Lyon, France

     A little late is better than never I guess. The stories from Lyon and Bordeaux have taken some extra time due to business and sickness. When we arrived in Paris after our night north of Bordeaux, I got quite sick with a sinus infection that required a couple of down days of sleeping and popping ibuprofen to break the fever. Izzy ended up doing a lot of things with our friends we stayed with while I kept myself in bed getting better. In Lyon, we had an absolute blast. We had to stop our couchsurfing experience because all of the people we contacted were busy with exams that weekend. And unfortunately, some of the friends of the people we stayed with in Toulouse are from Lyon and invited us to stay with them but they wouldn’t get to Lyon until we had already returned to the States. That part of the trip was bitter sweet as it would be the last city we would have our friend Mollie with us. The last morning in Lyon, we would awaken and take her to Geneva for her conference and probably not see her again until we take ourselves to Australia. But alas, these are the types of friendships we’ve made with people but its good and lasting. Upon arrival to the city, we caught a lucky break and I finally listened to Mollie’s suggestion of finding a map of the city right away so we don’t waste time looking for streets with bad directions. We found the Tourism Office right away and acquired a map of the city. We discovered we were quite close to our hotel and headed on over to drop off our stuff and the car. We walked back towards the main square and found ourselves in a city we fell in love with right away.

     The Bellecour Square was open and covered with a fine red sand layer and had a huge 3D sign in it that read “Lyon”. The square is the largest open square(meaning no trees or stuff like that) in Europe and the largest pedestrian area in Europe as well. It has a statue in the center of Louis XIV. 

     From there, we headed up one of the side streets that led to the north off the square and found some really lovely buildings. The architecture had an old yet modern feel and everything seemed to flow and fit together nicely. Both of the girls couldn’t stop talking about all the different shops they wanted to go into but we agreed that shopping would be done later during the World Cup game so all could be happy and we could all tour the city together. We continued along the Rue Emile Zola looking in the shops until we arrived at the Jacobins Square. It was decorated with a nice ornate fountain and another confusing roundabout.

     Further up we found the Saint Nizier Church and more beggars wanting money outside of it. The church has quite an interesting history. It was built in the 6^th century and named for Nicetius of Lyon. It was sacked and burned by Charles Martel and others and later rebuilt in the 9^th century. Some of the church goers, sickened by the vast amounts of lavishness, decided to set the place ablaze in the 13^th century. Over the 14^th and 16^th centuries, it was slowly rebuilt and maintains the same form today. From there, we ventured up to one of the many Opera houses and it was impressive to say the least. But even more impressive is the City Hall that has its back to the front of the Opera. 

     We walked down the street to the Terreaux Square that is the front of the City Hall and has the famous Bartholdi Fountain built in 1891. The same sculptor, Frederic Bartholdi, built New York’s Statue of Liberty five years earlier. We had an ice cream break due to the baking sun and ambled further north only to discover that the area gets quite a bit rougher. The area is sprinkled with tons of public parks and interesting characters. We wandered towards the western side of the peninsula along the Saône River and enjoyed the view of the hill overlooking the city. 

     We had dinner at one of the restaurants along the pedestrian street Rue de Merciere. I don't know if it's a tourist trap but there are some nice restaurants along the street. We stopped and had steaks, salads, and rich French desserts. On the eastern side of the peninsula, we took an after dinner help the steaks and crème brulée digest stroll to get some pictures of the Rhône River and the Hôtel Dieu de Lyon. It was built at the end of the 12th century as a place for traveling clergy members. In the 15th century, it was converted into a fully functioning hospital. At night, its one of the highlights along the Rhône River. 

     The next day, before heading off to Geneva, we took a drive up the hill to see the Notre Dame de Fourviére Cathedral and small tower fashioned in the shape of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  It was built towards the end of the 19^th century on the Fourviére area overlooking the entire city. The inside is quite impressive and holds an even more detailed crypt downstairs. Even though it has a towering position and nice architecture, it is not considered the principal church in Lyon as that position belongs to St. John’s Cathedral at the bottom of the hill on the river bank. Our time in Lyon was brief but very memorable and we know we must revisit the city one day and continue our journey through its streets and discover more of its Roman ruins.

     Getting out of Lyon was a bit tricky and involved a couple of illegal U-turns. But hey, no cops pulled us over so no harm no foul. The drive between Lyon and Geneva is incredible. We put up some pictures of that drive and our others across the vast French countryside. It's a great place to rent a car and get lost on the back roads. The highways will break your wallet.

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