Lyon, beer, ice cream and BBQ

Well, considering this is only supposed to be a collection and stopover town, it’s not been too shabby.

Deb got here a few hours before Rob and chose to have a bit of an explore before the room was ready, and Rob arrived on the bike.

Speaking of the bike, sh@t, that was a long way! Rob must be getting old as he distinctly remembers doing nearly twice that distance in a day when he was younger and not being as knackered as he was today. He felt like he needed his knees replacing. 

Rob was not 100% sure if filtering is legal in France but decided to have a go anyway. Apparently from January 2025 motorway filtering is legal but only under certain circumstances.

We finally met up in Lyon, wow it was hot, southern France was under going a heat wave https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/heatwave-europe-uk-france-spain-italy-greece-wildfires-latest-updates-b2778706.html

The cover is nothing to do with potential rain, it is to stop the bike me melting 🫠 

We went for a wander around the town, and as usual, most things in France are closed despite the fact that it is a Saturday night. We ended up stopping and having an ice cream and cold lemonade and shopping in a C&A store. Remember C&A?

We were concerned we were not going to find anywhere to have a beer. We need not have worried, as we managed to find the beating heart of this Lyon suburb.

Deb decided that she wanted an apple juice. “Step aside” said Rob “I’ve got this covered, I have a three year streak on Duolingo learning French”

“Une juice pomme de terre s’il vous plaît” he stated with some confidence much to the amusement of the staff behind the bar. He had just ordered a potato juice.


Having failed miserably, he went for the loo from Little Britain approach, “I’ll have that one” using the universal language of pointing.

While we’re in this bar, Rob said to Deb how nice it would be to have a barbecue outside right now with a beer. We were clearly gifted this evening as we walked Next Door and hey Presto they were selling beer and we’re cooking a barbecue.

Late this evening we joined a stag do. Check this fella out fair due to him he looks like something out of Flashdance. We bought him a drink and watch them pay boules all night getting slowly more more pissed

The stag do group nickname Rob ‘English ’ and it stuck for the rest of the evening.

In France, they call this a Boules  court. Back in Chester, our cats call it a toilet.

Planes ferry’s and Motorbikes

The plan for Deb and Rob this time is to embark on an adventure down to the Swiss Alps on the mighty Honda Goldwing . Deb has cleverly devised a plan to avoid the grueling 800-mile journey through England and France. Instead, she’s left Rob to navigate the winding roads alone, with the mission to pick her up in Lyon. It’s a selfless act, you say?

The trip’s planning is a delightful blend of Deb and Rob’s unique styles. One approach involves meticulous planning, months in advance, booking accommodation, flights, ferry, and route planning. They meticulously check driving requirements and practice packing, ensuring they have everything they need. The other approach, however, is more spontaneous and involves winging it for the second week. They’ll see where the road takes them and find places to stay and explore. Let’s guess whose style is who’s.

The journey begins with a familiar twist. Rob reminds them that they’re traveling on a motorcycle, not a camper van, and that past experience has taught them to pack lightly. Deb, determined to pack everything, including the kitchen sink, disregards his advice. They’ve been inspired by the Missenden Flyer and his wife’s YouTube videos, traveling two up on a Goldwing to the Alps with ease, even with their camera gear and sufficient clothing. But they ignore this training and try to pack everything anyway. They end up with a roll bag for the top box rack, a feature that the Missenden Flyer and his wife do without. The rack has a weight limit of 3 kgs, and they miss the target by a smidge, coming in at just over 9 kgs. Rob tells Deb she’ll have to remove some stuff, and within 5 minutes, they’re down to 5 kgs.

Rob exclaims, “Amazing, what did you remove?”

Deb, replies, “Your pants!” Oh how he laugh.

As he rides, Rob stops to  enjoy a slice of Cake Au Citron and an expresso just south of Paris, while Deb soars above the city, probably over Paris herself and no doubt squished between a fat smelly couple talking crap…..should have took the bike!

Rob encounters numerous Payege signs with 72h written next to them, wondering if he has to pay online or if he can use Brexit as an excuse. If he can, he’ll finally admit that he’s found one benefit of Brexit. But if not, he’ll just grumble, “Bloody Brexit.”

You can barely tell we are taking anything.