Day 9: Loving Lyon

On Day 9, we awoke in Lyon.  In justifying our European to excursion to strangers, we often explained how we once lived here and wanted to bring our children back.  After twelve years we finally made it!  We'd reserved an apartment dans le 6eme, the neighborhood where we used to live.  Climbing all the way up to the fifth floor brought back so many fond memories of struggling up stone stairs with groceries, babies, and a stroller.  (And then I figured out there was an elevator.)  From our bedroom window we could see the Fourviere cathedral in the distance.  It was especially fun to see it lit up at night.

From our front windows we could see le Crayon and a new skyscraper that has been constructed since our last visit.

Inside, the apartment was small but accommodating.  There was a small bedroom in the back where Jason and I slept, a pullout sofa for two kids, and a loft upstairs with a bed for two more.  Our main complaint was probably the mosquitoes.  We slept with the windows open since there was no AC and got eaten alive.  Oh, that and the nonfunctional washer.  But overall, it was a great taste of urban living in a terrific neighborhood.

What made the neighborhood so terrific?  Well, it was within jogging distance of the Parc Tete d'Or for one thing.  Talia joined me for an early morning run.

Last time she was here she was still sucking her thumb.

Perhaps more importantly, the apartment was within a couple blocks of a bakery, a small grocery store, a book store, a pharmacy, a laundromat, a butcher, and a cheese shop.  It reminded me why it was so easy to function without a car when we lived here.

After a popular breakfast of baguettes and pastries, we set out to explore the town, stopping at a small park to play along the way.  After all, when we last here, their world revolved around trips to the park.

They still enjoy it, just not as often.

It's funny how little things like sidewalks can be so reminiscent.

 Naturally we stopped by our old apartment, still located two floors above La Rutilante. 

We couldn't get int to spy on our old place, but from the looks of things the paint color hasn't changed.  Here's Brooklyn at age 4 and 4 squared.

From there we took a walk across the street and down the alley to her old school.  This is the entrance where she would get dropped off and picked up every day.

We spent so many afternoons playing in this courtyard.  The trees aren't the only thing that have grown.

The kids liked seeing their old house and school, but they loved walking through Les Halles de Paul Bocuse.  The world-famous chef passed away in 2018, but Les Halles are as vibrant as ever.

We shared a delicious praline-covered flan from this bakery.

But the real question is, why didn't we indulge more?!  I'm ready to fly back and have a redo just at the sight of these treats.

Next, we walked over to the riverfront and enjoyed both the pigeons and our favorite slides.

A few older pics, just for comparison.

A walk across the pedestrian bridge and we found ourselves in Vieux (Old) Lyon

First order of business: find a public toilet.  For me, finding a free place to pee was seriously the worst.  Restrooms are uncommon in stores and businesses, so you have to get lucky and come across something on a street corner.  France has these new self-cleaning contraptions that literally hose down the entire room between each user.  Kind of clever yet kind of annoying because they take forever.  Annika was obviously intrigued.

Lyon's Opera House

Bartholdi Fountain in the Place Terraux.

Personally, our kids liked the street level water features even more.

In the distance you can see the Hotel de Ville, or City Hall.

From there we went searching  for traboules, the secret passageways used by silk traders to navigate the city in centuries past

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Looks like we've been her before!  Here's Papa Kay poking out with his umbrella back in 2008.

Jason looks so happy to be sharing the Lyon of his memories.  He did a fantastic job navigating us through the city into places I'd frankly forgotten.

He'd still fit right in here.  While certainly not Amsterdam, we love all the bikes.

So happy to be back as well.

Stepping inside of one of Lyon's many beautiful churches.  We knew better than to make our children look inside them all.  This is a photo of the interior of the Cathedrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste.  Interestingly enough, there are ruins behind the cathedral that show the remains of the original church, including a large baptismal font.

Truth to be told, I was pretty worn out by now.  I would have gladly gone home for a nap.  Instead, Jason led us to this giant old staircase leading to the Fourviere.  The heartpumping trek up was exactly what I needed to wake up.

From the top, there are some great vistas overlooking the city.

Figuring out where we are.

La Basalique Notre-Dame de Fourviere, inside and out.

As much as the kids enjoyed the Fourviere, they enjoyed the neighboring Roman ruins even more.

Wandering the ruins really makes you feel like you are walking through history.

Whether they remember it or not, this was not their first time here.

So, we tried to recreate some photos.  It took no more than a moment for Jason and I to realize that there was no way we could hang Brooklyn and Talia upside down, so we let them dangle their siblings instead.

Just for kicks, we even recreated our family pyramid.  It's probably time to update the blog header anyways.  I'm sure the lady we asked to take our photo thought we Americans were crazy, but you only live once.

Perhaps best of all was remembering the kindness of our French friend Annie and how she introduced our family to this exact spot so many years ago, strangers as we were.

When I posted about Annie and her son Loïc so many years ago, I wrote: 

"While I don't have any sons, if I'm ever blessed with any, I hope they turn out like the young man who showed us around. At thirteen years old, he was so easy to converse with--confident, articulate, and so respectful. Certainly many of his positive traits have come from following the example of his mom."

Now that I do have a son, I'm grateful that both he and our daughters were able to meet Annie and her sons once more.  True to their generous natures, they invited us over for a lovely dinner. Our kids were blown away by the amazing appetizer spread, followed by a delicious main course, dessert, and then cheese tray. Lyon is known as the gastronomic capital of France, and this was the best food we ate in Lyon.  Hence, Annie's cuisine must be the best in the whole country.  But in all seriousness, it was the company we enjoyed most of all.  Thank you once more Annie, Loic, and Julian, for making our experience in Lyon so special.