France Day 2: Dijon to Avignon

That should read Dijon to Lumieres rather than Avignon although Avignon is the nearest big town and more people have heard of it. We realised we only had 4 hours of driving to do today so set off after breakfast at a leisurely pace. The motorways were perhaps a little busier than yesterday but still fairly clear and easy to drive along. We stopped twice, first just after Lyon for a drink, a stretch of legs and a photo opportunity, then for a final stretch very near a nuclear power station just 60 miles north of Avignon. Highlights of this part of the journey included seeing the landscape change to more mountainous scenery, crossing the river Rhone, and seeing tourist signs to a place called Ars. The smallest things tend to amuse me the most!

Steph and Katy at a service stop somewhere near Lyon

We arrived at the Hotel de Notre-Dame de Lumieres just before 3pm and just after my only near miss of the journey where I did a left turn into the village and looked left instead of right for oncoming traffic. Fortunately I just got over the road before the Mercedes went past but it was a reminder just how much we rely on our regular way of doing things and shouldn’t lose concentration until we’ve stopped.

A former convent, now a hotel

We were early arriving and after checking in sat in the shade until our rooms were ready. We saw Sergio the bassist and his wife (a groupie) who had arrived on Friday and got the gossip from them. They then went for a swim and after unpacking and freshening up I went back down and the rest of the group arrived a little later. Most are players from the Learning Orchestra I do not yet know but there are a few from the Palace Band, my Sunday morning ensemble. During dinner we met a few more of the players, shared our travelling experiences, discovered who played what, found out about the course from those that had been before and discussed topics as diverse as pets and poetry. Those that had come by train were noticeably more weary than Katy and I, having been in a cold London at 8 this morning, so most people disappeared to their rooms around 10pm. Breakfast is from 7:30 then our first rehearsal is at 9:30. I’m quite excited but a bit nervous in case my playing is not quite up to expectation. Hopefully my wrong notes will sound as good as they do in my room at home!

Bonne nuit!