TGV to Lyon

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First, pictures from yesterday’s blog are now up, camera issue has been resolved. I am writing this in the early evening of our first full day in Lyon. It was a full day, but more about that later.

Sunday was transition day and the real beginning to our tour of France. Paris was just a little appetizer and adjustment city. The day started early, to shower, pack and have a quick breakfast before we checked out and headed to Gare de Lyon to catch our TGV to Lyon. The two women from Washington must have had a late night as they were not at breakfast this morning. We did have a nice conversation with the other man that was from Yakima Valley, turns out he is an estate attorney.

Breakfast complete, a brush of the teeth and hauling of the luggage down to check out and load up the taxi. It was a fairly smooth ride there other than the car that almost side swiped us, but the drive just cussed him out (in English, possibly for our benefit) and kept going. Gare de Lyon, is where trains heading south leave from. Paris has several train stations; each one serves a different region or even other countries. Gare de Lyon goes south, Barcelona, Switzerland and Milan Italy. The trains in France are almost always on time, unless there is a strike. Today was no difference. We were in the upper tier (better views at 182 mph) so a bit of lugging luggage up the stairs was involved. Our coach happened to be filled with a large group of I hate to say it, senior citizens (we could have been in that group, but fortunately we were the youngest ones there). They were on an organized tour. We did splurge for first class, not a huge difference between first and standard, except there is more leg room and more storage capacity.

The trip to Lyon is normally a very quick 2 hours by TGV or 4 hour 19 minutes if you drive. The train is the best way to travel in Europe and especially in France. We were a bit late getting into Lyon as the train ahead of us had some electrical issues and slowed us down. We still had plenty of time to get to our hotel and make our lunch reservation. We could have taken public transportation, but as we age and until we learn to pack differently, we have opted for taxis from train stations to our hotel. We had a great taxi drive, very friends, spoke great English we just needed to speak slowly, I could say the same about the French, speak slowly and I might have a better chance of understanding something you say. Not only did we get a good fast ride to our hotel we also got an overview of the city from our driver.

Before I continue with the rest of our half day here, I do need to take us back to 2012 and the second half of my 50^th birthday trip. Lyon was our third stop on that trip, and we did not have a stellar experience. The hotel was small, with no elevator and one small step above a youth hostel. We had one good meal during our entire visit, and it rained hard. This trip was already off to a better start, the hotel is very centrally located, a large room and very clean.

We stored our luggage as it was Sunday, and they were basically turning over the entire hotel. The amount of stored luggage for those checking out filled the lobby. The luggage stored we were off to lunch and our first test if Lyon deserves the title Gastronomic Capital of France. Lunch was at Café Comptoir Abel, sister establishment to the oldest Restaurant in Lyon that we would be eating at on our last night. It was Sunday afternoon, and it was packed with locals all having their big Sunday meal. Grandma wanted the day off. One room was full of a large family and their large dog. The downstairs was packed so we were seated in a back room upstairs, which eventually also filled up.

While the café was full of locals, the menu was in both French and English, but I pretty much understood what was on the menu just by reading the French side. I ordered a Pot of Provence Rose, (little over half bottle) then we made our choices. The one thing we had the first time hear, and that we loved was the Salade Lyonnaise, so we knew that we would get one of those to share. A Lyonnaise is a green salad (mixture of lettuce and frisée), some herbs, croutons and bacon, all dressed in a dressing similar to a wilted spinach salad, so yes, it is warm, including the bacon. On the top of the salad is a perfectly cooked poached egg. If you have a heart condition this is not the salad for you, for the rest of us, just drink some wine to balance out the fat.

Our mains were both chicken; Jerry had poulet au riz sauce supreme, and I had poulet aux morrilles. Lyon is clearly where all French sauces were born. There was enough butter and cream in the sauce to clog a marathon runner’s arteries, again wine and it goes away. Both dishes came with rice, and like no rice you have ever had, it tasted fantastic with nothing on it, but add either sauce, and pure heaven.

It was a nice leisurely Sunday afternoon lunch and very reasonable priced. Next up was the hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city. Lyon is the second largest city in France, so this is a good way to get an overview of the city and if you only have a few days, a way to see more of it. Lyon is very hilly, and the Soane and Rhone divide the city in two, with an island in the middle. We are staying on the Island which is the central part of Lyon.

It did start to rain, but I was able to find some cover so while I got wet, I didn’t get soaked through. Jerry had gone back to the room to drop of the evening’s wine and get our umbrella’s as we could see the rain was coming. It did stop just as we boarded the bus. While the tour was nice, the audio portion was fairly lacking, not as in depth as many other of these same types of buses we have been on. Still, it did go to the top of the hill with the Roman ruins and Basilica. On a clear day you can see the Alps. Today was not that day. After 90 minutes we were returned to our starting point and walked back to our hotel to check in and unpack, but more importantly to give my feet a rest, they had yet to recover from our 8 miles of walking in Paris on Saturday.

I managed to finish the blog for our last day in Paris, but then we were no longer able to download pictures (I later figured out how I could do it by removing the video card and plugging it directly in to my laptop, what I know I am not a techy.)

Dinner was just a short walk to a very busy pedestrian-only street lined with bistros, cafés and brasseries. We had a reservation at Le Bistro de Lyon. When we arrived 1) it was packed and 2) it was like walking back into 1920’s France. It was a big place filled with a good mix of tourists and locals. The one con, it was not your typical slow paced French dining experience we were in and out in just over an hour.

Despite the somewhat rushed experience, we did have a very good meal. We were still pretty full from lunch, so we opted to split a couple of mains and call it good.

Our first course was Tartare de boeuf du Charolais, pommes grenailles sautées et petite salade (steak tartare with French beef, roasted baby potatoes and a small salad). The next item was the star of the night and a close second for dish of the day. Our first fish of the trip, Quenelle de brochet moulée à la cuillere sauce ecrevisees (Pike dumplings in a crayfish sauce.) Crayfish our a local specialty so when in Lyon it is a must. There was a hint of cayenne and yes tons of butter and cream. All of this was accompanied by a very nice Burgundy from Beaune. No cholesterol here as long as you have wine, especially red wine.

That was the end of our first day in Lyon. Tomorrow we only have two things on the schedule so possibly a chance to get caught up on blogging in the afternoon.

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Photos

Poulet aux morrilles
Dish of the Day