Heading South!

On Wednesday, we took the regional train from Benfeld to Colmar and then changed to the TGV for the roughly 3 1/2 hour journey to Lyon.  What was interesting about our tickets was that we needed to "pair" them with our pass sanitaire.  So, that meant everyone on the train was fully vaccinated.  It was very slick as we did it all in advance so, when our tickets were checked on the train, there was no problem.  What is very clear is that if you don't use a smart phone, travelling these days could be a bit of a challenge.  

From Colmar, we headed south through the southern part of Alsace stopping at Mulhouse.  Then we sped through the Franche Compte region (Bescanson) to Burgundy.  The train made a stop in Dijon.  We then continued south through the lovely countryside dotted with old castles and chateaux and covered with the famous vineyards.  We reached Lyon by midday.

After settling into our hotel, we headed out to explore.  Our hotel is located in the a Presqu'île neighbourhood just across the bridge from the old town.  We walked across the pedestrian bridge linking the two sides of the river and wandered around.  Tomorrow we are doing a walking tour that will likely give us the background of many of the beautiful squares, buildings and churches that we saw.  While it was extremely windy, it was also sunny so that was good.  My first impression was that Lyon is a charming city and, for me, feels like a "mini" Paris. 

As we were wandering around Le Vieux Lyon, we were almost entranced by the lovely store fronts.  Although we were on probably a very touristy street, there were still plenty that looked interesting.

The Basilica above the Old Town is high on a hill.  That is going to be one of the places we visit tomorrow on our walking tour.  Looking up at the steep stairs leading up to it, we were very happy to know that on our tour we take the funicular up because there is no way I could manage those stairs!!

The streets around our hotel are full of great looking restaurants, bistros, bars, cafes and "bouchons".  We were interested in eating in a "bouchon" ("cork" in English), the term given restaurants here serving traditional Lyonnaise food.  There is no end of choice when it comes to finding them. The Association des Bouchons Lyonnais rewards and brings together restaurateurs who are committed to preserving and sustaining Lyon's gastronomic heritage. They work to promote authentic Lyon bouchons, so that the appellation is not trivialized. We found one that looked lovely, made a reservation, and returned there for dinner a few hours later.  We were not disappointed.  La Mere Maquerelle was perfect - charming ambiance, friendly service, and delicious food.  We each ordered different meals and all of us raved about what we had.  It will be fun over the next few days to discover some more of these gems. 

My carre d'agneau (rack of lamb)

So, Day 1 in Lyon could not have gone better.  We are looking forward to learning more about this beautiful town tomorrow.