Towards the end of the year, we usually go away for a gastronomic outing with our friends in the village, Sile and Martin. This year we went to Lyon, a 2.5 hour trip from home and all by public transport.
This is the time of year for the annual 'fête des lumiéres'in Lyon which is rather like Blackpool illuminations. The origin of the fête is to celebrate the patron saint of Lyon, Mary. Everyone puts out lights (usually rea lights) on their window ledges. However, the celebration has now become commercial amid is incredibly crowded, so very crowded had booked to avoid it. Following the recent attacks in Paris, the fête was cancelled and the city was far more quiet than we had anticipated. This year, the tea lights will be out on balconies, so reverting to the traditional celebration
After booking into our hotel, we went for a brief trip around the city. The were reminders of the state of alert everywhere, such as armed soldiers outside the Cathedral and security personalel in shopping centres.
The arch of the cathedrals for St John the Baptist.
Apartment blocks with open staircases
The basilica at night
Before returning to the hotel, we called into a wine bar for a glass of wine. The waiter asked what we liked and reappeared with a selection of 8 bottles for us to choose from and described each wine in turn. He opened bottles for each of us and we feared that this might have been an expensive stop, but it was not the case. We were charged by the glass! It was a remarkable experience and well worth it! Needless to say, we returned the next day.
Views across the Rhone on the way back.
By now it was time to return to the hotel and get ready for our evening trip to La Mere Brazier, a Michelin 2* restaurant and the focus of our visit to Lyon.We very much enjoyed our meal at La Mere Brazier, and were pleased with our choice. Details are here: https://www,Aureum.biz/links
The next morning, we started with a trip to Les Halles, the indoor food market of Lyon and then continued across the river to the cenral area and museums.
We spent some time in the Musée des beaux-arts, which is opposite one of several hotel de ville (town halls) in Lyon
This Hotel de Ville is in a large square with the Musée and a grand fountain
Later, we went up the hill on ththe funicular to the Basillia
View from the Basillica
In the evening, we went out in search of a particular kind of restaurant. Bouchons are a traditional Lyonnaise restaurants serving very meat based French cuisine
Our meals were interesting and very different style from the previous evening.
The following day, we did a little shopping in a large shopping centre, before taking the train and bus home.
All we have to do now, is decide where we will go next year!
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