Lyon

OStay:Montluel

After a relaxing morning and lunch, we went for a stroll through the streets of Lyon and along the Rhone and Saone River.

There is a rose festival in town and this is an exhibit.

The Hotel de Vilłe.

Painting on a building.

A resemblance to my father! Pepe the scholar!

Bluey's all gassed up

Travelled:80km
Stay: Montluel with family

We woke up to another beautiful day. On the way to my cousin in Montluel we stopped in St.Priest, a suburb of Lyon, to check out their gas fittings. The  gas fittings from Australia dont fit the French ones, so Mark was hoping to find a solution to this dilemma. Unfortunately we had no luck but its not a catastrophy as it is only to connect the BBQ to the new gas bottle. In the mean time we can still use the old one on the french gas bottle.
Mark wasted no time in installing the new LPG gas bottle. All went smoothly and the price to fill it up €16, is half of what it cost to exchange the french bottle. So after 22 fills we will make back the €360 it cost us to buy it. 
So then it was time to relax and enjoy a pleasant evening with my cousin and her family.

Bluey Service

Travelled : 120km  from Paray le Monial
Visited: Roanne
Stay: Joux- free parking at lake picnic area. GPS N45°53.439' E4°22.953' Free larking and services also available closer to town N45°53.302' E4°22.553'

Got Bluey's service done at the Ford dealership in Paray le Monial this morning..oil change and check up  cost  €143. We then called in for a quick hello with Mr Martin at JL Loisirs who we bought Bluey through before setting off down the road to Roanne. It is a reasonably sized town on the Loire River. Although there is a payable aire on the banks of the canal, we noticed some motorhomes parked in a big carpark down the other end.

After a brief walk around we continued on towards Lyon, 

 We are 'travelling all over the country side'....

stopping on the way in a quiet spot next to the lake in Joux. We relaxed the rest of the afternoon and walked around the lake after dinner.

Bluey is hiding in amongst the trees!

Stone Quarry and Vézelay

Travelled: 299km from Briare
Visited: Aubigny stone quarry, Vezelay
Stay:Paray le Monial: aire -free parking, services payable. Plenty of overflow parking. GPS N46°26.893' E4°07.205'

We started the day with another walk along the Canal Bridge 

before heading off to visit the underground stone quarry in Aubigny. The stone was extracted by hand and used in many Parisian monuments. The chambres were very impressive. There was evidence that the quarry has been used since the Roman times and was eventually closed in the 1940s. 

Oh wait...is that a dinosaur!

On our way to Paray le Monial we stopped to visit Vézelay, one of France's most beautiful villages. We parked in the bus parking area going into town, but noticed motorhomes in another parkjng area as we left on the other side of the village. The village looked impressive as we drove up, stretched out on a rocky plateau above the lush country side. We walked up through the cobbled streets it the Basilique Sainte Marie Madeleine which dominates the hilltop. A big restoration project is underway and part of the cathedral looks amazing with the new stone.

Then it was back in Bluey to finish our journey.

One of Camy's short cuts for today...

In Paray we meet some Australians travelling by barge and others by motorhome. After dinner we enjoyed a stroll around town.

Some beautiful white Charolles cows of the region.

Canal Exploring

Travelled: 260km from Rousseloy to Briare

Visited: Rogny les Sept Ecluses, Briare le Canal

Stay: Briare-free parking next to the canal, toilets and aire with services close by. GPS N47 38.0634' E2 44.4042'

After a reasonable sleep, we headed off at 6:30 this morning. We took the motorways around Paris and felt quite lucky that we did not get stuck in a traffic jam. We stopped in Nemours and did a proper shop to fill up Bluey's cupboards to keep us well feed and watered for the next few days. Then it was back on the road heading for our destination for today - Rogny les Sept Ecluses which had several aires to stay at including one next to the canal. Unfortunately the 4 spots there where taken, so we parked just next to it. 

After lunch we went for a walk to the namesake of the town - the seven locks. No longer in use today, the locks were built in 1642 to connect the Loire and Seine Rivers which had a height difference of 24m. By 1887 the locks were abandoned due to their large consumption of water and insufficient size. 

When we got back to Bluey we were asked to move on and find a spot in one of the other parking areas. One was next to the locks, which would have been fine, but as it was only 2pm, we decided to push on and drive to Briare on the Loire River. The main attraction here is the metal canal bridge, built in 1896 with the help of Gustave Eiffel, it is the longest in Europe (662.69m). We found a great spot to stay for the night in a parking area just next to the canal and the bridge, then went for a walk along it. 

Later we walked into town and had a look in St.Etienne Church which is decorated in and out with mosaics. 

Feeling still a bit jet lagged we took it easy for the rest of the evening.