Gray-Haired Globetrotter

  October 22, 2025 (visited) Séguret is set against a hillside backdrop of the famous  Dentelles de Montmirail which I wrote about already   https://www.grayhairedglobetrotter.com/2025/10/les-dentelles-gigondas-provance-france.html   It's name in Provençal means  security.  Street scenes  Originally this church was built in the 10th century, and rebuilt again in 13th and 17th centuries.  Church in Seguret And more contemporary street art  This postal truck is backing up the narrow road!  John read about this destination in Rick Steves France travel guidebook and it was on our way to  Domaine de Mourchon a destination winery recommended by our apartment host.   

 October 23-26, 2025   My first and unforgettable floating island with pink pralines. A beloved Lyonnaise speciality, pink pralines are almonds cooked in pink caramelized sugar . Then  color is given by the  natural dye, cochineal . The first recipe with pink pralines is Gâteau de Saint Genix created in 1860 by Pierre Labully in Saint-Genis-sur-Guiers. The pastry chef incorporated pralines into his dough which melted into his brioche.   Here it is in a small brioche from Les Halles Lyon Paul Bocuse.  With that introduction, you probably are correctly guessing the Lyon France is a magnet for foodies.  Day one both lunch and dinner were the worst of the trip!  I was worried, but things really improved for the next couple of days.  The most traditional food from Lyon is Quenelles. Pike fish/Brochet in a crayfish sauce is the standard, so I tried it at Giraudet in Les Halles Lyon Paul Bocuse.  Many others to choose from,   John opted fo...

 October 2025 It was tough to find an Airbnb with location and amenities we wanted in Lyon, France.  None were close to city center AND with a washing machine. We chose location and set off on an adventure to learn how to use a laundromat in French in France.  Google maps helped us find "laundromat near me"   Clean and efficient as well as empty  There were directions in French as well and English except for one part, so I used Google translate's camera to understand the finer details.  Dying instructions were more straightforward  First round of trying to pay, we didn't read the French accurately because it added another Euro.  Realizing that we likely made an error trying to interpret the above photo, We looked more carefully and discovered we'd overlooked the option to choose a language.  4 eyes are definitely better than 2.  And we'd ordered laundry soap when using  French.  Clothes were clean and dry in less than an hour! ...

 Avignon Arles Brotte Musuem  Chateauneuf-du-Pape prized bottle/unique shape and yes, that's a door, see the hinges?  Nimes  Villeneuve-les-Avignon Chartreuse monestary Saintes-Maries-sur-de-la-Mer This door meant a lot to me because there is a bullfight arena and these are special bulls endemic to this region and they don't kill the bulls, see my blog on Saintes-Maries-sur-de-la-Mer Avignon window because it was so cool. this building was from the 1600's with many iterations until the 1970's when it became the center for the performing arts festival that's in Avignon every July Lyon France, we aren't in Provence  but wanted to share