The Medieval Hilltop City of Pérouges

On Wednesday we got a phone call from Falcons WR Ludovic Dornier asking John and I to join him for a drive out in the country to the medieval hilltop city of Pérouges for lunch.

Ludo also brought along a delightful lass from the state of Texas, Cathy Pfaff.

In a convoluted tale of friendship, Ludo's girlfriend is best friends with Cathy's niece. The niece has moved out of her family's home and Ludo's girlfriend now lives there.

Cathy and her husband Alain, a Parisian by birth, have recently moved to Lyon after living all over the world due to Alain's work.

We were also joined by Falcons QB Mathieu Paredes and RB Brice Rontet for what proved to be a great day!

Our Mob's Arrival at Pérouges

Pérouges is perched on a hilltop and is a perfect little example of 12th century medieval architecture. It has such an authentic feel that many period films have used the city as a set. The 1973 version of Alexandre Dumas' classic tome, The Three Musketeers.

Darn, we just missed the St-Georges Festival!

Pérouges' Porte d'En-Haut Entry Arch

A Door, a REALLY Old Door

Typical Medieval Architecture

Wasn't there a door here once?

A narrow, winding rue

The Church Courtyard

Classic French Vehicle

Moss Covered Ancient Tree

The Église-Forteresse, Let's Go In! 

The BVM is a MUST!

Another dark, dank medieval church

St-Georges

No thanks, all my bones and
joints are feeling really good today!

We continued to explore

Drying out the corn

Cloud cover meant that none

of us knew what time it was

Laurie Likes Cherries

Lion Door Knocker

Giddy-Up

Cool Building

Le Relais de la Tour
on the Place du Tilleul

We were all hungry, so we opted to dine at this local bistro.

We were greeted by the bistro's cabbages

The Lunch Bunch

From L. to R. ("De G. à D." in French): Cathy Pfaff, Mathieu Paredes, Brice Rontet, John van den Raadt and Ludovic Dornier

The bistro's interesting dining room

It's a French Speciality!

It was delicious with an incredible raisin mustard sauce. The pâté that served as our first dish was quite good as well.

The All-You-Can-Eat Dessert Bar

You often hear people at funerals say that the deceased is now in a far better place. This restaurant's dessert bar is that place I pray!

This city is famous for its Tarte Au Sucre. They are the pizza look-alike slices in the photo above. As usual, it was good but it was the fabulous sauces that you could add to the Tarte Au Sucre that really made it special. I enjoyed the mixture of the English cream, chocolate and raspberry sauces.

. . . AND SO GOOD FOR YOU TOO!!!

Especially the second slice.

Merci Cathy!!!

I've always wanted a genuine
one-handed flail

After lunch we went into a shop specializing in authentic medieval weapons reproductions.

There are nights that I could really use a flail like this one at the Falcons practice.

A Peaceful Milk Can

Heraldry is always interesting

Angry Dolphin

Vine Covered Ancient Wall

Local Boulagerie

Wonderous Aromas!!!

Old, old shutters

Bricks

A really small door

Gnarled Garden Door

A Los Angeles Rams fan?

Moss Covered Rampart

Stone Work to the Max

Three Little Jugs

The valley below Pérouges

Rusty Grate

After a great afternoon full of food, drink and friendship, we headed back to Lyon for one last beer or two before calling it a day.

The Lyon bar's interesting ceiling

Merci Ludo, Brice and Mathieu!!!

Papi Bastiand lets one fly

In the evening we only had the Cadet practice as the Junior team cancelled their workout.

Work in the Chutes

One-on-One Cadet Pass Blocking

Exciting news for the Falcons tonight as word leaked out that Right Guard David Melin has been signed to a lucrative endorsement contract with the French communications giant, Virgin Mobile.

David's First Advertisement

for Virgin Mobile