From the Furnicular to La Cave de Voyageurs

On our third day in Lyon, we boarded the furnicular to La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere, a 19th-century basilica with 4 octagonal towers. From there we had lunch at Daniel & Denise restaurant, a Michelin rated bouchon (Traditional Lyonnaise restaurant) recommended by our taxi driver and it lived up to the recommendation. From there we crossed the Saone and took the one-hour boat north and then south to the confluence of the Saone and Rhone rivers with sightings of the orange cheese, green pencil sharpener and the Confluence Musée. Dinner with Phyllicia was at the Paul Bocuse Brassiere L’Ouest, a massive restaurant with wonderful food.

The next day we strolled the markets for lunch and stopped at the Gadagne Musée, just a few doors down from our apartment in Vieux Lyon. We visited the hidden cafe, a charming 4th floor cafe where we had espresso and chocolate. We crossed the river, seeing the sculpture of a man saving himself, and walked to Bellecour, the largest square (rectangle?) in Europe, and on to the Rhone and the long-renovated Hotel Dieu

, a massive complex with shopping — all integrated in the old buildings. Phyllicia arrived to meet us at the La Cave de Voyageurs for a tasting o

f local wines with charcuterie — if only we had known they were bringing in a freshly roasted pork confit and putting it on the bar.

Tomorrow we’re off to Provence…