Jody and Mikie's Travelog

Recommendations

  • Lyon Archaeology

    Gallo-Roman Museum, Vienne

    You may have heard of Robert Caro who famously wrote thousands of pages about LBJ and Robert Moses, but did you know his wife Ina was not only a Francophile and a fabulous researcher (the only one Robert Caro ever worked with) but also a writer? If you are going to France, make sure you read The Road from the Past by Ina Caro before you go. Ina’s enthusiasm for the history of the region in the time of the Roman Empire is infectious.

    For example, Ceasar’s troops served 20-year tours of duty. When their service was complete, each soldier received a parcel of land in Gaul (which they helped conquer) so they would settle down and behave rather than wreaking havoc on the populace.

    Each little town was a miniature version of Rome complete with the same layout (public baths, market, aristocrats’ lavish houses, and of course, elaborate aqueducts for fresh running water) so no one would feel they were living in an outpost as opposed to the main attraction. The French have done an amazing job of preserving these sites, and ruins abound.

  • A Famous Restaurant near Lyon

    amuses
    fish

    Actually, we’re in Vienne, 45 km south of Lyon, paying homage to the ghost of Fernand Point, a portly fellow who is sometimes termed the father of modern French cuisine. The chef is Michelin 2 stars whereas of course Point would have been 3 but a glance at the menu should quiet your fears.

    If this seems like bouchon food with more expensive ingredients, you have to imagine the many levels of tedious preparation that go into each ingredient. All involve a three-year sous-chef working for an hour on some prep stage that’s nearly invisible to the customers but which makes all the difference. We ordered one of each and a half-bottle of M. Bour’s Grignan, couldn’t finish, and all for a hundred bucks each? How do they do it?

    Lyon Olympique Echecs

    I found some time to slide over to the largest chess club in Lyon, 3rd largest in France, and play a game with a young Armenian fellow, Albert Arustamian, rated about 2100. I played a classic Sicilian Nc6 and managed to last about 40 moves but died in the ending. Never mind I look more like Kasparov. I sac’d an exchange and got an advantage but he sac’d one back and evened out into a won ending.

    The established FIDE blitz time seems to be what they played at the Marshall–3/2, which is fast but during which you must give yourself time to think or you just lose, at least to this level of player. We played two such games after our long game but I lost both. I could have played a bit slower.

  • Paris, Briefly

    Musee d’Orsay, Blitz Society

    Only in town for an exhausted evening of sleep, a full day of museum, lunch, and a bit of blitz, and a yoga session before we boarded the TGV for Lyon, .

    The above would have us believe that affiches were a “people’s art”, perhaps in contrast to fantastically expensive oil paintings of mythological scenes like the birth of Venus or historical battles. But to Mikie if not Jody, these affiches represented the ancestors of the billboard, devices to increase sales to the masses, and not their art. Is a McDonald’s ad “people’s art?” Is the famous Apple iconoclastic ad for the people in some noncommercial way?

    A charcuterie shop

    A cheese shop

    A bakery

    apple tarts
    quiches

    For the chess bar, we took no photos so I can only direct you to https://blitzsociety.fr

  • New York

    Smoked Fish and Chess

    While Jody was in Philadelphia, Mikie visited Russ and Daughters, Mahmoun’s Falafel, and he played a bit of chess.

    Mahmoun’s Falafel. I once spent a thanksgiving meal there.

    Marshall Chess Club Blitz tournament, 3 minutes with 2-second increment. I got moidered.

  • Itinerary May-June 2025

    • Lyon Archaeology

      Gallo-Roman Museum, Vienne

      You may have heard of Robert Caro who famously wrote thousands of pages about LBJ and Robert Moses, but did you know his wife Ina was not only a Francophile and a fabulous researcher (the only one Robert Caro ever worked with) but also a writer? If you are going to France, make sure you read The Road from the Past by Ina Caro before you go. Ina’s enthusiasm for the history of the region in the time of the Roman Empire is infectious.

      For example, Ceasar’s troops served 20-year tours of duty. When their service was complete, each soldier received a parcel of land in Gaul (which they helped conquer) so they would settle down and behave rather than wreaking havoc on the populace.

      Each little town was a miniature version of Rome complete with the same layout (public baths, market, aristocrats’ lavish houses, and of course, elaborate aqueducts for fresh running water) so no one would feel they were living in an outpost as opposed to the main attraction. The French have done an amazing job of preserving these sites, and ruins abound.

    • A Famous Restaurant near Lyon

      amuses
      fish

      Actually, we’re in Vienne, 45 km south of Lyon, paying homage to the ghost of Fernand Point, a portly fellow who is sometimes termed the father of modern French cuisine. The chef is Michelin 2 stars whereas of course Point would have been 3 but a glance at the menu should quiet your fears.

      If this seems like bouchon food with more expensive ingredients, you have to imagine the many levels of tedious preparation that go into each ingredient. All involve a three-year sous-chef working for an hour on some prep stage that’s nearly invisible to the customers but which makes all the difference. We ordered one of each and a half-bottle of M. Bour’s Grignan, couldn’t finish, and all for a hundred bucks each? How do they do it?

      Lyon Olympique Echecs

      I found some time to slide over to the largest chess club in Lyon, 3rd largest in France, and play a game with a young Armenian fellow, Albert Arustamian, rated about 2100. I played a classic Sicilian Nc6 and managed to last about 40 moves but died in the ending. Never mind I look more like Kasparov. I sac’d an exchange and got an advantage but he sac’d one back and evened out into a won ending.

      The established FIDE blitz time seems to be what they played at the Marshall–3/2, which is fast but during which you must give yourself time to think or you just lose, at least to this level of player. We played two such games after our long game but I lost both. I could have played a bit slower.

    • Paris, Briefly

      Musee d’Orsay, Blitz Society

      Only in town for an exhausted evening of sleep, a full day of museum, lunch, and a bit of blitz, and a yoga session before we boarded the TGV for Lyon, .

      The above would have us believe that affiches were a “people’s art”, perhaps in contrast to fantastically expensive oil paintings of mythological scenes like the birth of Venus or historical battles. But to Mikie if not Jody, these affiches represented the ancestors of the billboard, devices to increase sales to the masses, and not their art. Is a McDonald’s ad “people’s art?” Is the famous Apple iconoclastic ad for the people in some noncommercial way?

      A charcuterie shop

      A cheese shop

      A bakery

      apple tarts
      quiches

      For the chess bar, we took no photos so I can only direct you to https://blitzsociety.fr

    • New York

      Smoked Fish and Chess

      While Jody was in Philadelphia, Mikie visited Russ and Daughters, Mahmoun’s Falafel, and he played a bit of chess.

      Mahmoun’s Falafel. I once spent a thanksgiving meal there.

      Marshall Chess Club Blitz tournament, 3 minutes with 2-second increment. I got moidered.

    • Itinerary May-June 2025

    ArriveLeaveWhere
    May 5May 10NYC & Philadelphia
    May 12May 14Paris
    May 14May 22Lyon
    May 22June 7Marseille
    June 7June 9Ile Sur la Sorgue
    June 9June 11Arles
    June 11June 14Carcassonne
    June 14June 16St Emilion
    June 16June 18Bordeaux
    June 18June 20San Sebastian
    June 20June 23Paris
    June 23June 28Arrive in LA