Lyon, lunch and loos

We were fortunate to have a final trip abroad before the madness of 2020 kicked in, you’ll remember that we went for a few days in Lyon where I think we ate at least twice our body weight while we were there. I’m not kidding, the food was gorgeous and it was definitely a gastro trip, so much so that looking back it’s a surprise we could actually run through the airport. The incentive of potentially missing our flight must have helped.

When we’re away MOH always scours the area for good restaurants, and his searches rarely disappoint. One day we decided to head out for lunch instead of an evening meal, and the plan was to head for an authentic ‘bouchon lyonnais’. He settled on the Café Comptoir Abel and we set off on foot - well it was the least we could do, but in truth barely scratched the surface of any calories we were about to consume.

The red and white table cloths and traditional wooden furniture are typical of an authentic ‘bouchon lyonnais’ along with the typical dishes of Lyon. Once we arrived at our destination we knew exactly what the website meant. Even the walls in the corridors we were led through were red and white checked.

And it was a glorious setting. Just look at the top of that bar.

Unusually I even managed to remember to snap pictures of our food, or our starters at least. MOH opted for the salad lyonnaise, while I went for the saucisson chaud aux lentilles, which was lovely but huge - we could have shared it. I’m pretty sure chicken supreme followed, but usual service resumed and no photos exist.

But still, that bar - I got a closer look. Every time I look at these photos I see something new.

It’s only now that I’ve realised that an old cigarette machine has been repurposed as a miniatures cabinet. It’s a great use of a vintage piece, especially if everything else is lost.

On our way to our table I’d spotted these stairs, but it was only later that I learnt the loos were up them. And you know I wouldn’t miss a look at those.

They didn’t disappoint, though I’m not sure what face I’m pulling in the photo below.

And as you’d expect, it was so very French. It’s been a bit of a bathroom filled week. Our rearranged bathroom refresh took place this week, and it didn’t go quite to plan, but that’s for another post, another day.

Enjoying the atmosphere in the Shade House

The weather here is still mostly Winter, with a little bit of Spring. But just enough to fool you. To fool you it’s warm, and it is in the sun. But it’s definitely not in the shade. I don’t know about you but the warmth of the sun is very welcome, however brief and I’m looking forward to it being more constant. But today’s post definitely has heat, we’re heading back in Barbados and memories from our trip in December 2019, where spending some time in the Shade House was very welcome.

We’d taken a taxi to visit the Andromeda Botanical Gardens, and it was an incredibly hot day even by Barbados standards. It was nice to wander around the planned route of the garden, which was probably one of the best labelled and informative gardens we’ve been too. The Shade House was the 31st stop (of 41) on our garden tour and the guide encouraged us to sit for a while to listen to the birds.

It was a fascinating structure, providing as its name suggests shade. Which was very welcome. It’s rustic nature brought charm as well as shade. And in the climate it’s not like a greenhouse was needed, so this made perfect sense.

The plants were ferns, arums and phormiums. Though taking a seat was trickier as the arums got there first. But loiter a little we did, glad of the brief respite.

Sadly we didn’t get to spot the birds suggested by the guide - though we may not have recognised a Bananaquit if we’d seen one, or been quick enough to capture a hummingbird. I’m sure they were there, but we weren’t attuned to them. But it was a fabulous space, and as lush as the rest of the gardens, and a few degrees cooler which was very, very welcome.

Two footstools and a tassel

Today it’s all about the footstools and a tassel at Blickling - if you’ve visited you might recognise the flooring of the Long Gallery. And if you haven’t, the Long Gallery is just what it says. It’s original use was for exercise and it has the most amazing ceiling - which I’ll share another day - today we’re spending time looking down, rather than up. And admiring the needlework.

The colour on both of the footstools were still pretty vivid, and both had a very polite note that they were too fragile for visitor use, though both looked very inviting. This one features birds and flowers, and what look like chillies. Maybe they are, maybe they’re not, but to me they could be.

And that bird definitely has its eye on them, so could be in for a surprise.

The second is more floral, and in all of my photos I think it’s upside down. So you can either enjoy it as I did, or turn your neck to try and imagine it the right way up.

Aren’t they both great? I think on balance the first one would be my first choice, but aren’t they both fab?

The tassel above also caught my eye, a relatively simple thing, but so much detail. And so, so pretty.