Lazy in Lyon: I've spent the last two days sightseeing in Lyon. It's France's 2nd city (don't say that to someone from Marseilles) and is considered the gastronomic capital of France. I'm personally not sure about that last part. From what I can tell, the local claim to food fame is based on a restaurant style called a bouchon and their specialties are dishes based on tripe. I've been steering toward the less interesting part of the menu. But, I can say that Ly...

I've started the solo part of my trip, so I've also started a new photo album here - Solo Cycling in France. Spent the last two days cycling up the Rhone to Montèlimar and then on to Valence. There were some beautiful towns along the way. Richerenches was a center of Templar activity in Provence. The fortified center of town was beautiful and completely void of tourists. Grignan was also a big surprise. I rode over a ridge to see the chateau and church shown w...

One last update from the southern Rhone wine area. Friends Tom & Cherie arranged a wine tasting at Domaine Piaugier. They had met one of the owners, Sophie, at at tasting in Connecticut. That tasting was the inspiration for choosing this location for our trip. Sophie was a fabulous host. She took us through the winery, then into the cellar for a tasting from the barrels. We got to taste all the 2007 vintage wines before they are bottled. Sophie said she thin...

Wine towns and Roman ruins - The last few days have been spent visiting the wine towns of the southern Rhone river valley and the amazing Roman ruins in the area. For the wine lovers in the group, I can highly recommend the wines from Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Sablet and Rasteau. And they are a little more affordable than Burgundy and Bordeaux given the current exchange rate. As for ruins, the amphitheatre in Orange is incredible. It's still in use today and has pe...

Today I checked off an item on my "Life List". I climbed one of the monuments of cycling - Mont Ventoux! This mountain dominates the landscape here and is sometimes referred to as the Giant of Provence as it is so much higher than anything else around. The Tour de France and other cycling races often cross it's summit. The peak is at 1910 meters, whereas the house where we are staying is at roughly 180 meters. The route we took started in Malaucène an...