We arrived in Lyon, and checked into our very Art Deco hotel in the Pres'quile neighborhood- the Mercure Beaux-Arts.
The view from our hotel room, over Place Jacobins
Breakfast of champions!! A little food market was set up by the River Saone, and this man served espresso from his car.
Ooooh....Patisseries in Lyon are filled with red praline brioche, croissants, and cookies- it's the official sweet of the city.
Lyon's Cathedral, with Roman structures dating from 177 AD.
Lyon features a life-sized 7-storey mural painted on the back of a building, and featuring famous Lyon residents.
Chef Paul Bocuse, the patron saint of Lyon cuisine, is featured on the mural! He is a famous living chef who has revitalized French cuisine, and made Lyon a culinary capital.
The mural also features Antoine St-Exupery, the author of "The Little Prince," and the Lumiere brothers, who invented the cinema.
Claudius from ancient Roman times is featured to- he also was a Lyon resident.
Lyon from atop the city's overlook.
Lunch at a true Lyon bouchon, A La Traboule. A "traboule" is a narrow medieval passageway, and there are tons of them in Lyon.
But whatever you do, don't order "the guts of Lyon."
Lyon's Opera House.
Lyon straddles two rivers- the Rhone, and the Saone. There are many lovely bridges spanning the rivers.
The Joneses conquer Lyon!
And now, for the longest, hottest walk ever: 95F across a hot, shadeless square to the Lyon Tourism Office.
But it was worth it, because a life-sized statue of Chef Paul Bocuse was waiting for Matt in the tourism office's entryway.
Mmmmm.....in August in Lyon, the Drink is Pink. Local rosé, prepare to please me.
Lyon at twilight.
For dinner we chose Un Deux Trois, a locally owned bouchon in Vieux Lyon (Old Town).
Lyon, France