Europe: Let's Do This. : Two nights in Lyon

We arrived by train in Lyon, France, and hopped on the tram to our hotel, the Axotel Perrache. It was exceptionally modern compared to our previous night in Carcassonne.

We headed out for dinner toward the direction of Bellecour. We found almost no bars or restaurants until we finally hit the jackpot at La Rue Mercière, the dining street in Lyon. Unfortunately, most of the places were either exceptionally pricey or closing up. We found a bar along the water with a beautiful view. So we grabbed a drink then made the trek back to our hotel. The up side was that we saw a lot of the city. As usual we settled on kebabs as our fallback for dinner. All of the shops had the same menu, which included the “American” with three hamburger patties and fries on a baguette. Many of the places served most of their sandwiches with French fries in the sandwich.

La Rue Mercière

Night view of Lyon

Jason's chicken kebab w/fries and Algerian sauce

The next morning was riddled with booking hotels and trains for the next weeks of our trip. (Thank you, strong hotel wifi!) We have been using www.capitainetrain.com, recommended by www.seat61.com, to book our trains. The site sends you an email explaining your ticket then emails you an electronic copy of your ticket and a calendar reminder. The explanation of your ticket is very helpful, as our ticket for Germany was at first almost indecipherable. We still ended up using www.raileurope.com occasionally as they inexplicably seem to have different routes sometimes.

We crossed the river for a run through the Museum of the Resistance and Deportation. It was a mix of his and hers including a women’s fashion in times of war exhibit and the main exhibit on Lyon’s role in the resistance. It was a great perspective on the role France played in WWII, though pretty much only the video interviews were translated. Jason was disappointed there were only three guns in the exhibit and zero lapel knives or cyanide capsules or other cool resistance stuff. #historynerd

Next up, we headed up to the Roman ruins and the Basilica we had seen from the water the night before. At a small garden halfway up we stopped at a garden with a great view (and Jason almost dropped is sunglasses off the mountain). We got to the ruins just 30 minutes before closing time. Two massive amphitheaters stand at the site of what was then called Lugdunum, the roman capital of Gaul. The bigger of the two is estimated to have been able to seat 11,000. We made it to the top but the cathedral was closed. We wandered back down the mountainside through a series of trails then took a shortcut through a very steep staircase. (One gentleman raced down it with his hands in his pockets and I wanted to teach him about the importance of using the handrail and HOOP [Hands Out of Pockets] but I do not know how to nerd out on safety in French.)

We agreed that if we were going to spend money on one fancy meal, it would be France. Jason was extra excited because traditional Lyonnaise fair is very heavy on Offal (weird parts of the animal). For 17-29 euros, you got a three course meal. I let Jason order and told him I didn’t want to know what parts or what animal I was eating. We both agreed, while it was delicious, the salad was the best. Our tab was only 63 euros in the end; not bad considering it was two 3-course meals of monstrous portions and a bottle of wine.

Now we are on to Munich, Germany!