France2023

Today we toured old Lyon. As always, the Basilica hovered over everywhere we were. In this part of town, the streets are narrow and the buildings are ancient. Our tour guide told us that this part of Lyon was in pretty bad disrepair until the 1960s, when they started to restore things. It's pretty touristy now, but it's amazing that no one capitalized on this until recently. All the buildings are store fronts on the ground floor and apartments above. Access is by round staircases within the buildings, usually set in or around a courtyard. You can see there are some beautiful ones. The two statues are of Mary, but she's lost her head. Sometime in the 1500s during the Wars of Religion, the Protestants were winning here and decided that statues of Mary and other saints should be beheaded or destroyed.
We had lunch at one of Lyon's famous bouchons. These are local restaurants that served simple meals to the working class in the area, but are now regarded as fine dining in a traditional style. The one we chose was la Mêre Cottivet. We were the first ones there and ate mostly outside until the sun started beating down. We moved inside for dessert. Cindy had the traditional quenelles, a mild creamed fish, bready dish with a sauce. Much better than it sounds. Dave had the boudin noir, or blood pudding. This is completely different than regular black pudding or blood sausage. It was very mild and soft, though heavy. Served in a pork sauce with caramelized apples, this was unexpectedly delicious. Unfortunately we didn't take pics. Another Lyonaise treat for dessert finished the meal, a crème brûlée made with praline.
Later on in the afternoon we went to a museum about the silk industry, a business that made Lyon famous.Read more