Friday, September 4, on to Lyon

After our short stay in Barcelona, we flew to Lyon this morning to truly begin our vacation (and stop flying for a good long while, thank God!).  We woke early (not a problem ... sleeping at the right times is still not mastered thanks to jet lag ... and got to Lyon at around 11:30 am.   Exiting the small airport, the air was clean and fresh and wonderful; the temperature was about 70 degrees -- truly delightful!  We took a cab to our hotel (the Hotel Carlton), which was very nice, but our room was not ready yet, and we did not expect that it would be.  We dropped our bags and headed out for lunch.  The young lady at check-in directed us to a "restaurant street" nearby (Rue Merciere) and recommended a particular restaurant called Le Comptoir de l'Atelier, which would translate, I think, as "the shop counter."  She said this would be typical Lyonaisse food.  It was very nice, and she was correct to call this the "restaurant street" as every establishment on this pedestrian walkway is a restaurant, but it is not too touristy.  These are locals eating here, I surmise.

The menu, however, did not entice us.  A large portion of it is called the "tartare" menu, which, believe it or not, I ordered from.  I ordered the salmon tartara with dill.  Yes, it was raw salmon, but the flavorings, including dill, make it more than just raw fish.  I actually enjoyed it, although the texture of raw fish is not my favorite.  It was served with a green salad and french fries.  The salmon was served in a round shape, and Rob announced that it looked like someone had just dumped a can of Fancy Feast cat food on my plate!  What nerve!  He thought the menu should have read: "Le Feast du Fancie Saumon!"

Regarding his lunch choice, Rob had announced that he was not feeling adventurous, so he ordered a steak, which also came with salad and french fries.  We also each had a glass of rhone red wine.  The wine here is not expensive.  Each glass was only 5 euros.  We had a nice conversation with the couple sitting next to us, who were interested in where we came from.  They were visiting from Lille, France.  The wife spoke a little English, but I was pleased to be able to offer up some French speaking in a non-judgmental environment.  French people, contrary to their reputation (mostly due to Parisians), can be quite friendly and nice.  I wished them a "Bon vacances!" as they left (Happy Vacation!), and she said. "Vous aussi!"  (You too!).  

After lunch, we returned to the hotel and checked into our room.  The urge to nap was overpowering, so we slept about 1 and 1/2 hours.  Then we had to wake up (with difficulty) to go out and check out Lyon.  We first walked to the Saone River a little to the west of our hotel and crossed a pedestrian bridge to the Old Town.  Here is a shot of the bridge with the large Basilica of Lyon on the hill behind:

In the Old Town, here is the St Jean Cathedral:

We walked all around the Old Town, it is very charming with narrow pedestrian streets and many, many restaurants.  However, for dinner we elected to return to the area not too far from our hotel where we had lunch.  Crossing back over the river Saone, we saw a charming place called Diplomatico where many people were enjoying drinks, so we stopped to have a glass of chablis, very nice.  We are trying to emulate the local people and eat our dinner later at night.  It was about 8pm that we sat down to dinner at an Italian restaurant called Lolo.  It was very nice.  We started with green salads then we each had the same entree:  fusilli pasta with eggplant, tomate, and mozzarella, topped with som proscuitto ham. We ordered a bottle of Cote du Rhone red wine and were served Parallel 45, a wine we have had many times before at home -- surprising, but still good.

Walking back to the hotel, we stop to admire the fountain at the Place du Jacobin.

Time to turn in and hope for a good night's sleep.