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Published: April 21st 2011
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Hotel du Pont Wilson in LyonThe day started with an early morning wake up call so that I would be able to catch the train to Lyon. I am not the most coordinated of people so when I arrived in Paris I was a sight to be seen trying to fit myself through the turnstiles at the metro station with a backpack and carry-on suitcase. Really ... I confess ... the handle of my suitcase got caught up in the turnstile. I would still be there if someone hadn't come through to help me. So the big stress of the whole event of me transferring from Paris to Lyon was how I was going to manage to get myself through the turnstiles again. But all was good ... I hatched a plan first before actually throwing myself through those contraptions that could have only been invented by someone who had all of their luggage and packages carried for them!
The train left the Gare de Lyon and that is when I bid Paris goodbye. I don't know if I had forgotten to pack my brain today but for some reason I could not quite get my bearings. I mean it's not like it took me
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The Pont Wilson forever to find the Hotel du Pont Wilson but I just felt a little disoriented when I first arrived. I don't have much of sense of direction to start with but I do have to say that I am normally relatively good in situations like this but just not today. And that feeling was extended when there was a bit of a hiccup with my hotel reservation ... ugh ... hopefully there are not too many of those in the coming weeks! Let's just say it was a bit of an expensive hiccup. But I tried ... I bargained ... they dropped the price but still ... ugh.
So leaving the hotel I was a little deflated and a little distracted. So I meandered around Lyon until I came upon the Place des Terraux. It is just one of those typical European squares surrounded by cafes and filled with people just hanging around and enjoying the outdoors. The Hotel de Ville makes up on side of the square ... it's a gorgeous building. There is a also an enormous fountain designed by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. The name might not ring a bell but his work certainly will. He is the
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Architecture of Lyon one who designed the Statue of Liberty.
So in order to shake off the events of the morning, I stopped at the 3 Rivieres Cafe for their plat du jour which was a steak with roasted potatoes. And again to shake off the events of the morning that was accompanied by a lovely Cote du Rhone ... my hotel looks out on the Rhone river so it is appropriate after all!!!
My Canadian accent seems to intrigue and perk up the attention of those around me so it was no surprise that the woman at the table next to mine struck up a conversation. She had grown up in the south of France and was married to an Italian man. Her son was 35 ... by the end I think that she was trying to set me up with him ... let's face it ... was that any surprise to anyone reading this??? It seems to be a constant in my life. Her name was Michelle and she currently lives in Saint-Cyr sur Mer. So after all of the chatting, I got me a dinner invitation at her house. It's a little outside of Marseille and god knows
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Drawing the Carousel that was being set up how I would even get there but I do have to say that it is intriguing. These are the times when I wish I had someone with me!!! But if that doesn't come to bear ... she gave me a list of things that I needed to eat while in France. Funnily enough I mentioned that I wanted to try socca (my dad had it when he visited the south of France) and she had no idea what I was talking about. So she wrote it down vowing to find out what it was and try it out. And on that note we said our goodbyes ...
From there, I just meandered about and eventually ended up in Vieux Lyon. It is made up of small alleyways and narrow cobblestone streets with cafes, boutiques, street performers and tourists doing exactly what I was doing. The atmosphere reminded me of a quieter Montmartre. So lovely and artsy and inspiring.
I stopped in at the Cathedrale St-Jean before heading towards the funicular to make my way up the Fourviere Hill to see the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere. It is simply stunning. It is glowing white (similarly to Sacre Coeur)
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The Carousel and it just glistens in the bright sunshine. The exterior is ornate and just absolutely stunning. I walked in and literally the words "oh my God" came out of my mouth. Yes I know ... probably not the most appropriate thing to say when walking into a Basilica but it was truly jaw dropping. The guidebook had simply described it as being "superb example of exaggerated enthusiasm for embellishment". That's one way to describe it. It is incredibly ornate with so many little details. There is incredible mosaic work on the walls. Honestly words cannot describe it and photos certainly won't do it justice. I would say that it is by far the most stunning church I've seen so far.
And that is how my first of two days in Lyon ended ....
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Francine
non-member comment
Hello there:) Catching up with the blog...as you can see, I am still in Lyon while you are already in Marseille:) But that's just me, enjoying the view:) Have to say, with the photos, it is almost like being there. And that steak...oh! my!...pardon my drooling! Keep enjoying...one day at a time...carpe diem...hhmm, does that remind me of something???:)