Saturday 18th May - Oysters and Artichokes

Apologies for the squewiffy photos. We have no idea why that has happened. Please do not injure yourself looking at them.

Today we wake up to sunshine and blue skies, hopefully a good omen for today's activities. The tram ticket is going to get a pasting today.

We hop off the tram at Porte de Bourgogne, just on the city side of the river. Today we are heading south, away from the touristy centre of the Old Town. We soon find ourselves in an open market that runs along the bank of the river.R gets chatted up by a stallholder who has a cunning line of patter. It works as she hands over €5. We move along onto streets where many buildings are adorned with jasmine bushes. Their distinctive perfume is very evident.

Our objective is the main city market, the Marché des Capuchins, which still seems to function as a local market for local people.

There are all sorts of goodies on display.

Our guide book recommends Chez Jean-Mi for oysters with a glass of white wine. There is space at the counter so we go for it. Suitably refreshed we take another turn round the stalls. There is so much tempting stuff on offer but we would have to carry it around all day so we restrict our purchases to an artichoke and a Baguette Traditionel.

The sun is really strong when we leave the market and we look for shade which we find at the Place de la Victoire, where there is a pub with a large sunny terrace. Most people seem to want sun so we can grab a shady table for a coffee. R quizzes the waiters about their kilts. D confuses everybody with his new fusion language Spranglais.

 Our afternoon activity is an excursion to the Botanic Gardens. Parts of this seem more like an allotment but the water garden with Lillies and frogs is quite interesting.

After a great day out we head home for a quiet night in and an artichoke feast.