Lyon - what's not to like?

One of the best things about Lyon is the lack of American tourists. Really, aside from a random Brit or two and a couple busloads of Asian tourists, most of the tourists are actually French. It's hard to know why since it has much to offer: great food, low-key atmosphere, Roman ruins, old French architecture, cool museums and cafés and more shopping than you would ever dream possible. I'm not complaining, mind you. I'm glad to be one of the few Americans trolling around (oddly enough, we sat next to a family from Yakima at our hotel breakfast this morning - weird). I'd recommend a visit to Lyon for anyone looking for a nice vacation spot in France - I'd come back again for sure.

We were fortunate enough to meet up with my co-worker Olivier, his wife and their very cute daughters for a pastry and coffee at Pignol by our hotel. He is from Lyon so it was good timing to be here at the same time as they were.

Before coffee, Levi and I went to the museums of textiles and decorative arts and were amazed at the crazy detailed embroidery on the Louis XIV era costumes. Very worthwhile. This evening we took the funicular up the hillside to see La Musica Nuda at the Roman amphitheater by the cathedral. Great duo - bass and vocals. Very entertaining.

Tomorrow we may hit a couple museums and then the Gypsy circus in the evening. We're hoping to go to a restaurant that comes highly recommended by Olivier. It'll be our last day in Lyon before heading off to Paris for the last major bit of the vacation.

View of Fourvières from downtown Lyon

Lyon

We left Prague early this morning to catch an Easy Jet flight to Lyon. Levi had met our cab driver coming back from the airport after dropping off the car and had arranged for an early morning pick up. Martin was there at 6:00 as promised and took us the more scenic, residential route to the airport. At one point he passed a stopped truck by driving up onto the tram tracks. I wasn't too worried until I saw an oncoming tram (fortunately there was enough room for tram and taxi). Anyhow he was a very nice fellow and it was fun to practice my Czech for a few more minutes before having to switch to my horrible French.

The flight to Lyon was super easy and very short (about 1hr 15min). We did pretty well getting onto the train to downtown Lyon - even getting help from an English speaking fellow from Saudi Arabia who had studied in Corvallis, OR (!). We had some struggles getting the Metro ticket machine to read our credit cards but finally realized (duh) that we could use Euros. Walking to our hotel was impressive for the sheer number of restaurants we passed that looked really great (and had the scents to match).

Our hotel is called the Hotel des Célestins which is by Place Belle Cour on the Centre Ville peninsula that is bordered by the Soane and Rhone rivers. It is an old style French hotel with the funky tiny elevator, windy staircase and cool wood doors. The neighborhood is filled with restaurants and clothing stores. I'm tempted to box up all my clothes and mail them all home just so I can buy a new all-French wardrobe. However, if all my meals are like this afternoon's lunch I won't be able to fit into anything I've brought.

For lunch we ate around the corner from the hotel at a place called Le Comptoir des Marronniers. Yummy yummy. The crazy thing is that all the menus look appetizing so it's pretty much a matter of saying, "That one." Who knows what dinner will bring. We'll have to see after our nap.

Final posting from Prague

Well, we head off  tomorrow morning. for Lyon. Bye bye Czech Republic. It's strange to think we have a week in France since it feels as though we've been gone a long time. I can say without hesitation at this point that I've packed too much. I'll never wear the colder weather clothes I brought just in case - the weather is full-on summer (and I've got the pinky glow to prove it). I'll just have to avoid purchasing anything more. 

Today was just a wandering around and lazing kind of day. No particular destination in mind. We went to the Memorial for the Victims of Communism (see the pic). Our friend Suzanne recommended it. I liked it - the figures gradually disappear as you look up the stairs - my kind of art. 

I'm awfully tired so this isn't he most interesting post. I'll send it out when we get to the airport tomorrow morning. 

More from Lyon on Thursday.

Final day in CZ

First full day in Prague

Callipygian picture from yesterday