We were based in Mâcon for 10 nights, but we moved hotels halfway through (for availability reasons), so it didn't seem that long. The first five nights were in the Novotel Mâcon Nord, which, despite an uninspiring location near a truck stop just off the freeway, was a nice place. The air conditioning worked great and we were able to make some good homemade breakfasts and lunches thanks to our mini-bar fridge. We also ate in the hotel restaurant a few times and it was surprisingly good. The best meal was their fancy beef burger, which was made with potato pancakes instead of a bun! I wish I had a picture, but sadly I do not.
One night during our stay there was a fire alarm shortly after midnight. That sucked. There was no sign of smoke or fire trucks and I had heard a suspicious scampering down the hall before the alarm, so we waited it out, but after the alarm went off they pounded on our doors and made us all go downstairs so they could "check the rooms." Huh. I was still up but poor David was fast asleep so he had to get up and get dressed. We waited with all the other guests in the lobby for around 20 minutes. There were lots of French businessmen still in suits and a big Indian family in high spirits. We chatted a bit with a young American guy who was there on business, selling medical supplies in Lausanne. We discussed which European countries have their act together more than others, and were in agreement: Germany is best, Italy is worst, France is somewhere in between.
Our second hotel was another brand in the same company (Accor) called All Seasons. It's a budget hotel, but with sleek modern design and two nice freebies you normally have to pay extra for: wi-fi internet and breakfast. Unfortunately the internet didn't always work and they didn't always replenish the delicious multi-grain bread at breakfast, but we still liked it quite well.
The view from the window, across the street to an apartment with a great balcony. We got to spy, Rear-Window style (except for the binoculars, and paralysis, and murder), on the well-dressed family that lived over there. They had a little boy who they took turns watching and entertaining as he toddled all around the balcony, playing with his rather fancy toys and chasing after their long-haired cat.
Unfortunately this was the view lower down. The construction work was incredibly noisy and began promptly at 7:00 each morning!
This hotel didn't have a minibar so we had no fridge for our own cheese and other sandwich makings, and we mostly ate various takeout meals. Not real good for the health, but good for the budget. We had kebabs, Chinese-Thai (they are often combined in France), and, when we were feeling really fancy, McDonalds.
"Le M" is one of several unique offerings on the McDonalds menu in France. And anyone who's seen Pulp Fiction will know that a Quarter Pounder is called a Royale here. Both are good.
The New Car
The same day we moved to the new hotel, we drove down to Lyon to trade in our rental car. We were quite happy with our Fiat Bravo but our lease was up on June 6. We tried to extend the lease but since we'd had the car for three months they wanted to do maintenance work on it. So we traded it in for whatever they wanted to give us in the same range, and began a new lease.
That's our old faithful Fiat on the left. We drooled over the Volvo on the right, but sadly that was not our replacement.
Instead we got a Seat Leon, shown here parked at a church a few days later. It's a Spanish car, the same kind we rented during our trip to Spain. It's not brand-new like the Fiat was and in some way it feels cheaper, but David actually prefers the way it drives and it has some better details, like the ever-important cupholders! It's interesting that in two rentals from France, we never got a French car like a Peugeot or Renault.
She looks pretty nice, we think.
We had generally planned to spend a day in Lyon during this part of our trip, but it was raining most of the time we were there and it's a huge city that is quite difficult to navigate. Plus we were a bit knackered from our move that morning. So neither of us had much desire to stick around, and we never got a chance to return on a sunnier day. I've visited once before, though, back in 2002, and it does have its nice bits. I wish I had had a better camera back then!
Clermont-Ferrand
This afternoon we arrived safely at our new base in Clermont-Ferrand, after a three-hour drive through torrential rain and thunderstorms! If it weren't for the weather it would have been a very pretty and relaxing drive, through the countryside of southern Burgundy. We're in a new region now, called the Auvergne, which has lots of extinct volcanoes.
We will be here in Clermont for just three nights, staying in a French chain of "apparthotels" called Citéa Residence. It's cheaper than most hotels and yet we get our own little apartment with an exterior door, two floors, free internet, and a kitchen. It's all very sleek and new and we're pretty happy with it.
The only real drawback is that our apartment smells strongly of wet dog. There are even telltale paw marks on the patio door! But we hope that with some airing, some cooking and a candle, it will improve.
This post comes to you from this table.
Immediately after unloading the car we went grocery shopping, which is always really fun. We get to try more local food and it gives us an opportunity to eat a little healthier, too. The highlight of the trip was buying our baguettes from the bakery just after they came out of the oven!
As you can see, one of them didn't make it home unscathed. And no, this isn't all we bought. Not that it isn't a balanced diet, mind you.
