We got up around 9 a.m. this morning and finished packing for our trip to Lyon. Check out time was noon so we went out for breakfast and found not one restaurant serving breakfast but coffee and croissant. Our car was brought round we loaded up and were underway at about noon. We hit the Autostrade del soliel or N8 and headed east towards Marseilles and then north to Lyon. I anticipated it would take 6 hours door to door and it did.

The French highways are generally 4 or 6 lanes. Most sections are toll roads. There are rest stops with washrooms every 20 miles or so. Every 50 miles will be a cafeteria or restaurant with a gas station. The cost of gas is about 3$ a litre. Don't complain at our $1.30 right now it is cheap. French drives are unlike Italian drivers who think they are driving in a Grand Prix and are in competition with all other drivers. French drivers their attitude is “après vous monsieur” and move out of your way. The posted highway speed is 130kph dropping to 110 if it is raining. I drive about 10 to 20 above that on cruise control. Why can’t we do this on our main 400 highways?

We were driving one section of the highway when the fast train to Paris paralleled the track. I was doing 150kph and the train whipped by at above 200kph as if I was standing still. Why can’t we do this in Canada?

I have yet to come upon a construction site except on side streets in various cities. Unlike Canada when summer heralds construction. Maybe their milder climate allows them to road repairs in the winter.

I like their service centres. Their food is generally better and the washroom facilities are first rate. They even offer showers if you want to take one. Most of them also offer free wifi service for 20 minutes. Nothing wrong with that.

The day was sunny with the odd cloud and we drove through hilly countryside with massive rock outcroppings. Traffic was light with no trucks I guess because it was Sunday. What you saw a lot of were cars with bikes and cars towing caravans. About 1 in 100 vehicles was towing a RV trailer.

We arrived in Lyon and guessed our way to an area of interest. My native genius GPS stood us well and we found a nice hotel right in the heart of old Lyon. We went out for dinner and the streets as in most French cities was teeming with people. The small spaces they live in forces them into an outdoor life style. Elizabeth had blood pudding, which I can’t stomach and I settled for a steak that I couldn’t stomach. Only once have I had any decent meat in France.

After that we walked about had a Crepe Suzette and retreated to bed.