Lyon - Delightful

St. Jean Cathedral
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Tom and I traveled to Lyon for a joint business/pleasure trip.  The business part was the Bocuse D'or, which I will detail in my next entry, for now we will focus on the pleasure.

Lyon is the second biggest city in France and a very scenic place.  The city has two rivers, tons of architecture and sprawling suburbs.  It is located near the mountains and reminded me a bit of Calgary - likely because of the rivers and mountains, but it was nice to feel a bit at home.

I call bollocks on that

Fourviere
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The locals, to my surprise, were really friendly.  I had heard all kinds of horrible things about the French, but the Lyonnaise made us feel welcome and even encouraged us to use our french.

The city is centered around two of the oldest churches in France and, what I would imagine are the most beautiful.  Unfortunately the city has a decisive lack of markets, being January they were all closed for the winter.

Tom and I tried unsuccessfully to discover the Lyon nightlife.  After almost a week there, I am still not sure if one exists.  Lonely Planet recommended a number of bars, but when we went to find them they were all closed.  Apparently if you want to party in Lyon it better be before 10 pm.  The partying that we did do was at lounges and involved just the two of us - woo hoo!

Lyon
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Another major disappointment in Lyon was the food.  Lyon has been billed as the culinary capital of France.  I call bollocks on that.  We went to a very high end brasserie and had the most disappointing meal ever.  Granted our expectations were very high, but really this brasserie does not deserve the acclaim that it has been granted.

I know this entry sounds like a lot of complaining, but my overall impression of Lyon was really positive.  I had a really good time and can't wait to bring Shannon back to this city.