Lyonnaise

The Butler Saga continues, and there is much to tell! This week’s adventures have taken place in an entirely new locale, Eastern France.

Alex and I wanted to spend our five-year anniversary in France, but wedding season was exceptionally taxing last summer. So when we planned this extended trip to Spain, we intentionally booked our flight out of Paris. Here was our chance!

The exact timing and destinations were only recently solidified, but the idea was to travel from Madrid to Barcelona to a prayer community in Eastern France (a place called Taize, which will be discussed in detail later) and end in Paris.

It just so happened that we were able to sneak in an extra day in France, in the city of Lyon.

Let me tell you. Twenty-four hours in Lyon is not enough.

After saying goodbye to Barcelona, we boarded a high-speed train and sped off to Lyon. We 

arrived late at night and took a city bus to our accommodation, which was idyllic! We have used airbnb.com for sleeping throughout Europe and have been very pleased with our experiences. This flat, specifically, was located in a quaint square within a kilometer of everything amazing in downtown Lyon.

Lyon is France’s third city population-wise. It is well-situated on two rivers in Eastern France’s Rhone-Alps region. Although the population does not match that of Paris or Marseille, Lyon’s culinary scene is arguably the best in France. Aside from fabulous food, Lyon is home to the Lumiere brothers. You know, the first filmmakers. The guys who invented the cinematograph. There is a museum and theatre in Lyon which commemorates their achievements. Lyon also has a picturesque waterfront lined with adorable buildings. Among a hundred other interesting sights like art museums and ancient architecture, Lyon has it’s own, newer version of Notre Dame.

But the food.

Aside from visiting Notre Dame and roaming the streets of “old” Lyon, we structured our day around food. Happily, we ate a very typical French breakfast in our neighborhood. Coffee and pastries. Not just any pastries, though. Fresh baked croissants and pain au chocolat.

For lunch, we splurged on a three-course meal at a typical Lyonnaise bouchon. We chose different dishes, which is common practice for us, so we can try more things! Everything was superb, but my second course was mind-blowing. It was this amazing steak tartar with dijon mustard and roasted potatoes.

And then there was chocolate cake. Heaven!

Unfortunately, the trip ended all too soon, because we were whisked away to our next train. Like I said, twenty-four hours in Lyon is not enough.

But we will be back.

P.S. Anthony Bourdain did an episode about Lyon, France on CNN’s Parts Unknown that you might want to check out! Click here for the episode!

Lyon from above.

River view.

One of many staircases throughout the old city. 

A little religious tourism for you. 

 Notre Dame of Lyon

Lucky girl. 

Not a vegetarian today. 

Lucky boy.

I wanted seconds. No, thirds.