with a fixed price menu and Ian chose a La carte. We had an aperitif to start, me a rosé champagne and Ian a Chardonnay, and they both paired well with our amuse bouche plates, of which there were three. The first was a creamy tart, the second sardines in puff pastry with a lovely dipping sauce, and the third a quail egg in smoked bread.

    For entree, Ian had crab meat with avocado, cucumber, apple and a very large blob of verbena foam. I had escargot with potato gnocchi and a spinach and mushroom sauce. They were both delicious.

    For the main, Ian chose the fish and, I chose the seafood and mushroom ragout with a lemongrass flavoured hollandaise sauce, which was delicious. Ian’s fish preparation included some theatre. The raw fish fillet was brought to the table in a large square dish. The waiter poured hot beeswax over the entire fillet, submerging it completely. We then watched the fish “cook” in front of us over about 20 minutes. Once the wax had set and the fish was cooked, it went back to the kitchen to be extracted from the wax and plated with a fried artichoke. Both meals were delicious.

    At the start of the meal, Ian had been presented with the wine list, which was huge and slightly intimidating, so we asked the sommelier advice. He recommended a delicious Chardonnay from a little village close to Chablis, which was very reasonably priced. It was a 2021 Vézelay and it was the perfect accompaniment for our meal.

    My fixed price menu also included a cheese course. When the cheese trolley was bought over I was slightly overwhelmed by the number to choose from. I settled on four pieces and they were delicious. Then came dessert. I chose Golden Apple ‘en papillote’, Caramel Gel and Lemon Flavoured Vanilla ice-cream, and Ian had Fresh Figs and Hibiscus Panna Cotta with a warm Spiced Fig Tart on the side! We had digestives to accompany our desserts. Ian chose a 12 year old Armagnac and lucked out. It was the last bottle and there wasn’t a full serve, but what was there Ian got for nothing. I had an Austrian Tokay. We decided to have coffee, not realizing that it came with 5 petite fours. To say we were full at the end was an understatement.

    We walked the 2.5kms back to our apartment, which definitely helped with the digestion. It was a lovely clear evening and the lights of Lyon were lovely.    Read more

  • Danielle and Co travelsTravelerEurope 2024
    Pouring the beeswax
    Pouring the beeswaxNearly fullBeeswax pouredFish cookingBeeswax set = fish cookedI have become quite partial to rosé ChampagneSommelier's recommendation and it was perfect with the meal2Austrian Tokay for my digestiveLast of the ArmagnacPedestrian bridge over the RhôneView over to Old LyonLovely lights of Lyon reflecting on the RhôneThe river SaôneLooking towards Le Croix Rousse

    Dinner at La Neuvième Art - Part 2

    October 23, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    The cooking of Ian’s main meal was quite interesting so I am doing a second entry with photos showing the process. The waiter said it was the chef’s signature dish. I have also included some additional photos that didn’t make it onto the first entry. They include some of our wines and Lyon at night on our walk home.Read more

  • Danielle and Co travelsTravelerEurope 2024
    La Meunière where we had a lovely traditional Lyonaise lunch
    CheersHappy with his wine choiceVery eclectic decorLyonnaise saladTerrine was superDecor at La MeunièreChef made a few appearances to check on the dining roomWe both had this for mainIan applying the Eau de vie to his sorbetCrème caramel was deliciousA bit of a walk to help settle our big lunchInteresting street artIan having fun in the museumMarionettes and puppets are very big in LyonSilk production was so important to the wealth and growth of LyonJacquard loomCan you spot Ian

    Getting organised

    October 24, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    We had a pretty slow start after our big night out. We had a few things to get organised, including posting back a bunch of clothes and other bits and bobs that we didn’t require as we head north. Once that was done we headed off to a Bouchon that had been recommended by Eric (American) on the boat and barge trip.

    We arrived at La Meunière just on noon, to see a note on the door declaring they were fully booked. Luckily, I had heeded Eric’s advice and made a booking a couple of days before. The Bouchon is decorated with an eclectic style. It was warm and friendly and it seemed that a number of (mainly older) locals frequent this establishment on a regular basis.

    We were seated at a great table in the centre of the room, where we could observe all the comings and goings. We both chose the fixed price menu of entree, main and dessert. Ian chose a burgundy from St Amore and it was a great accompaniment to our meal. For entree, I had the terrine with pickled vegetables and salad, and Ian chose Salad Lyonaise. For main we both had steak, with potatoes and a St Marcellin cheese sauce. For dessert I had a crème caramel and Ian had a cassis sorbet with Marc de Bourgogne, which is an Eau de vie (fire water) made from distilled grape skins and pressings left after the vintage is made. Ian was entrusted with this bottle and could add as much as he liked and, he liked.

    After lunch we went to the Musée Gadagne which told the history of Lyon using multiple media. It was interesting, but difficult to concentrate after our big lunch. We finished with a coffee on the roof top garden of the museum before heading back to the apartment to get organised for our travel tomorrow.    Read more

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