Ça y est. Ça a commencé – la coupe du monde 2023. En France!

It kicked off last night with hosts France beating another pre-tournament favourite New Zealand at Le Parc des Princes.

There are some games in Lyon. Les Gallois will be here in a couple of weeks.

As previously mentioned I am not a great rugby fan and don’t even know a lot of the terms.

But watching a bit of Ireland v Romania on French TV I noticed that when Ireland scored a try the word essai flashes up. Well I never.

Il fait toujours beau à Lyon et aujourd’hui le cube vert prend du soleil.

Il y a une autre braderie dans le voisinage mais cette fois c’est une grande braderie.

It’s getting hotter in Lyon – the thermometers are in the mid-30s. So we decided it was time to visit another lake.

A colleague recommended Lac D’Anse – he said it was like Lac Miribel but nowhere near as busy.

He was right. Still quite a few people there – paddleboarding, swimming, kayaking- but nothing like the madness we encountered at Lac Miribel last year.

I even managed a swim across the lake. Very refreshing.

I think we’ll come back.

This took me by surprise.

An ad at a bus stop for Belgrade – including a pic of St Sava’s temple where we were a few months back, in May.

Except we couldn’t get a direct flight from Lyon!

The 3 September marks the day Lyon was liberated from the Nazis. We discovered that last year when we stumbled across un défilé – a parade.

This year we stumbled across un défilé again – this time near our flat.

There were plenty of military cars on show and men and women in uniform.

But as it was lunchtime, everything stopped for a spot of dejeuner.

We had another reason to celebrate so we went back to Le Zeste Gourmand for dinner where we went for my recent birthday.

Do you want to see some food photos?

It was all delicious.

Ça c’est mieux.

Do you remember this the other day? Well look at it now!!👀👀👀

Having escaped to London for most of this week we missed the intense heat in Lyon which most people here say has been unbearable.

The heat is overpowering at the moment and it’s very hard to sleep.

The good news is it is due to end tomorrow.

After a few days escaping the heat in London, I saw this ad at Lille Station.

The pig is in the corn?

It appears to be an expression in rugby that means the game is lost, if I’ve understood correctly.

It is a reminder that the rugby union World Cup takes place in France from 8 September.

If you need more French expressions for rugby situations, you’ll find them here.