Exploring France's incredible food scene on a budget? Try the bouchons of Lyon
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It is one of dozens of casual eateries known as bouchons Lyonnais restaurants in Lyon, France. The concept is not posh, polished and pricey, but hearty, authentic and affordable, with a focus on delicious regional fare done well.
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We were warmly greeted at the door and stepped into a subdued yellow glow of light and a hodgepodge, small, three-level space with only 22 seats at eight tables, worn wood floor, exposed stone wall and open shelves stuffed with crockery, wine bottles and corks.
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We determined, with the help of the waiter and his charming Franglish, that the gateau de foie was a delightful pate; the cervelle a traditional sausage; boeuf meniere a cheap cut of beef slow cooked to deliciousness; and the fondant chocolate and vanilla crême brulée the perfect dessert.
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The red wine was also affordable. We enjoyed a fresh and fruity Domaine Jerome-Paris 2024 Les Forchets from the nearby Beaujolais wine region for 39 euros a bottle (about C$62).
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Throughout the meal, our conversation became more animated, caught up in French joie de vivre and the fact that we were in Lyon, the undisputed 'world capital of gastronomy.'
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Powerful French food critic Maurice Edmond Sailland, who used the pen name Curnosky, declared the city such in 1935 and the accolade has stuck.
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Lyon — a picturesque and historic city of two million inhabitants at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone rivers in the east-central part of France — is a crossroads where the best fish, meat, produce and wine arrives to be bought, sold and cooked.
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Vancouver Sun
6 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Scenic train rides and stunning spots to discover on your next visit to Switzerland
There are places on this planet that, on arrival, promise a slice of paradise. But an hour later, when your bus still hasn't arrived, such initial euphoria drains away. Not so in Switzerland. Yes, it's indeed one of the most beautiful places on Earth, but it's also the most punctual paradise travellers can find. As anyone who has stumbled, bleary-eyed, off a transatlantic flight will attest, being able to find (on arrival) a transportation system so wonderfully precise and simple to use is one of travel's most underrated treasures. The backbone of this system is the railways that crisscross Switzerland. The trains don't just arrive on time, but every connection is precise, so travellers can switch trains quickly and easily. Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Travel Time will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Buying a Swiss Travel Pass is a must for so many reasons. Not only is it valid for train travel, it also covers local buses, many sightseeing boats and entry to a host of museums. Plus, there's rarely a need for advance reservations; just hop on and hop off to your heart's content. The only question remains: just how much natural beauty do you want to see? The grand tour of Switzerland carries an endless appeal, covering almost 1,300 kilometres aboard those famous panoramic-view trains. Alas, most visitors must make a choice, being confined by time or money. So, in homage to Switzerland's linguistic heritage, we settled on Lausanne, Lucerne and Lugano, where the native tongue is French, German and Italian respectively. (Don't worry: English is spoken everywhere.) The Swiss-based charter airline Edelweiss now flies out of Vancouver, Calgary and Halifax direct to Zurich, which is the perfect city to begin touring — a major rail station being part of its easily navigated airport. Within 30 minutes of leaving the plane you can board Swiss Rails' high-speed luxury train, using your first-class travel pass to avoid bothering booking seats. The gorgeous city of Lausanne, nestled on the banks of Lake Geneva, welcomed us at the art deco-inspired Hotel Mirabeau. Lausanne held similar appeal for French baron Pierre de Coubertin when, during the horrors of the First World War, he decided neutral Switzerland should headquarter the re-launched Olympic Games he championed. Today it's home to the International Olympic Committee and boasts a breathtakingly beautiful museum, overlooking the lake, that pays homage to the Games with vintage artifacts, classic sporting videos and poignant vignettes of previous Olympics, including those in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. It's enough to whet the appetite of any sports fan, so where better to enjoy lunch than the museum's grand restaurant, which offers an outrageously tasty buffet. If medals were handed out for self-serve cuisine , this would be a shoo-in for gold. After two wonderful days in Lausanne — no wonder David Bowie loved it — it was time to leave and experience the true wonders of Swiss rail, as we set out for Lucerne. 'If you want peace of mind, come to Montreux,' the late Freddie Mercury once said. So, that was our first pit stop. Music made the town world famous: its annual Montreux Jazz Festival is the city's signature event. 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From Interlaken, following a seamless change of train, the Lucerne-Interlaken Express takes passengers along the shores of crystal-clear lakes and over the magnificent Brünig mountain pass before arriving in Lucerne, a compact city on the shores of its namesake lake, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and home to the famous 14 th century Chapel Bridge. A variety of tour boats depart the city's docks, allowing further exploration of the region. One of the most spectacular trips takes guests across the lake to Vitznau, at the base of Rigi Kulm, where a cogwheel railcar awaits to pull you 1,800 metres up to the mountain summit. The views are spectacular, on a clear day stretching as far as Germany and France. A short hike downhill leads to the lovely Lok 7 restaurant. You're close to heaven anyhow, so try the sumptuous Swiss cordon bleu for an elevated dining experience. Sadly, it was time to bid the lovely Lucerne 'auf Wiedersehen'as a taste of almost-Italy awaited, which meant a dramatic rail journey through one of the 19th century's most famous engineering marvels, the Gotthard Tunnel. A scenic cruise across Lake Lucerne, past legendary Swiss landmarks such as the Rütli Meadow and Tell Chapel ended in Flüelen, the departure point for the Gotthard Panorama Express, a train journey through the country's heartland, to the awe-inspiring Alps. Historically, crossing this beautiful mountain pass was arduous and challenging. So, in 1871 construction on a 15-km tunnel began from both sides of the imposing Saint-Gotthard Massif . It was deemed impossible and the project claimed hundreds of lives. But a decade later it opened and became the longest such tunnel in the world. Emerging from that same tunnel was akin to discovering another land. This is Ticino, the Italian-influenced region of Switzerland. 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Calgary Herald
7 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Scenic train rides and stunning spots to discover on your next visit to Switzerland
Article content There are places on this planet that, on arrival, promise a slice of paradise. But an hour later, when your bus still hasn't arrived, such initial euphoria drains away. Article content Not so in Switzerland. Yes, it's indeed one of the most beautiful places on Earth, but it's also the most punctual paradise travellers can find. Article content Article content As anyone who has stumbled, bleary-eyed, off a transatlantic flight will attest, being able to find (on arrival) a transportation system so wonderfully precise and simple to use is one of travel's most underrated treasures. Article content Article content Article content Buying a Swiss Travel Pass is a must for so many reasons. Not only is it valid for train travel, it also covers local buses, many sightseeing boats and entry to a host of museums. Plus, there's rarely a need for advance reservations; just hop on and hop off to your heart's content. Article content The only question remains: just how much natural beauty do you want to see? Article content The grand tour of Switzerland carries an endless appeal, covering almost 1,300 kilometres aboard those famous panoramic-view trains. Alas, most visitors must make a choice, being confined by time or money. Article content So, in homage to Switzerland's linguistic heritage, we settled on Lausanne, Lucerne and Lugano, where the native tongue is French, German and Italian respectively. (Don't worry: English is spoken everywhere.) Article content Article content The Swiss-based charter airline Edelweiss now flies out of Vancouver, Calgary and Halifax direct to Zurich, which is the perfect city to begin touring — a major rail station being part of its easily navigated airport.
Vancouver Sun
13 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
'Giving young girls the opportunity to dream': Canadian Olympian finds gold in street hockey
Heartbroken from Team Canada's loss to the U.S. at the 2018 Olympics in South Korea, Laura Stacey found solace in a pickup game of street hockey. And then she found purpose. That pickup game sparked an annual road hockey tournament fundraiser that not incidentally celebrates the growing success of professional women's hockey. 'I think giving young girls that opportunity to dream that opportunity, to see what they can become is pretty special,' said Stacey, the great-granddaughter of hockey Hall of Famer King Clancy . She joined the Montréal Victoire of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) in 2024. (She also brought home gold with Team Canada in Beijing.) On July 5, Stacey held her sixth annual road hockey tournament in Toronto, and raised over $60,000 for Canadian charities encouraging youth sport and fitness. Another event is scheduled to be held in Montreal on Aug. 23. She spoke to the National Post: A post shared by Laura Stacey (@laurastacey7) Can you tell me more about the Toronto event? No rain at all. Blue skies. It was literally a perfect day. We had 20 teams, over 140 players playing. We had 22 pros and some special guests. Kate Beirness did our whole introduction, which was absolutely amazing. Basically, how it worked is once the kids in the community and all the players showed up, they threw their sticks in the middle and all the pros were given a team. We tossed the sticks around early in the morning, made the teams and all the different players got to play with different people. There was a little 10-year-old French girl who came up to me so nervous in the morning that she wanted to play with her friends and they were split up because their sticks were thrown different ways. And by the end of the day, she came up to me and her mom said, 'This was the most amazing thing.' By the end of the day, the little girl – who was so shy that she wasn't gonna be able to talk to anybody — was high-fiving and hugging and saying goodbye to her new teammates. So, pretty cool to hear. It was by far our biggest one yet. I have no idea how many people showed up, but it was packed until the very end. We ended up raising over $60,000. So it's been amazing to be honest with you. What does the money go to? It's our mission as a foundation, we've just become a foundation this year — we're waiting for our CRA number to come in the next little bit as well, because we wanna become a registered charity as well. Because we are now a foundation, we actually partnered with four different charities this year: KidSport Ontario, Fitspirit-Fillactive, a small chapter in Montreal for Jumpstart, and then Laureus (Sport for Good Foundation). Those are the four charities we partnered with and it's all kind of around our mission of helping kids and individuals find their passion in sport or just live a healthy, active lifestyle. What has life been like since the Olympics? What drew you to work with young kids? It all started after 2018. It was my first Olympics, and we had lost. We came home with a silver, and honestly, I was pretty lost. I had no idea what to do. I felt like it was the pinnacle of my life. Like I had been to the Olympics, but I was also so disappointed that we had lost. So I was kind like, what do I do now? What's next? In that short kind of period where I didn't know what to do, my sister and her husband were in town in Toronto and the two of them and my parents and myself kind of just went outside on our birthday one day and we were shooting the puck on one of the nets that we had. Eventually, a bunch of people in our neighbourhood kind of came out, and were like, 'Hey, can I play, too?' and it turned into this really fun road hockey game. My sister's husband looked at me and he said, 'Laura, why don't you do this? Why don't we run a charity road hockey tournament right here in this neighbourhood?' And I was like, 'Oh, OK. Let's see how it goes.' I basically just messaged all my teammates from 2018 and my Markham Thunder teammates at the time, and yeah, a couple other pro athlete friends that I was training with. I was like, 'Let's just see if we can pull this off.' If worst comes to worst, we just have a fun day with my friends and family, and my neighbourhood playing outside. It ended up blowing up. We ended up raising money, which we thought we were just gonna be able to cover our costs but we ended up raising, I think, $5,000 our first year, just out of the blue kind of. Then we were like, 'OK, well now, now we need to figure out what to do with these funds now that we've raised them.' So the first year we contacted two underprivileged schools and we gave sports equipment and sports supplies to the schools; those two schools that couldn't really afford the supplies. I went there for half a day to the schools and we had a little activity day and got to use the new equipment all together and play sports. It was amazing. I think from then on it was like, 'Wow, this can have so much more of an impact than I even know.' Ever since that moment, ever since that kind of initial spark of the tournament, it's just been something I'm very proud of, something that I want to keep pushing further and further and that's exactly what it's done. Can you say more about the mission of promoting women's sports? I think, honestly, my foundation's growth and the fact that it's become what it is is a huge part due to women's sports thriving in Canada. People, kids, young girls, are having the opportunity to see us play on a consistent basis with the PWHL and this league that we get to play in is completely taking off. Now all the fans are wanting to come to my event in Toronto and Montreal, and honestly, it is due, in large part, to the NWSL (National Women's Soccer League), to the WNBA (Women's National Basketball League), who've kind of pushed those boundaries before. When we arrived as female hockey players, we had that basis to push for, to ask for more. To see what Caitlin Clark has done in terms of ticket sales, I think, for women's sports in general, it's just gonna continue to move the needle forward because people are realizing that when it is available, when you can see it, people fall in love with it. I think giving young girls that opportunity to dream that opportunity, to see what they can become is pretty special. Even at my tournament, to have the parents come up to me and say, 'My daughter has always wanted to be an Olympian, but now she also wants to play in the PWHL. She wants to be like you guys.' It's pretty amazing to see, and it's just opening our eyes to how big of an impact that really is. This conversation was edited lightly for length and clarity. Check out our sports section for the latest news and analysis.
