Our train from Colmar to Mulhouse, then onward to Lyon was uneventful. We got to Lyon Part-Dieu Station and then to our apartment, a wonderful, large unit, with high ceilings, on Rue Confort, in the high rent district, fairly quickly. The Missus was already looking forward to getting back to Paris, but to say I was quite excited is an understatement. After all, Lyon has been dubbed the "capital of gastronomy", not only for France, but of the world. I think that might be a rather tall order, but I'd been reading about Bouchon's, not of the Thomas Keller type, but true Lyonnaise Bouchons, the one's (of which there are 22 as I type this) that are certified. And then there's the late, legendary, Paul Bocuse, who according to many changed French Gastronomy, and brought chefs to the forefront, and was a pioneer of the Nouvelle Cuisine movement in France. Who was based in France and whose name I first heard when I saw a show on the Bocuse d'Or many years ago. Excited? Me? You bet…..
Of course, there are just so many meals one can have in a day, or so the Missus tells me. So, what else to do in Lyon? Well, Lyon is listed by UNESCO, as a World Heritage Site. The city itself has a long, interesting history, established back in 43 BC by the Gauls, and was named Lugdunum. Due to the city's strategic location; between the navigable Saône and Rhône rivers and being between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, the city soon became the capital of the Gauls. Ok, I see your eyes glazing over, enough of that for now….but hopefully, I made my point, right? In other words, there's heck of a lot of history here……
Our apartment was located in the Presqu'île, the "Peninsula", basically the center of everything. So once we dropped our bags off, the Missus wanted to do some walking. Less than a half block away was picturesque Place des Jacobins and it's distinctive fountain.
We walked North to Place des Terreaux and Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) de Lyon.
Things were much more lively here. With people milling about.
There's a famous fountain created by Bartholdi, you know, the guy who built this thing called the Statue of Liberty. The fountain features Marianne, France's symbol of the Republic, riding on the chariot drawn by four horses representing the four rivers of France. The horses snort, steam as it guides the rivers to the sea! Such high drama!
Heading back to the apartment after stretching our legs, we passed the Palais de la Bourse, where there seemed to be an event going on. It was the Annual Silk Festival. We decided to attend.
First off, the interior of the Palais de la Bourse is quite fetching. Along with gastronomy, Lyon is considered the capital of the European Silk Industry. In 1466 Louis XI decided to set-up silk manufacturing in Lyon.
We really enjoyed the various booths and the Missus got to pick up some gifts for Frankie's Aunties who were watching him while we travelled.
Here's a nice timeline of Lyon's silk history.
We found it quite interesting that Japan had an entire room with various silk displays. The women saw us, bowed and started speaking to us in Japanese!
It was a wonderful time. If you'd like more info on this annual festival, here's the website.
We walked back to the apartment to drop off our purchases and then headed out to dinner.
I had really wanted to eat at a Bouchon on our first night in Lyon; I thought it would set the right mood for our short visit. It was however, Sunday, and most of the Bouchon's were closed. There was one place open on this evening that I had high on my list; Le Bouchon des Filles. While not certified, I'd read many good things about the place. The owners, "des Filles" are two women who paid their dues at the very traditional, highly regarded, Café des Fédérations. I had heard the portions weren't super humongous and since women, specifically Mothers are part of the rich history of the Bouchon, the Les Mères Lyonnaises; I thought it would be a good start. Also, there the common thread (pun intended) of silk that runs through the history of the Bouchon as well, as these inns and taverns were originally created to feed the silk workers.
One problem though; I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get a reservation online. So, we walked on over, and I dutifully waited outside….being the first in line when the place opened. And viola! We got a table
Which was a darned good thing too as the place filled up fast. Within a few minutes, folks without reservations were being turned away.
Like most Bouchons, it's a prix fixe menu….not a fancy schmancy chef's menu; but you get to choose your main course out of Bouchon Classics and then all the entrees (side dishes) come out. The Missus was enjoying Her wine when things started arriving.
The Missus loves lentils, so the green lentil with chorizo really hit the spot with Her. Savory chorizo, smokiness from the sausage, the lentils cooked perfectly.
The rustic pork terrine was wonderful; so porky and rich. The cabbage salad was fairly ordinary and bland.
Before our mains we were presented with an amuse; a veloute, that tasted of cauliflower if I'm not mistaken. Regardless, the Missus loved it.
The Missus went all out with Her main, ordering the Andouillette. Which was a good choice.
This tripe and offal stuffed sausage was served with a nice, punchy mustard sauce, which nicely complimented the offal. As you can see; it was literally exploding with flavor!
The gratin de pommes were delicious; the potatoes nicely flavored and seasoned, thinly sliced and stacked, quite tender…..
The Missus had Her doubts about my ordering the Quenelle, worried about fishy or a muddy tasting "dumpling".
She could not have been more wrong; this was delicious. The fish used was red mullet, not the traditional pike, so the flavor was mild, which let through the wonderful savory-slightly briny sweetness of the crayfish. The sauce was a luxuriously seafood-y delight as well. The quenelle was so tender.
The cheese course was a creamy brie and an interesting, very soft cheese called Cervelle de canut ("silk worker's brain"), which was slightly garlick and herbaceous, with a slight pungent (from shallots) flavor.
And of course, the Missus picked some stuff from the dessert menu; which She seemed to enjoy.
Friendly service, good prices, good food, and a nice first meal in Lyon!
Le Bouchon Des Filles
20 rue Sergent Blandan
69001 Lyon, France
We headed back to the apartment and had a great night of sleep!
The next morning we awoke and just kinda hung around for a while. Before finally heading out for our "walk". It was fairly quiet when we headed out.
This was to be our "busy" day in the city, checking out Vieux Lyon and the Fourvière.
We crossed on over the Saône River on Passerelle du Palais de Justice to "Old Lyon" (Vieux Lyon).
It's called "Old Lyon" for a reason; it is the city's oldest district. Banking and the silk industry made Lyon quite prosperous from the 16th to the 18th century and much of it was displayed in this area, which has a large number of Renaissance structures still in view.
Crossing over the river towards Saint Jean Cathedral, we came upon an example of how long people have been living in the area. While walking to the cathedral we came upon this site.
These are ruins of churches dating back to the first century.
There are many grand looking structures in the area. This is the very gothic looking Palais Saint Jean, the former headquarters of the Archdiocese in the city.
And right around the corner is the Place Saint Jean. Looking up toward the Fourvière, you can see the Basilique Notre Dame looming above.
It's a very nice square, with the Saint Jean Cathedral crowning it.
The Cathedral took over 200 years to build, starting in the 12th century. Because it took so long to build, the structure displays a combination of the Romanesque and Gothic styles.
Lyon is called the "Primate of the Gauls", considered to be the oldest Christian city in France. Much has happened here; the coronation of Pope John XXII in 1316, the marriage of Henry IV to Marie de Medici in 1600.
As impressive a pedigree was of the Cathedral, there was one thing I wanted to see……
Folks who read this blog know that I'm fascinated by Plague Columns and Astronomical clocks. And there's one in Saint Jean's Cathedral.
This one dates back to the 14th century, which I understand was destroyed in the 16th century.
I'm not sure what it is about these clocks that fascinate me……I'm neither an engineer, nor mechanically inclined….but there something about tracking the passage of time along with the heavens that gets my attention.
Anyway, we also enjoyed the stained glass and the basic layout of the Cathedral.
One block over is what is considered a great example of a Lyonnaise Renaissance building, Place de Basoche.
For some reason, it's totally not what I had envisioned for the Renaissance.
And a few steps away was a charming street, that featured a Traboule. What is a traboule you may ask….well, the sixth grader in me will latch on to the term "secret passage". Traboules were passages that cut through various buildings, a series of shortcuts if you will, that linked the streets of Lyon. Much of the traboules are said to be linked to….well, the silk trade of course, used to transport the silk from the river, protected from the mist and rain, to shops and storage areas. There is said to be hundreds of these in Lyon. About forty or so are open to the public…..when the doors that lead to them are open. We found one, behind this door….which was unlocked…..
Which lead us through a couple buildings from Rue Saint Jean to Rue de Boeuf.
It was quite fascinating…..though we now had a hill to climb…..and of course, knowing the Missus, the funicular was not included in that plan….
I realize that this has been a pretty loooong post. If you've hung in there for the 1750 words or so, thanks so much!
