Lyon Part Deux

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I'll start of by saying: for those of you who are getting this blog for the first time, you can move through the blog to see prior days by clicking on previous entry. Also, you may need to scroll down to see all the pictures and to add comments.

Well, started off today with a nice run. Then off to Lyon, this time we knew exactly where to go! We went to the P + R, took the Metro, connected to the Tramway and arrived at the Aquarium well before lunch. The Lyon aquarium was absolutely incredible. Favourites were: sharks, boxfish, puffer fish, wee baby clown fish that had just been born, sea urchins, and the hands-on tank where you could touch starfish and turbot. A really great display. I really must say, of all the French Aquariums we've EVER been to, this was the most recent (hee hee). Then back on transit to the Old City (in one day we did metro, tram, and articulated bus). First stop, was a crêperie in the shadow of le Cathédral St. Jean which is currently being sandblasted (the face lift is incredible as this several hundred year old building looks brand new). The crêpes were incredible (Rachel's contained Nutella). In the doors to le Cathédral, Nigel read a sign that said "chanter interdit aux visiteurs". He translated for the rest of us: "No singing allowed by tourists". I said, "I doubt that very much". He said "Maybe they're grumpy. Maybe most tourists sing off-key. Maybe the singing causes vibrations that will destroy the old church." Remember, Nigel is the one who thought he could get our garden fence back to the right side of the gatepost by pushing on the house! We circled back later (and closer) and discovered the sign said "chantier" which means "renovation site." Still, when Nigel then started to sing (non sotto voce), we got a lot of dirty looks, so maybe it is best to refrain after all.

Then we went to le musée fantastique de Guignol. This was a small museum dedicated to the puppeteer Laurent Mourguet and his famous puppet Guignol. He was from Lyon and his puppets were France's answer to Punch and Judy. This museum would have been so much fun for Uncle Brendan. Next was le Musée de Gadagne which contained two exhibits: another history of puppeteering and an exhibit of the history of Lyon.

We wandered around the shops on the cobblestone streets for a while. We also did partake in some treats: glace for the kids and bakery treats for the adults.

We've seen some gypsies on the trains that play the accordion and peddle for change. They all seem to play the same Romanesque gypsy song, a classic.....Nigel offered them two Euros to play "Billie Jean, Not my Lover" or "Beat It" by Michael Jackson but all he got was a "you are not a funny man, English" in reply.

We finally made our way back to the Metro and then hit the Auchan (large grocery store) on the way home to stock up for our picnic on the Mediterranean tomorrow. We picked up some local fare: pâté, more cheese, more baguettes...all to accompany tonight's wine choice.

We just finished off the Chais du Grillon tonight (it came from the vineyard of Mont Ventoux Bedoin if that helps you find it at SAQ or LCBO). Tonight's wine is Arausio. It says it won the Gold Medal in 2009 at the Concours des Vins Orange. Orange isn't a genre of wines, it is the city south of Valence that is the gateway to the Provence region. This bottle is a 2008 and says "Côtes du Rhône" which might help you find it at the wine store, by region. Try it and add a comment to the blog of your likes/dislikes. Personally, Nigel likes to pair it with a nice snout of beef or hoof of veal, or if there's none of that left, a pizza.

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