Hot Time, Summer in the City - of Lyon

We're nearing the end of our fifth day in Lyon.  They have been 5 busy days so summing them up might take a while.  We've developed a routine of getting out in the morning, doing stuff including lunch, and then returning to the hotel for afternoon siesta.  After siesta, there could be other activities or dinner.  While our hotel is not great, it is more than adequate and, most importantly has A/C!  As I finish this post at 6:00 pm, it's 100 degrees outside.

It's been in the 90's every day.

Now, let's start with our first day in Lyon - July 14th - Bastille Day.  We went to Place Bellecour to view the fireworks.  We were told that they would be fired off over the Basilica and had noticed that the square would provide a good viewpoint.  We were correct and many people joined us there for the brilliant display.

We decided to purchase Lyon City Cards which would give us access to many attractions and to the city metro and buses.  And we've made great use of it.  Lyon and its sights are quite spread out so having access to rapid transit has helped us, if not beat the heat, at least cope with it  better.  And I should explain how we decided to spend our time in Lyon.  I have found that The Crazy Tourist Website is a great resource for sightseeing planning.  We set out goal to do the 15 top things on the site.

https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-things-lyon-france/

Friday was forecast to be one of the relatively cooler days and we started with a metro ride up to Parc de la Tete d'Or.  It is a huge park botanical gardens, a zoo, and a lake.

After exploring the park, as the temperature rose, we decided that it was lunch time.  On our tour here last week, our guide had recommended a vegetarian restaurant which was a short bus ride from the park.  It was incredible.  Delicious food with fresh ingredients wonderfully prepared.  We tried to make a dinner reservation for the next evening but, sadly, they were fully booked and closed the rest of the time we were here.

As I recall (hey, it was 3 busy days ago), the rest of the day was spent resting, walking around a bit on the pedestrian streets near our hotel with a stop at the obligatory church, and dinner near the Place Carnot near our hotel.

Now, on to Saturday which again was forecast to be only a mere 90 degrees.  We started with a visit to the Fourviere Basilica which sits on a hill above the old town.  Under normal circumstances we would be energetic and walk up the hill.  Not that day.  We chose to take the funicular up.  The hill provided good views of Lyon and, of course, the basilica was impressive.

Interestingly, that same hill was the site of the Roman city of Lugdunum.  We visited the remains of the Roman theater and odeon before spending time in the excellent Gallo-Roman Museum.

The exit from the museum took us part way down the hill, so we walked the rest of the way to the old town and stopped for lunch.  I had a big bowl of good mussels and we both enjoyed a pitcher of sangria to cool us off.  Energized from lunch, we hit the Musee Miniature et Cinema.  The exhibit of miniatures was far more impressive than the exhibit of movie props.

By now I am sure you are wondering what we did for dinner that night.  Well, the previous day we had passed a vegan restaurant close to our hotel that looked great.  And it was!

While we have many vegetarian and vegan options at home, we have been blown away by the 2 restaurants we have eaten at here.  As Linda pointed out, the typical restaurants seem to try to create vegetarian versions of common dishes whereas here they are so creative in their use of fresh, local ingredients.  Lyon is known as the gastronomic center of France but the cuisine tends to be very heavy and meaty for our taste.  These two restaurants set a great standard for us.  Unfortunately, neither will be open for us to dine at before we leave.

Okay, let's go to Sunday.  The first thing we did was go to the market, Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse.  We love walking around in the local markets.

And what visit would not be complete without a stop for coffee and a Kouign-Amann pastry?

We managed to step into the cathedral so we could check that off the list.

Our next stop was a small museum of marionettes and movies.

 Then it was a lunch of bread, cheese and fruit from the market by the river.

Finally, we visited the Musee Gadagne which had a section about the history of Lyon but we were most impressed with the marionette exhibit.

 It made for a busy day and, after a welcome siesta, we took a cruise on the Saone.

And now we're up to today, Monday, and our last full day in Lyon.  I had planned on going to the Confluence Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts only to discover that the Confluence Museum was closed on Monday.  But, since the temperature in the morning was not too bad, we walked down to the confluence of the Rhone and Saone Rivers.

Our last visit of the day was to the Museum of Fine Arts - an extensive museum with much to offer.  We enjoyed the sculptures and Impressionist paintings the most.

One of my favorites was a painting titled The Lovers in the Country, Youthful Sentiments.  It reminded me of Linda and my romance in Lake Mohegan,, New York some 50+ years ago!

So, we hit 14 of the 15 items on The Crazy Tourist list.  The only thing we totally missed was the Institut Lumiere.  Oh well, next time.

Tonight we'll have one last dinner in Lyon.  There is a restaurant next to our hotel that seems to have traditional Lyonaisse cuisine.  So, we'll avoid the meat and enjoy it, I'm sure.

Here's hoping that we have a smooth trip home.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry