Lyon - our new favourite place.

Lyon is at the confluence of two rivers, the Rhone and the Saone (pronounced sone). The Lyonnais call them the lovers. The Saone is the smaller, slower, gentle river therefore the female. The Rhone is bigger, faster flowing, stronger therefore the male. They are often depicted as male and female figures.
The Old Town is on the west side of the Saone. It has narrow streets (mostly cobbled) lined with old buildings. Along these streets are doors that open onto passageways. They open into a courtyard in the middle of the block. On the other side of the courtyard is another passageway that leads out to the next street. If there is a plaque at one of these doors, it means the public are welcome to enter and have a look. They all have a stone spiral staircase, a balcony and a well. They were used by the French Underground in WWII to move and hide people.
Lyon has a tram system, and, because this area was once the centre of the silk industry, the trams have been designed to resemble a silkworm.
The newer areas are on the east of the Saone, to the Rhone and across. So, from the west to the east, the age of the town gets younger.
We had a guide show us around the town and then took us on a culinary tour in a huge indoor market - an up market market in fact - the Paul Bocuse market. There are markets all around town but this one, our guide said, is where she shops when her mother-in-law is coming for dinner. At the end of the tour we had a tasting at one of the stalls - 5 different dry sausage (salami), cheese, pastries and wine. Then some free time so we had a coffee in one of the little shops.
Back to the ship for lunch at 1.30. - not more food!!!
After lunch we walked along the river back to the old town - about a one hour walk for us after all the food we're eating. We just love the feel (the vibes). We saw at least three 'genuine' Irish pubs and there are little cafes and restaurants everywhere.
Our guide had told us, and we certainly saw for ourselves, the Lyonnais don't respond to your “bonjour” like people further south - they take a while to warm to people.
Dinner tonight was a farewell dinner as we leave this ship tomorrow, Thursday. We will pack tonight as our cases have to be outside our cabin door by 6am. I think we leave at 7.30 to catch the very fast train to ParisRead more