Monday, September 26, 2022
It was time to become tourists again as our friend Julien Urgenti joined us to act as our tour guide through the Vieux Lyon, the city's historic core.
But first we explored some architecture in the newer parts of the city.
Lyon's old and new
Opera House
I do not know what this is about
The back side of Lyon's
Hôtel de Ville which we would call
the City Hall
The Hôtel de Ville's front side
A fashion photo shoot by my
favorite fountain in Lyon
I just love these powerful horses
The Vieux Lyon lies just across
the Saône River
Before going too deep into the
historic core of Lyon, we needed our
morning pain au chocolate and cappuccini
DAMN!
DOUBLE DAMN WITH
SUGAR ON TOP!
Fully sated, we were now more than ready to continue our morning stroll through the Vieux Lyon.
We did say this was the
OLD part of the city
A Bouchon is a Lyonnais restaurant
that serves food prepared in the
ancient, traditional fashion
The Charvet or Guignol's Clock
Puppets and marionettes have a long history in Lyon as this clock which was made in 1864 by Louis Charvet would attest.
More Guignol tributes
Of course, we bought four
of these aromatic French soaps
The Bouchon's were starting to
open for lunch and we were
getting hungry
Time to unstack those chairs
A short but interesting
menu at this spot today
Our dining rule of thumb is the smaller the menu, the better the food. It means that only fresh ingredients are being used and that the chef can give the needed time to make each dish memorable for their guests.
The Lyon Foreigners Club
meets here
I enjoyed many a Tuesday morning here when I was a foreigner living in Lyon a decade ago getting to share our common experiences in a new land with people from all over the world.
Koreen reaching her
shopping frenzy mode
There really was some colorful
items for sale
Onward on Rue St. Jean
Maybe we should stop and eat
This boulangerie looked good
but we wanted more than just great
breads and pastries
How old is that crest?
Old, old buildings
New life in an old city
Lyon has its artsy side
Dysentery will do this to you
Cathedral St. Jean Baptiste
There once were statues in these
open niches
There were destroyed during the French Revolution's anti-Catholic Church period.
Gargoyles are always a nice adornment
to any home or public building
Again, the anti-Catholic Church
forcers defaced many of these low
hanging saints and angels
Up the hill via a funicular
to the Fouvière Basilique
Golden main part of the Basilica
Great inter-play between the natural
light and the mosaic tiles
Of course I loved this mosaic
tribute to the Camino de Santiago
It brought back great memories of my 500 mile, 33 day walking trek to Santiago de Compostela, Spain back in 2010.
Awesome to see that the Lyonnais
are praying for our Brazilian
National Team's efforts in the January
tournament in Mexico City
I am honored to be the Brazilian team's Special Teams Coordinator for this World Championship Qualifying Tournament.
Go Onças GO!
The altar in the Basilica's crypt
A splendid panoramic view
of Lyon from the Basilica's balcony
One last look at the Basilica
Finally we sat down for lunch at
Le Palais St Jean
It was an excellent bouchon serving those famed Lyonnais traditional dishes that we've grown to love.
More bouchons opening for lunch
Laurie and Julien leading the way
Merci but no, I'm full
Walking back towards
our Air BnB
Laurie loved this plant
Striking a pose on the River Saône
This Frenchman was singing
a pretty darn good version of
the Delta Blues
One last photo with Julien Urgenti
It is always so much fun to share time with him and his beautiful family.
Tempting but no
It's been six days since we left Camarillo, definitely time for Brian and I to find a laundromat to wash all of our soiled garments while the ladies relaxed a bit.
We crossed Lyon's other river,
the Rhône, to get to the laundromat
Jean Moulin was the famed leader
of the French Resistance in Lyon
during WWII
He was eventually captured by the Gestapo, tortured and killed.
Reflections
One of Lyon's many random
but beautiful fountains
We were headed to the suburb of Ecully to the Damboise home for what promised to be another great dinner.
I was first approached my Marianne Damboise in February of 2013 about their daughter Lucie's need for a host family during her stay for Summer School at Cal State University-Northridge.
Voilà! Paul, Joanne and Nicole Sabolic, who live near the CSUN, to the rescue. Lucy then stayed with us for a week or so.
Lucie had places to stay with in California and we now had new, lifelong friends.
Since then Marianne, a force of nature in her own right, has also come to California to stay with us as she toured the state. Her energy makes every one of our meetings in Camarillo or Lyon a fun event.
And then there is Marianne's husband and Lucie's father, Jean Charles. Jean Charles is the quiet one in the family, a great guy and an incredible chef.
We told the Brian and Koreen that they were in for a treat tonight with Jean Charles preparing a home cooked feast for us to share.
Jean Charles, Koreen, Brian, George,
Marianne, Laurie and Lucie
Jean Charles came through again with course after course of perfectly prepared dishes.
People always ask me what I like the most about living in Europe. The answer is always the same, sharing a meal over several hours in the home of good friends.
Tonight was a perfect example.
A post meal digestive
was a MUST!
How did Jean Charles get that pear in the bottle?
Europe continues to mean but
one thing to the four of us,
PHYSICAL FITNESS!
This first French phase of our vacation is just about over now, tomorrow morning we board the train to Milano, Italia.
Stay tuned, the Adventure continues . . .
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