Day 2 in Lyon - Fantastic City (Tuesday)

July 02, 2024

I was asked by a friend that was born in Lyon - why are you going to Lyon?! Ha. I can now respond with experience because it is fantastic. When we first got off the train and walked to the hotel, the city did not jump right out at you like Paris. It was

worth the stop. Let’s recap!

We started out with a tasty breakfast at the hotel. We were a bit later coming down this time and there were no eggs to be had 👎.

I ended up doing mini pancakes with sausage!

By the time we were done, the place was cleared out! I forgot to mention how nice it was that the hotel actually provided bottled drinks if you wanted and you could take them away!

We went back to the room, grabbed our stuff and

checked our room key back at the desk. These are actual keys in the key holder cubby.

Off we went to the Saint Jean-Baptiste Church. On the way, we saw this cool statue built in 1889 for the glory of the republic built in 1889 in the center of Place Camot - that was in a park right outside the hotel. We walked along to the Place Bellecour on the way to cross over the Rhone River.

This cathedral is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and was

completed in 1476 after 296 years of work.

I dunno seemed like it might have been only 294 years…😜

Next stop, Basilica of Notre Dame (a must see if you are in Lyon). There it is in the distance.

How are we going to get there? Ummmm, we are walking!

That’s right - a nice morning pilgrimage. Here we go!

After the staircase, are we there yet?! Nope.

Still need to wind through the hilltop town. We finally made

it and it was totally worth it (IMHO). It was consecrated in 1896 and sits atop of the “hill that prays”. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Here are some pics of various things and rooms inside.

After we marveled at the magnificence inside we went out to view the town.

Since we already were up there might as well visit Theatre Gallo Romaine which as built during the Roman empire under Augustus.

It is still in use today. I went all the way to the bottom and you can see me pointing to Brienna up there - Matthew is even higher up out of site.

Now it was time to head back down and I steered us a different way through the Jardins du Rosaire which was built in the 19th century. Lovely stroll on the way down!

Back across the river we have one last site to see before a well deserved lunch - Saint Nizier Church which dates back to the middle ages.

And we have arrived.

After that we headed back to Rue de la Republique for eats. Along the way.

And more importantly the Haribo store 🫤

We stopped for lunch at a place called Nosch which was fantastic!

We had appetizers of bread and cheese with tomatoes and fruit pieces (not pictures because it was inhaled) and beet samosas (which sounds sketch but was quite good). Main courses - Matthew had a pork chop, Brienna and I had chicken (well Brienna originally ordered a raw meat donut - tartare - which got sent back but is in the upper right of the pic).

After lunch we went to Les Halles de Lyon which is an upscale

food market kind of place with lots of foods to choose from - Matthew got a variety pack of macrons.

That pick is a giant portrait of Paul Bocuse whose name is on Les Halles - that is across the street.

We took a ride back to the hotel and Matthew decided to take a siesta while Brienna and I carried on with our adventure.

Brienna and I headed back out. We took a different route back to Rue de la Republique and saw this interesting art along the river. It is called the Flower Tree and was built in 2003.

We were on a mission for some desserts we thought looked good at Aux Merveilleux de Fred.

Not that Fred? Oh, we will still try it. 😝 And that we did!

Not bad. Brienna and I both got 1 chocolate and 1 white chocolate thingies; merengue, biscuit (cookie), whipped cream coated in the shaved chocolates.

Next we headed back to the old town near the first church Saint Jean-Baptiste. Along the way saw the Place de Jacobina eventually ending up at Traboule de la Rose. Turns out that was another foodie court in the old town but it was closed.

We shopped around various artisans in the old town until we got the stare down from these guys.

We walked back across the river to the Fountaine Bartholdi which was inaugurated in 1892.Bartholdi worked on the Statue of Liberty as well - thanks Auguste! The fountain is in Place de Terreaux. Rivers and Springs to the Ocean is its official name.

And then it finally happened! The most amazing find on our walk in Lyon.

That’s right - the French dollar store. 🤨 Except theirs is a 2 Euro store. 🤨🤨

We headed back to cross the river again headed to our final destination Parc de la Tete d’Or. On the way, we walked through another town square in Terreaux where there was music and a skateboarding park and this.

It was a nice walk along a walking path along the river until we arrived at the park. This is one of the largest parks in France. It is about 260 acres with botanical gardens, a zoo, rose gardens, various open spaces and ponds.