Bordeaux, Lyon & Geneva
Its only been a few days since we updated this, but we've been quite busy with fleeting visits to Bordeaux, Lyon and Geneva so if we don't update it now we'll forget about stays that were all too brief!
Our visit to Bordeaux was brought about mainly by the vagaries of SNCF - Bordeaux is a hub which would allow us to cross France, though not quite in the way we'd planned. All of this meant that Paris and Dijon were out and Montpellier and Lyon were in.
A quick hop on the regional train from San Sebastian took us over the border to Hendaya with no ceremony at all from where we connected to Bordeaux, taking the opportunity to cram in some research about Bordeaux on the way using our trusty Lonely Planet. After booking ourselves on the early morning train to Lyon via Montpellier the following morning we set about squeezing a city into just one evening. Wide open pedestrianised boulevards characterised the city, though some would question that there is a lack of understanding of what pedestrianised means with cars, motorcycles and even police cars coming at you from all directions. The riverside has been well landscaped with pretty lights, pools of shallow water and wide wooden walkways (a death trap at times!) A quick walking tour past the cathedral and the Hotel de Ville and we felt we'd earned our dinner. Lonely Planet directed us to the student area and we enjoyed a menu de jour.
Bright and early the next morning we were back at the station for the 5 and half hour journey to Montpellier, a quick fuel stop and then a further 2 hours to Lyon - France's second largest city. We had selected a hotel near to the station, though unfortunately it was not the station we arrived at...or departed from the following morning. We had a lovely meal in a quiet backstreet restaurant with a fantastic bottle of wine and the crowing glory of a very stinky ripe cheese.
A frantic hour or so on the internet at the hotel followed as we realised we couldn't find any accommodation in the places in the Switzerland we'd planned to visit which obviously bought about a further change of plan which involves staying in Biel, which neither of us had ever heard of.
The following day we headed to Geneva for a swift afternoon visit (we couldn't afford to stay here even if we wanted to!) We managed to cram in a visit to the Red Cross museum which was really interesting to see. We also went past many of the international headquarters for various organisations. Lake Geneva was also impressive, especially the giant fountain/geyser type thing in the middle of the lake.
A couple of travelling lessons we've learnt this time. Firstly don't have your heart set on staying in a particular place or visiting a particular town so that when trains can't be booked or there isn't any accommodation it doesn't induce panic. Secondly, duct tape is a invaluable travelling item. So far it has stuck shut a bathroom door to keep the light out, held a light switch in place to prevent it coming on in the middle of the night and, most resourcefully, been used in place of a bath plug (who knew!)
Now onto Biel in the north of Switzerland.
David's abridged version:
Food in Lyon was marvellous, with the Salade Lyonnaise being particularly memorable.