Day 6: Paris to Lyon

We woke up early today to catch an 8:24 train to Lyon, the 2nd biggest city in France. We only had one night in Lyon so we needed to get there early to have the rest of the day to explore this great French city sitting on the side of the Alps. As our train rolled into the train station one thing was clear: This was no Paris! It was much cleaner and less crowded which meant less excitement. After Paris Laura and I took this as a good thing. We took a short taxi ride to our hotel, the Hilton Lyon, which is in the middle of what is called Cite L'International. It is a modern living centre with apartments, fancy restaurants, shops, the Musee D'Moden Art, and Interpol (not the band, the actual Interpol headquarters for France). B T Dubs (my version of By The Way), this hotel is amazing! It has two resturants sporting Michelin Stars, a one-star Thai restaurant called "Blue Elephant" and a two-star Brasserie called "Brasserie de Hotel"), it had a full day spa, gym, bar, and we had a king size suite looking out over the Parc de le Tete on the Rhone River! Laura and I almost didn't leave the room!

Once we finally convinced ourselves that a little lunch would be the way to start we walked along the Cite L'International and found a French Mexican restaurant called "Slatre Verde". Laura ordered Nachos with guacamole, creme fresh, salsa, and cheese and I ordered a combo with a chicken burrito, beef taco, and a cheese quesadilla. Remember we are in France so it didn't look or taste what you may find at the local El Cerro Grande. However, it was pretty good and after we gobbled up the last chip we headed out to explore Lyon!

As I said before Lyon is on the side of the Alps, so as you can imagine it is very hilly. So, today we needed our walking shoes. Our first stop on the journey was the Croix-Rousse neighborhood that its in the hills between the Rhone river and the Saone River, which both run through the middle of Lyon, but never touch. This neighborhood was famous for its world renowned silk weaving shops and since has become a bohemian paradise. Laura and I stopped in a little post office to send some post cards, but we mostly walked to the west side of the neighborhood. Along the way were various musical happenings which came to be a theme for our day in Lyon. After we reached the other side, it opens up into a clear view above most of the city. Well worth the tiring walk.

We climbed down the hill into the city center without no real destination at the time, but just to explore. After a little while, well a long while, Laura and I needed some grub. We stepped inside a little Irish pub called "James Joyce" because I wanted to catch the end of the Switzerland-Chile match, and Laura really wanted a good ol' fashion hamburger. The only problem was that after we ordered the waitress walked over to a microwave, through in a couple of baggies of food, and a couple minutes later we had dinner! I know, gross, and you weren't the one who actually ate it. I guess it was the pint of 1664 Kronenburg already in my system, but I kind of liked it.

Anyways we through are change down after the game was over and made a dash for the reason I wanted to come to Lyon, the Fourviere! This is the highest hill top in Lyon that looks out over the entire area and consists of the Notre Dame Fourviere Cathedral and the adorable surrounding neighborhood, but more importantly the best view in all of France! We took the funicular (now pronounced "Funny-Cooler") this time because we had enough of hills. After a short ride we arrived at the church. It was absolutely beautiful with no detail left undone. We walked inside, outside, and all around checking this thing out. Next thing we know there it is ... the view. Imagine seeing pure beauty as far as the eye could see, with hills, mountains, churches, buildings, and gardens. We both agreed it was well worth the visit! After leaving the Fourviere we headed back the hotel because we decided we needed a night of relaxation and World Cup.

-Kyle

Lessons Learned Today:

1. Lyon is a hidden beauty and there are some great things to see here.

2. Microwaved cheeseburgers are really good! Not! Laura didn't even touch the food!

3. My mind is now working in French.