The third Thursday of November means only one thing – le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé.

To my mind the displays in the supermarkets were a bit more subdued this year. Christmas fare taking pride of place.

I did spot something different among the bottles of Beaujolais.

Macon Villages Nouveau. With some recognisable Lyon sites on the front.

So we bought a bottle.

C’était pas terrible.

The birds are back in the garden – chomping their way through the sunflower seeds at a rate of knots.

I spotted some old favourites but some new birds too.

In among les pinsons – chaffinches – I thought I saw un tarin des aulnes – a siskin.

And at the back of the garden under la haie un accenteur mouchet – a dunnock.

I didn’t get a photo of either of them so you will have to make do with this une sittelle torchepot. A beautiful nuthatch.

On the subject of birds my French teacher sent me a quiz on bird songs in French. I did all right (6 out of 8) and also learnt some new words along the way.

• La bergeronnette – wagtail
• Le moineau friquet – tree sparrow
• L’étourneau sansonnet – starling
• Le verdier d’Europe – greenfinch

I saw this in a tree outside Intermarché.

AI tells me it is most likely a hornets’ nest.

I think I will leave it well alone.

This panneau caught my eye.

I’ve always said that the French don’t seem to be avid bird watchers so this was somewhat of a surprise.

Les rapaces nocturnes! The only rapaces I’ve seen are la buse and la crécerelle

I would love to see some rapaces nocturnes so I’ll be there next week to get as much info as I can.

My first trip to Lyon

It’s getting colder but some of the views around Venelles are beautiful.

We also saw some of the great sights of Lyon. It was nice to be back.

And the chocolate shops were still as attractive as ever.

We even saw a red squirrel in Parc de la Tête d’Or.

And don’t forget this is just around the corner.

As soon as we arrived we noticed some changes since our last visit to Lyon. Not least among them the new-look to Part Dieu train station – which has been several years in the making.

It now feels like a proper main train station for a city of Lyon’s size.

I also noticed a difference to the city’s hire bike system -Les Velovs. There are now proper electric options. And they seemed quite popular.

And while walking round our old 6ème district we spotted a new bit of street art.

And some new street art was taking shape on the banks of the Saône.

After a week in Montenegro we headed to Lyon for a few days which meant a meal in one of our favourite restaurants – Brasserie des Brotteaux.

Great food as ever and a café gourmand to update you with.

I was flying into Marseille from a trip to Montenegro and had a window seat and the weather was clear.

I could see the Stade Velodrome so thought I should be able to make out Notre Dame de la Garde – known locally as la bonne mère.

And there she was.

I also saw le vieux port and the big cruise ships in the newer port.