Lyon
Lovely to be reunited with friends - and bikes - in Lyon. The temperature is noticeably warmer and we can no longer wear our heavier polar fleeces, in fact we are not wearing any jackets. Even at the late evening picnic.
There are new roads, which were still roadworks when we were here last year. We've done some basic bike maintenance, visited the local shopping centre at Part-Dieu which continues to please us with its water feature, a fountain which has laser-lighting and water displays every so often. 
We've biked across town to spend the evening with a friend and his friends. We've been to a local park with music, dancers, stalls, games - an opportunity to let locals meet people that live in the area, and to provide entertainment from local groups who can always use new members - Indian dancing, Bollywood style - for example. Also a group from the Capoeira centre - a Brazilian mix of dancing to music and clapping + martial arts movements. The 3 month old baby loved it and moved his limbs in time to the music.
We've shared a picnic in the park in the cool of the evening ( still no jackets) and talked with a Frenchman who extoles the virtues of St Clair Sauvgnan Blanc, which he tasted in London and managed to buy on line in France. Not easy to find though.
Grenoble
A quick trip to see Alice during which we crammed much into 26 hours. An Italian 'brunch' of small helpings of wonderful dishes - a set menu with some choices.
A walk through some of the older streets of Grenoble, through the parks, to the funicular up to La Bastille fortress, a journey of about 260m, height-wise.
After the obligatory photographs and some educational reading of panels on the roof, we felt obliged to descend to the slightly cooler restaurant for some fridge-cold Perrier water, followed by more water! Something over 31 will not throw Australians or those in Abu Dhabi but it was pretty hot for the locals, and us!
The walk down was pleasant, though quite steep, and includes a few sets of stairs where we passed people carrying their bicycles up. There are several ways down and one is well-known in the cycling world.
Once down, more streets to explore - we noted the apartment of Stendhal's grandfather, the house where Rousseau spent a month once, and the hotel where Napoleon spent, was it, just one night, and so it is called the Hotel Napoleon.
After the obligatory photographs and some educational reading of panels on the roof, we felt obliged to descend to the slightly cooler restaurant for some fridge-cold Perrier water, followed by more water! Something over 31 will not throw Australians or those in Abu Dhabi but it was pretty hot for the locals, and us!
The walk down was pleasant, though quite steep, and includes a few sets of stairs where we passed people carrying their bicycles up. There are several ways down and one is well-known in the cycling world.Once down, more streets to explore - we noted the apartment of Stendhal's grandfather, the house where Rousseau spent a month once, and the hotel where Napoleon spent, was it, just one night, and so it is called the Hotel Napoleon.
The tram system is ultra-useful, with 4, nearly 5, lines, and even on a Sunday running every quarter of an hour. We were home in 10 minutes.
With the longest day not far away we ate fairly late in the evening brightness, backdrop of mountains, and delicious specialities of Grenoble whipped up by our cool host, Alice.
Next morning, Pentecost, was a holiday, so after breakfasting with the same ultra-calm outlook we drove to a Spa town, Uriage-les-Bains, which has similarities with the spa section of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains near Chamonix but smaller. Large green parks with shady trees - perfect for a picnic.
Train back to Lyon in less than an hour and a half - who could wish for more?
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