Trip to Lyon

G and I are recently back from a long weekend in Lyon, where we had a wonderful time.

We travelled on the new direct Eurostar route, which was fine going out, not so great coming back (more on that later). It goes to Lyon, Avignon and Marseilles. We treated ourselves to "Standard Premier" which provides a bit more space and includes a snack and a meal each way. These were served by jaunty staff wearing summery white polo-necks as opposed to the usual grey suits. There was an air of holiday camp and one half-expected Su Pollard to appear at any moment.

Although the train left painfully early at 7.19, they dished out the croissants and coffee surprisingly quickly, and I proceeded to get crumbs all over the place. On the other side of the tunnel, there was a lengthy stop at Marne la Vallée-Chessy, which Google revealed was the stop for Eurodisney. Mickey Mouse was not in evidence, and the place was somewhat post-apocalyptic.

After that, things improved considerably. From about 11.00 the countryside became more and more attractive and for the last hour the train sped past a succession of fields containing cows and flowers. I think maybe we were travelling through Macon at this point - I'd hoped that we might go past my beloved Cote d'Or but there was very little sign of vineyards. We were served a decent chicken dish along with bread roll and small fruit tart. Wine was available but G had wisely brought some of his own, this trendy-looking La Buvette a Paulette, a cabernet sauvignon / syrah blend which went down a treat.

We arrived at Lyon Part-Dieu at about 1.00 and emerged into sunlight and warmer temperatures, then it was a half hour walk to our hotel, the Mercure Beaux Arts in the Presqu’île, the part between the Rhone and the Saône. The hotel was just what we wanted - clean, quiet, good shower, good bed, central location, and decent value as I'd booked it some time ago. The staff were also helpful when it came to booking taxis. This was very much the clothes shop district and I compared it to Bond Street while G thought it was more Oxford Street. We went for a stroll round the area. One of the first things we saw was this.

I liked them, but what on earth were they? G worked out that they were containers for 10 litre bag-in-box wines. Wine pigs! Later we were offered Beaujolais in this quantity for 28 euros, which would work out at about £1.50 a bottle at the current exchange rate. Dreams of sitting around on a sunny terrace guzzling cut-price Beaujolais immediately took hold.

I'd done some homework beforehand, and identified a number of wine shops for us to visit. The first of these was Guyot, on the bank of the Saône. Its claim to fame was being the largest wine shop in Lyon. When we walked in, it seemed completely empty. A couple of staff were busy doing something and the welcome was perfunctory. It was a big, modern shop and they certainly had a large selection.

I took this photo for a certain person who is fond of his rosé.

There were some interesting-looking bottles, but a review of the Burgundy selection left us feeling unexcited, and we thought that if their Burgundy was as dull as this, their choices from other regions were probably equally mainstream. We left without buying anything.

The next stop was a shop we'd spotted near the bridge on the way in, called Triovino. This was now open (it had been closed for lunch earlier) and was much smaller. We were greeted by the owner who asked if we were looking for anything in particular. Not really, but we soon found some things of interest including some wines from the Jura and a biodynamic Beaujolais. G picked up three bottles there altogether and the transaction was entirely satisfactory. This was a neighbourhood wine shop run by a nice chap who clearly knew what he was talking about.

Then it was time for a refreshing Ricard at a small cafe on the square before getting ready for dinner. The true purpose of our visit: to eat at L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges, the 3 Michelin starred establishment run by Paul Bocuse. To be continued...