This morning we woke up to the beautiful sun shining through and finally gracing us with it’s presence in Nice. Of course, this was also the day that we were leaving Nice, so needless to say, the weather in Nice wasn’t so nice. Had the rain stopped for more than five minutes, I think we would have had a different experience, but regardless we made the most of it and were ready for the next leg of our trip. After a quick bus ride, mini photo shoot, and 30 minute plane ride with the amazing airline iHop (no they don’t serve pancakes!), we arrived in Lyon.
The Lyon airport is quite a distance from Vieux Lyon where we were headed to, so we took an express bus, and two metros. Perhaps it took around hour, but the hospitality, and incredibly kind and helpful passerbys made our journey into town seamless.
We had to wait an hour or so before meeting up with our Air B&B host, so we sat by the beautiful cathedral and did a toast to my Dad, being as it was exactly one year since his passing. We corresponded the time with our family in Ontario, so even though we weren’t able to face time them, we still knew that we will all doing a toast together, in Dad’s memory.
After checking in and realizing our new home was part of Lyon’s traboules, we were excited to start exploring all that this beautiful city has to offer. For those of you who don’t know, traboules are these narrow passageways between houses that connect streets. They were originally used by silk traders and merchants as a way to access the river quickly. They’ve also been accredited with preventing complete German occupation within Lyon during WWII. Our home is within the longest traboules in Lyon.
Walking through the narrow cobblestone streets, we stopped along the way for what is becoming our typical afternoon snack: crepes and an espresso. We strolled along the Saône before ascending 798 steps to reach the Basilique de Notre-Dame-de-Fourvière. The church was built in 1872 under the might of the Roman Catholic Church, and apparently excudes wealth. Unfortunately, it was closed once we reached the top, so we weren’t lucky enough to climb another 298 steps to get an even more panoramic view. I guess ours with have to do! Maybe tomorrow…
After taking the road path back down, we headed out for a traditional Lyonnaise meal at a local bouchon. We ordered 50cL of their local house Beaujolais wine and then our meal began with a melon soup.
Next, I ordered the lentil and sausage appetizer, while Daniel tried the pate.
For our main course, I had the goose which came in an incredible sauce, and Daniel had the fish.
Our next course consisted of your choice of cheese. Mine was a local type and was very bold. I would describe it as a cross between Brie and blue cheese. Daniel had cheese and cream, which was also quite different but tasty.
Next was dessert: strawberry tarte for me. It was delicious. Daniel had pears done in a wine/cinnamon sauce.
Being our typical French selves, we ended our meal with an espresso.
Three and half hours and €70 later, our stomachs were full and our hearts satisfied. If you’re ever in Lyon, visit this bouchon! It will not disappoint.
Out With Erin 