20240609 Sunday, June 9, 2024- Exploring the Extremes of Lyon’s South and North
Today we decided to see parts of Lyon that Ciara and Tom’s family, who are arriving later, won’t have time to visit. These include the confluence of the Saône and Rhône rivers at the southern tip of the peninsula, and the Parc de la Tête d’Or at the northern bend the Rhône River which is a huge park with miles of trails, botanical gardens and a zoo.
We began the day by eating the Pink Praline brochette we bought around the corner yesterday for breakfast. Then we headed out walking through the farmer’s market from the Palace of Justice pedestrian suspension bridge south. There were similar goods ranging from fresh flowers, produce, cheeses, fish and meat to candies and another mattress seller.
We then crossed over into old Lyon at the Pont Bonaparte to show John some of the old town including the square at the Lyon Cathedral of St. Jean Baptiste. Today, it was filled with flea market stalls. We wandered through some of the back streets and pointed out the funicular tracks as we wandered south. We crossed back over the Saône at the St. George pedestrian suspension bridge, and then followed the left bank of the Saône to its termination at the confluence. Along the way, there were several floating hotel barges, and some interesting newer architectural buildings in redeveloped areas along the previously industrial zone. There is a historic warehouse that used to be a central depot for sugar, salt and vinegar
At the very end of the confluence, there is a set of railroad tracks embedded in cobblestones that disappears into the water leading to a pair of navigational pilings. The Museum of the Confluence is a very modern art structure that looks a bit like a spaceship that landed in France.
We decided to take a metro tram from there and head north to the Parc de la Tête d’Or to get our money’s worth from the ride. We stopped at a small grocery and picked up some cured beef slices, Comté cheese, baguette, strawberries and Coke Sans Sucre to lunch on in the park. Comté cheese is a product of unpasteurized cow’s milk from the eastern part of France bordering with Switzerland. John says it is to the French what Cheddar is to Americans.
The weather turned out perfect for our exploration of the Confluence and Parc de la Tête d’Or, with a light breeze, temperature in the lower 70’s and cloudy skies. Ben grabbed an umbrella from the hotel, but it didn’t rain at all on us today. We found an empty park bench and had a very pleasant picnic lunch in front of the Conservatory of the Botanical Gardens. Thus recharged, we toured the Conservatory and botanical gardens, which were very nicely done. There is a separate greenhouse full of carnivorous plants that was an interesting transition from the Botanical Gardens to the Zoo. Both the Botanical Gardens and Zoo are free. The park is a bit like Chicago’s Millennium park. The zoo is very small and most of the animals seemed to be on siesta, but their giraffes and flamingos didn’t mind showing off for the public. We then took a stroll along the lake that is part of the park, and is filled with paddle boats and electric boats that you can rent.
We were pretty played out by late afternoon and wanted to get back to meet Ciara when she arrived from Paris, so we caught an Uber back to the metro station closest to our hotel. We did find a rendezvous point and messaged her, and then went to rest up in our hotel. We went back out to the rendezvous point later only to learn that Ciara had decided just to walk to the hotel since she only had a small backpack with her and she wanted to see more of the city. So we returned to the hotel and she showed up in the lobby without trouble.
We decided to stay local and dined at the La Mère Maquerelle, just a short distance from the hotel in the alley full of restaurants. It featured Lyonnaise cuisine and a set menu, although not the all you can eat Bouchon experience. We each ordered a different first course so we could sample 4 different items, and 4 different mains with the same idea. These included escargot, ravioli with a local specialty cheese, sausage roll slices and croque-monsieur for the appetizers and all were very tasty and well prepared. The mains were fillet of Pike, Andoulliette lyonnaise, sweetbreads lyonnaise, and pike quenelles in lobster/crayfish sauce. All were also well prepared, and each with its own unique taste. Desserts included poached pear, raspberry cheesecake, creme brûlée and a rum baba. Again all were very well prepared and delicious. We were all well sated and not in pain at the end of this meal.
Tomorrow morning Tom and his family arrive from Paris to out same hotel. We’ll have to stow their bags until their check in hour and do a whirlwind tour of Lyon with them tomorrow.
