Yeah, so I did that thing again where I bailed on the blog for a month. I think I had a really good excuse though: I was in France.
Technically, I was there to work. I was hosting a web TV broadcast of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. ‘What is the 24 Hours of Le Mans?’ you might ask. Well, it’s sort of the biggest race in the world; 56 cars, 168 drivers, for 24 hours around an 8.5-mile track. And the “track” is made up of public roads. Sweet huh? Check out these crazy machines…
That was at scrutineering (a.k.a. tech inspection), which they do in the middle of town. Here was the start…
And here’s where I spent most of the week, the web TV studio…
When we called it a day, it was back to the country house…
Sometimes we went grocery shopping first and I got to ogle the silly cookie names, except that these were so good I wish I would have bought the giant family pack instead of one single sleeve.
But that was okay, because there was plenty of dessert at the track, including this, which blew my mind. It was a sort of Kit-Kat meets peanut butter cup on the bottom (very crunchy) topped with a delicate, rich chocolate mousse. Weeee! I ate 12. Does anyone have a recipe?
After the race was over, I wanted to visit Lyon, because I had read that it was the “gastronomic capital of France,” and obviously I’m all about the food. Thing is, I should have read more closely what traditional Lyonnais food is, because as I sat down for dinner both nights, I read through line after line of things like this…
A traditional Lyonnais menu centers around meat, particularly offal. Typical foods include andouille (grilled chitterlings sausage), tripe (pig or cow’s stomach), or boudin noir (blood sausage). Other common dishes include, chicken liver salad, cerverlas, (raw pork sausages), quenelles (flour, egg and cream dumplings), or Cervelle de canut, (which means “brains of the silk-weaver” and consists of cream cheese mixed with garlic and chives.) – USA Today Travel Tips
However, France is still France, and I sort of rock at finding good food. Like a real Pain au Chocolat that doesn’t just have the little squirt of chocolate, but has a giant POOL OF CHOCOLATE in the bottom.
Or lovely madeleines, oh how I love madeleines…
Or this crazy thing that was called a Coco Chocolat and I called heaven. Both this and the madeleines were purchased at a bakery called Pignol near Place Bellcour.
Duh I had a crepe. A lunch one with eggplant, chorizo, tomato sauce, cheese and olives.
One thing the Lyonnais do get right is salad. A traditional Lyonnais salad is served with chunks of bread, bacon and a poached egg.
The French also make a mean duck and love to serve it with rich potatoes.
It’s a wonder I had any room left for dessert… wait… what is that?
Oh, I guess there’s profiteroles in there somewhere.
And then it was time to hop back on a tram, to get to the train, to take me to the airport. Goodbye Lyon. I wasn’t a fan of your sausages and tripe, but I loved your fountains, bridges, your Basilica and your madeleines.
Adventures of a Hungry Redhead 
Hahaha. I lived in Lyon for a year in college and it was amazing. I definitely had the boudin (blood sausage) a number of times, and I think I accidentally ate tripe once at the beginning of the year when my French wasn’t so great 😉
That’s awesome! I wish I would have known before I left and I could have gotten some insider tips on what to see and where to eat!