Discovering Lyon

Arriving in Lyon on Friday evening with the sun still shining was a good way to start this weekend.

Right from the beginning we were hooked on how beautiful everything looked.

From the train station at the airport

to our first foray into the city by getting off at Vieux Lyon.

Instead of a hotel my friend and I had rented a small apartment in the heart of the old district.

Walking along the cobbled stone street we had to stop every couple of meters to take some more pictures (and a wise decision since by the next afternoon it was raining).

Once we had settled into our new home for the next couple of days we left again in search of dinner. We had reservations for most meals due to Lyon being a culinary haven but the first evening we left open for a spontaneous decision. We settled eventually on one of the typical ‘Bouchon‘ in the area where we had our first of many menus. Toasting to our trip with  pastiche felt like a good omen. We were not going to be disappointed.

The next morning started with a bit of sunshine and us crossing the Saone in search of coffee and the free walking tour.

The coffee and possibly the best croissants were found easily at Pignol but the free walking tour eluded us. The Place Bellecour is huge and even though we walked it the length and width there was no tour in sight.

We decided therefore to explore on our own and just took off in the direction of the Hotel de Ville. Large squares, wide boulevards and interesting buildings lined the way while an unlimited number of pastries, sandwiches and other mouthwatering delicacies beckoned me to eat them.

We withstood these temptations and chose instead the market along the Saone. The freshness of the produce and cheeses makes one understand why the French are not friends of TTIP either.

On we walked, still running on our one croissant from the morning, and made our way up the Fourvière. Instead of taking the funicular we used our legs and what a great idea when I think of what we had eventually for dinner.

Once up the view over the city was so beautiful especially with the dark clouds overhead. Within five minutes though we were seeking shelter in the Basilica Notre Dame from the oncoming onslaught of the elements. But one can stay only so long in a church no matter that it had the most beautiful mosaics on the walls; in the end we braved the rain again. We all know there is no bad weather just wrong clothing.

Not far from Notre Dame but still on the Fouvrière was one of the Roman amphitheaters and the Gallo-Roman museum. Since it was still raining and also freezing by now (I was walking around with my beany) we just stopped for a picture at the amphitheatre and then decided on the museum. There at least we were safe from the wind and weather. Beside an interesting exhibition on all things Roman from this area (e.g. Emporer Claudius was born in Lugdunum) the building itself was special. The museum was like a screw that wound its way five floors down.

You might not believe it but our day was far from over by then. When we eventually left the rain had stopped and we walked back down and crossed the Saone again to take a picture of the little prince whose creator was from Lyon. Both of them were immortalized in Lyon. That was still not the end of it all. Lyon is a city where you can pretty much walk around all day. When we finally got back to our apartment I was exhausted and more than happy that the dinner place for that night was just around the corner. But this is another story. Yours, Pollybert