After last minute tidying up of the apartment we called for an Uber and were off to the train station. We had only an hour or so to wait for our train to Annecy and we were impressed by the Lyon Part Dieu station. We spent a little time in a nice spacious waiting area with monitors advising of trains coming and going. When we saw our train's platform pop up on the departures screen, we headed for voie I, found it easily and zipped up the escalators to await the train.
It was good that we got there early since, soon after we settled into our seats, the train filled up and remained so pretty much the entire way to Annecy. It's Easter weekend after all.
The trip took about 2 hours and we passed through numerous villages large and small with the occasional stop. It was slightly exhilarating to feel the climb out of the valley into the alpine world and then to see the mountains with snow off in the distance.
We arrived in Annecy a couple minutes early. The station is right in the center of town and it was only a 10-minute walk to our apartment.
Up two flights of stairs and we were in! See the listing right here.
view from our living room window toward the lake
our room is at the corner 2nd (3rd floor)
After settling in we went off in search of the Tourist Information office. We found it just a block away overlooking the lakefront. We bought tickets for a lake boat cruise for Sunday afternoon and for a bus trip to the Gorges du Fier on Sunday morning. After picking up a map of the town we headed off to orient ourselves.
TI office
a nature expo of some sort going on inside the TI building
Our stroll began with the lakefront. This being Easter Weekend, the entire population of France and several eastern European countries joined us in that as well. Everywhere we went there was another small horde of people trying to get to the same places we were.
But it was a beautiful day and we were alive and healthy.
several teams of petanque or boule players being very serious
lots of paddle boats out
Pont des Amours
Jardin d'Europe
we'll be back there tomorrow queuing up for the boat
Thiou River
one of numerous tiny canals in town
We stopped at a Monoprix, picked up/dropped off some groceries then headed out for an aperitif.
street next to the Monoprix
We sat outside at Les Chardons d'Ecosse, literally right around the corner from our building in a small courtyard and had a glass of wine (me) and Lillet rosé (Susan).
Les Chardons d'Ecosse
Eventually we plunged back out into the crowds in search of a supper venue.
Monoprix grocery store again (on the right)
Since we were still early for dinner (at most places) we grabbed an outside table overlooking one of the canals at Captain Pub and had a glass of local white.
view from our table
We ultimately grabbed a table for dinner at Le Zinc & Raoul right next door to Captain Pub.
Susan had tartiflette vegetarien
For those who wonder, tartiflette is potatoes, onion, lardons (bacon) and Reblochon cheese all baked up. For the vegetarian version, the lardons are left out. It was all more than Susan could handle - at least the salad offered a fresh, light side.
I had l'escalope Savoyard
Steve's dish - thinly sliced chicken, grilled lardons, Reblochon and crème fraïche with a side of frites. Believe me, we don't usually eat like this.
It was a short walk back home.
Tomorrow a trip to the Gorges du Fier and a cruise on Lake Annecy.
It's our final full day in Lyon and we made the most of it -- all the while keeping to our schedule of relaxation and not feeling a need to rush out and do something or see something just to do it or see it.
Susan spent a part of our leisurely morning packing up most of our things, getting ready for our next and final leg of this trip.
But the day began with bright sun and promised to be one which demanded we be outside. And so out we went.
We walked over to the Place de Republique where a funky band had set up, cranking out music for the better part of the day. But we were off to find two other murals of some renown here in Lyon and to use up our public transport passes. We walked to Cordeliers bus stop and took the C14 to Terreaux Feuillée and walked over to the riverside. From there we walked up the quai in search of the fresque des Lyonnais, which we found after walking right by it.
Fresque des Lyonnais. Also included at ground level is a map identifying all these local celebrities (such as chef Paul Bocuse).
you can see the map and list directly below the title of the fresque
Susan and Paul Bocuse
We then walked back down the quai passing where we gotten off the bus and soon came upon our next quarry, the fresque de Bibliotheque.
From the fresque we made our way back in the direction of the place des Jacobins strolling down the rue Mercière and then through the passage de l'Argue.
A tasteful series of small boutique shops along the Passage de l'Argue.
Five minutes later we were back home and relaxed for a couple of hours before heading back out to soak up the sunshine and the Lyon vibe on Good Friday.
To do that we meandered our way across the Saône into old Lyon and then into the church of Saint Jean. The church, which was closed the last time we were in this neighborhood, was not only open but packed, mostly with young people. Somewhere the ethereal voice of a woman (we could never actually see her) was singing and offering readings - in French obviously and having to do with the Good Friday holy day.
And we noticed a curious phenomenon: down the side aisles were small clusters of young people waiting to sit and speak with one of the priests; there were probably three or four priests holding such one-on-one sessions on each side of the church.
Leaving the church we continued on rue Saint-Jean in search of Pralus, a pastry shop recommended by one of Susie's blog followers. The street was humming with activity and after a few minutes navigating the uneven cobblestones we found the shop which is famous for its pralines rose and their Praluline. That specialty is a buttery cake studded with crushed pralines. They were flying out the door.
On our way back home we stopped at a small shop selling tartelette écureuil (squirrel) -- a variation on Susie's caramel nut tart. I couldn't pronounce the word for squirrel and said to the young woman behind the counter tartelettesquirrel and she knew immediately what I wanted!
Back home we relaxed -- our general mode of living of late -- until later in the evening when we went out in search of an aperitif. We found a brasserie right on the Place des Jacobins where we enjoyed a glass of champagne, our first in France, believe it or not!
toasting a farewell to Lyon
Leaving the brasserie we made our way back to our neighborhood and Kaia, the place we had eaten on our very first night in the city.
We sat at the bar, in a nearly empty room and enjoyed a glass of Saint Joseph with our dinner of smashed potatoes and chicken tenders (the same meal I had that very first night). Not necessarily Lyonnais cuisine but delicious nonetheless. And Susie got to work on her French with the staff in the bargain! Friendly young people and the manager remembered us from our first visit to boot!
Eventually it was time to go home and so we did. We enjoyed a couple of slices of squirrel tart and Paul Bocuse red praline tart. Not a bad way to spend our last day in Lyon.
Tomorrow it's off to Annecy for our third and final chapter of this particular travel story.
