Tour De France - Part 4

(I thought I could get it all in one final post, but it got too long... here's Lyon, the TT is up next.)

It's all come down to this. We had our fun on the shores of Lake Como, got drunk on the infamous Alpe D'Huez, and even abused the little Peugeot rental car on curvy alpine roads. But here we are, the final penultimate installment of an epic Tour de France journey.

First off, we had been planning on waking up early after Alpe D'Huez to catch the start of the next day's racing. For some reason, after getting in past 1 am the night before, that didn't sound like such a good plan.

Instead we pushed off at a leisurely pace and had a fun little drive to Lyon. We stopped in the town of La Mure along the way for lunch. Jacob got to experience his very first Croque Monsieur, and it was just as delicious as my Croque Madame. (Please don't read anything too deep into our sandwich selections, or the fact that our hotel in Lyon had the beds pushed together.)

Not sure why, but I thought this door in La Mure was cool.

La Mure was really just a way to kill time so that we didn't get caught in hours of traffic following road closures from the tour, which mostly worked. We only hit a minor hiccup on the roads to Lyon, and before we knew it we were horribly lost in yet another new city. Yes, GPS would have come in quite handy at this point. However, a quick stop at a random hotel to steal a map and we were all checked in and ready to hit the town.

Lyon is famous for a few things, but the best by far is the food. In the "old city" of Vieux Lyon, the street is littered with bouchons, authentic (and delicious) food. Over the course of a few nights, we sampled a couple of different bouchons around that part of town, and were rarely disappointed. (There was an incident where part of the restaurant next to us collapsed, but people just kept on eating, so I guess it wasn't a big deal.)

Jacob on top of Fourviere Hill.

In addition to a gastronomic adventure, we also took in some of the famous sites of Lyon. First and foremost is the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière, an iconic white cathedral perched on top of the hill overlooking the rest of the city.

Basilica in the background, with a mini-tower nearby.

The second day in Lyon we spent walking around Croix-Rousse and Vieux Lyon, investigating (and getting lost amongst) the many traboules that provide cut-through access to the streets. They're also some of the longest and steep stairs I've seen in a while. If either Jacob or I had been in any sort of shape, I imagine a crew-practice-stadium type run would have ensued. Luckily, we decided to ignore those instincts and hit the bar instead.

One of the many cut-throughs (traboules) we tackled in Lyon.

Market in Croix-Rousse

We had a great time in Lyon. And aside from a slight language barrier at one lunch stop, we managed to navigate our way around the city with ease. More importantly, managed to successfully eat our way all over the town for 2 solid days. Delicious.

Here are the pictures from the city. Up next (hopefully without all the waiting) is the time trial.