Lyon, France

My whirlwind week of winter break is drawing to a close. I spent this weekend in Lyon after a quick one night stop over in Bordeaux after my trip to Edinburgh. The flight from Bordeaux to Lyon was about one hour and I arrived in Lyon late morning on Friday. I dropped my bag off where I was staying and, knowing that I would only be in Lyon for two nights, hit the sights.

View of Lyon from the Rhône

Lyon is a beautiful city, separated into three sections by the two rivers that run through the city, the Rhône and the Saône. From where I was staying I headed west, traversing first the Rhône and then the Saône, into the old town, "Vieux Lyon". "Vieux Lyon" is distinctly different from the more updated parts of the city for precisely that reason, it is old. The buildings have been beautifully preserved in their colorful and uniform style, forbidding all things modern--high rises, concrete and glass buildings not allowed. Vieux Lyon rests at the base of a large hill which I climbed twice--once on Friday to see the La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière, and on Saturday to see the remaining ruins of Lyon's Roman theater. While both the basilique and ruins were magnificent in their own right, the view from their hilltop sites easily rivaled the two landmarks.

The amazing mosaic ceiling of La Basilique Notre Dame 

Lyon's Roman Theater ruins

View from La Basilique Notre Dame

I spent the weekend crossing back and forth over the two rivers, admiring how the rivers delineated not only geographical cross-sections of the city, but also separated Lyon into three distinctly different socio-economical and cultural sections. Where I was staying, on the east side of Lyon, had high rise apartment complexes and hotels, lots of concrete, and was the most urban section of Lyon. Crossing the Rhône westward lies presqu'île, meaning "almost island" in French. As it lies in between the two rivers, it is indeed almost and island, and it is where all the shopping is. I felt like I was back in San Francisco when I picked up a couple tops at Brandy Melville and bought a latte at Starbucks--two
luxuries not available in Bordeaux. Heading further west across the Saône is Vieux Lyon, and where I went back for dinner on Saturday night and gorged myself on traditional Lyonnaise cuisine.

Pâté en Croûte with foie gras and sweetbread

Red wine braised beef cheeks

Something that made my trip particularly pleasant was where I was residing in Lyon. While planning my trip I had decided I wanted to forgo the hostel route and looked into places on AirBnB instead. I found a room on AirBnB and booked it, unsure what to expect because I had never booked a room on AirBnB before, and was not disappointed. My room was in the apartment of a man named Alvaro who lived there with his son. It turns out Alvaro was not French, actually Brazilian, but had moved to Lyon over 15 years ago and spoke perfect French. When he began speaking to me in English upon my arrival I asked him if he would speak in French to me because a) I could understand him and b) I wanted to practice speaking French. He was all too happy to oblige and was relieved, saying that it would make it a lot easier for him as well. In the mornings Alvaro, his four year old son, Raphael, and I, ate breakfast together and talked a lot about Lyon and about ourselves. It was definitely a good language exercise for me and while Alvaro taught me knew words and phrases in French, I translated them and pronounced them in English so he could learn as well. My experience with AirBnB added a lot of local color to my experience in Lyon as Alvaro suggested things for me to do and see (and, of course, eat) during my short stay.

Across the Saône

Last but not least I have to mention the Lyon's Parc de la Tête d'Or. It is one of the largest urban parks in France and it is where I spent my Saturday morning. I've missed running in Golden Gate Park since I've been in France and while nothing comes close to GGP, this park was pretty awesome. It certainly not as big as GGP but in french terms, it is huge. It lies right along the Rhône and includes both a botanical garden and a "jardin zoologique" (animal garden/animal farm) as well as a large lake in the center. During my run I looked over and could see ostrich and deer running around! They were in a gated area so I couldn't actually say hi to them but it was pretty cool all the same. When I get back to SF I'll see about adding some ostrich to GGP.