Four years ago we had an absolutely wonderful lunch at a Bouchon called Le Garet. So we asked Odile to make a reservation for us for lunch today.
We start out at Cafe du Marche again. Ordered croissants again along with coffee and pressed orange juice. I had some ham with mine, Julie smoked salmon. We then walk back through the market but it is a bitter disappointment to me as today it is clothes and assorted handicraps. Worse, as we reached the end of the first part, Julie asks me to wait as she tours the second half of the market. Sitting there waiting for ages in the heat was not my idea of fun.
Looking back at t he market
Later we start our walk to Le Garet. We are supposed to arrive between 12:30 and 1:00 PM or else they will ock the door on us. In fact, I think we arrived a bit before 12:30 and there were several others already there. We did not see them lock the door at 1:00 either.
ArrivingPork scratchings – I ate too many of theseGherkins to go with my RilletteSalad for Julie – many of those bacon pieces ended up on my plateDuck rillette with pieces of Goose for meFrogs legs for JulieAndouillette sausage for meSpuds
These main courses did not work out very well for us. Julie had had Frogs Legs 4 years ago when here and they were delightful but these were much smaller and bonier. I had already eaten too much with the scratching and the rillettes but did not really care for the sausage that had a number of pieces of tripe within. As well, last time we had formed a great rapport with the other patrons in the restaurant but this time nothing except later a British travel writer came for a while and had a chat with us. Julie went upstairs to the loo and came back with the following pictures.
All in all a disappointing day. No doubt we had raised our expectations too high. You can never go back.
We did not do much for the rest of the day and evening but get ready to depart Lyon tomorrow.
It is still very hot the next morning but a little cooler than the apartment so we open all the windows. While I continue on with the laundry, Julie does a scout around for a breakfast place. She comes back and then leads us across the river, near a Sunday market, and then up the river a bit to a restaurant that had been quite popular earlier.
I believe we were in this area 4 years ago.The end part of the Sunday marketJulie had salmon rillette which she lovedI thought I had ordered a cheese croissant but got a cheese platter instead
Of course we had a coffee and a fresh pressed orange juice. We then cross the street to walk through the market. I think we had been here too 4 years ago. There was a large variety of foods, fresh and some cooked. After the fact, I wished I had had a cooked Lyonaise sausage instead of the cheese platter.
Julie stopped at a shop to get Ham and then Duck Rillette for me.
It is really too hot for me to wander around town. So I leave that to Julie while I continue on the laundry and generally bumble around.
A health food lunch of Duck Rillette and sparkling red
Eventually Julie returns and has her famous 3 course meal.
Water, Coffee and Rose, as well as YoghurtI have another Duck Rillette with a chilled red
Julie tells me she has found an absolutely fantastic restaurant that we must go to tonight. So after a break, we head out for a bit of a walk to the new finding.
I should have known betterThe CarteFirst ones there. It was air conditioned which was a major plus. Eventually the room filled upThey provided chips and guacamole at the startA big plate of smoked salmon for Julie
I had thought that Julie should have ordered the combination plate with some varieties of cooked salmon as well as the smoked.
Salmon wrapped in Bacon for me
This was not what I ordered but it was OK. The waitress had serious English problems.
Irish Coffee for JV
We had heard that in the past Lyon was jealous of Paris and its famous man made landmarks, so they made their own. Walking back from the Salmon shop I photoed some:
Lyon’s Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame up on the hill.The Courthouse in front of our apartment and the sights above
We had been hearing about a heat wave in France, Switzerland etc for a few days. Sure enough, as we are about to land in Lyon the Captain tells us that it is 40C and it is 6:00 PM!
The Immigration queue in Lyon is not too bad, last time we landed there it was awful. We get our suitcases and after finding out that we had enough Euros to pay for a taxi into town, we jump in one. (Maybe next time we will try the Train as the taxi cost 55 Euro.) We are staying in an Airbnb apartment run by Odile. She has told us to tell the Taxi driver to go up a narrow lane way near the apartment and that sometimes drivers will refuse to do so.
Any way, when we get there the driver goes up to the laneway. As he stops and we get out, a surprise is Odile’s Husband is there to help us with our suitcases. The apartment turns out to be in a very old building up one flight of very old circular stairs. Odile is waiting at the door and we enter a totally remodelled modern apartment with the latest appliances etc. Odile is a delightful person and has left us with some useful goodies. There is no air-conditioning and it is very hot but there is nothing she could do about that other than to point out that there is a modern fan that we use throughout the stay.
After we have settled in, and started some washing as there was a real pile of dirty clothes, we decide to go out for some food. We are in an area surrounded by restaurants. We go around in a big circle and end up picking one right across the street from the apartment. A very nice lady serves us.
Drinks in ice including the redThe Ice Bucket (Bag)The Restaurant next to oursTrue to style, Julie orders Salmonand I order DuckOur apartment is the one with the windows directly above the Real Estate agentThe long hallway to the stairs
There is some excitement, actually concern, when we get to the apartment. There is a trick for opening the door with the key and we clearly did not have that trick. We fiddled around for nearly 30 minutes, and I was quite prepared to sleep on the stairs when somehow I managed to open the lock – more good luck that good managment. After such a long day, three countries, one timezone, etc., we crash out in spite of the heat.
That keeps Georgia on my mind! Yes, it is the 4th of July and yes it is time to leave Georgia. We are up quite early as we don’t want to be hornswaggled out of our Turkish Airlines flights again. The plan is to be picked up at 7:30 to reach the airport by 9:00 AM. Andrew kindly gets up early to carry our bags down. Janet is also up to wish us goodbye. We are early for our station and the driver is late. He shows up 15 minutes late and we say goodbye and head off. He is a very good driver and cuts 15 minutes off the trip so we get there at the targeted 9:00.
The Tbilisi Airport
But Turkish Air is not ready for our check-in even though there are plenty of staff hanging around. Eventually they start to check-in but as inefficient as ever there is a single entry point with the attendant in an argument with the passenger and 4 check-in stations without customers. Eventually we get checked-in and there is still plenty of time left.
I go for health food – Bryn was apparently jealousJulie’s Choice
As we wait to board, I reflect on our visit to Georgia.
The Wine
Definitely an interesting part about Georgia including his long history and maybe even the beginning of wine in human society. The making and ageing of the win in the Kvevris was also good. We had some very good wines and some home made wines that were not special. A special mention should be made about the Chacha, Bryn’s favourite.
The Food
Well, this is a tricky one. There were some interesting foods, the Green Plum sauce fro example. And there was plenty of it looking at all the photos of the food that we left behind. But this was not an exciting cuisine in general and frequently the food was over cooked e.g. the Seafood place in Batumi.
The Roads
The roads ranged from a few good ones, to some OK ones, some not that swell ones and some absolutely terrible – see the Post called “Duane Eddy” for more detail. The drivers were a bit ordinary too. Many times we were travelling one direction and a car was overtaking another in the other direction effectively creating a third lane in the middle when there was not one there.
The Weather
Given that this was summer it was not that great but then it is a mountainous country so I guess that could be expected. Some rain in the mountains did not help the roads situation.
The People
A major plus, at least all the ones that we met that were serving us. Over generous to a fault, incredibly friendly, immediately accepted us just about everywhere we went.
Conclusion
I am certainly glad that we did this tour of Georgia, there were a number of good points and we got to see somewhere new, one steeped in history. Having said that, been there, done that.
Turkish Airlines
We board the first leg to Lyon which stops in Istanbul. Smooth enough flight, food unexceptional, 25 minutes in a holding pattern then a wait through security after we land. A very busy airport but we have time for a drink, especially as they would not let us go to the boarding gate until later on.
The flight to Lyon is unexceptional. As usual, the food and drink service in Economy was inefficient. We were in the middle of the plane and by the time both trolleys got to us, only one food choice was available and a large part of the flight was over. The kebab was OK, just.
So comments about Turkish.
* I could never forgive them for the banning us from the flight to Georgia because of 10 minutes late of an artificially enforced deadline. Not only did we miss the first day of the tour, but also we got slugged for additional airfare and of course Hotel accommodation.
* Their inefficiencies at check-in and food and beverage service were annoying.
* Having said that, they had the best leg room in Economy that I can recall seeing.
After another ordinary breakfast – we sat outside in the back this time – we meet John out the front of the Hotel. We walk around to the local Museum which is actually only a few meters away from where we had breakfast.
Julie assuming street sweeping dutiesYes, Lois another museum for Patrick after a church yesterday!
Looking down at the village
We then go out in the bus to have lunch with a local woman to learn about medicinal herbs, cheese, bread starters and ancient methods of silk production. Lamara is like a walking encyclopedia of folk knowledge, she is bright eyed as she walks us through the inherited wisdom she acquired from her grandmother, and she is a great chef to boot! A real character we are told by John.
Arriving
Lamara talks to us, via John, about several of the natural plants growing in her garden and their health benefits. I have a sore on my finger which has been there for the whole trip and longer and she grabs a leaf to put on it. (To be honest, when the leaf is removed some time later there is no improvement.
Her housePerhaps the most interesting thing is her Silk WormsMore silk worms
For those that do not know anything about silk, such as us at the start, she tells us the silk comes from the cocoon for baby silk moths. The best silk comes if the pupae is killed before it hatches. Lamara holds up an empty cocoon and states that this small thing can generate 1,500 meters of silk.
Manually spinning the silkShe has a spinning wheel but prefers to do it by handOne of her hand made silk products
Then after quite a delay, there is – wait for it – a lunch.
Ubiquitous dumplings and home made wineFruit!Lamara and John
Lamara tells a story about how her older brother used to torment her for the first 10 years of her life but then really looked after her after that. Sadly, the brother died young leaving her without a protector until another “brother” came along – John himself. Great story.
After we depart Lamara, we stop at another monastery briefly.
Back to the Hotel for a rest up before the finale feast tonight. We walk to Pheasant Tears.
From the local artist we learned about at the museum this morningStart of the final feast. The envelope is our Tip for Besu the driver who did a great job
The table is structured so that a group of nine sit in the middle with the rest of us around them. They are lead by John’s wife who heads up the Zedashe group and they provide music all night long with their polyphonic singing with traditional Georgian instruments, sort of randomly breaking into song.
Chacha drinking out of a traditional bone pipe
Sweetbreads – Julie liked them so much she ate virtually a whole plateThere was frequent dancing as well, joined in by Bryn and Julie
Bryn had borrowed some PVC tubing so that he could do his Didgeridoo which he did well. No photos sorry.
I even got up, talked a bit about Australia and sang? a couple of stanzas of “Downunder”, no photos thankfully.
So then it is time to go. After farewells at the restaurant, we go outside and Besu has kindly brought his van to drop us off at the Hotel.
Our chariot for the last 12 days.
We are off early tomorrow morning to avoid the check-in limit hassles with Turkish airlines. So, we have teary goodbyes with our magical group vowing to meet again, probably in Australia, probably in 2017.
