France Ski Trip Day 1: A Night on the Town

To give you a better idea of where we were, the purple pin on the left side is the basilica in the old part of Lyon where we would later end up.  The red 'A' pin in the bottom right of the map is where our hotel was.

Here is a link to more about the basilica:
Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière

Credit: Google Maps

We grabbed the metro down to the older/cool part of the city.   It was Friday night and everyone was out and about.  I observed that everyone loved to wear dark colors...especially black.  The men's jeans and pants were definitely on the slimmer side as well.  I knew I should have packed my skinny jeans....anyway, isn't this ferris wheel cool?

Photo Credit: Me

After getting off the metro, we walked around crossing the Rhône and Saône rivers via some very large bridges to find something for dinner.  This would prove to be a tough choice as there was a cafe about every 50 feet.  The streets were narrow and catered to foot traffic although there was the occasional scooter or car that navigated the cobble stone paths.  The deciding factor on dinner was going to be the price.  I was told by Jason that eating out in general was expensive.  The portions were sometimes quite small.

Photo Credit: Me

We eventually settle on a restaurant for the night which had a number of fixed menus to choose from.  This seemed to be the standard around these parts although you could order a la carte if you wished.  We ordered a bottle of wine and started munching on the fresh bread brought to the table.  I chose the 12.50 Euro meal which included a salad, sirloin with shallots, and a chocolate mousse which was to die for.  I meant to take pictures of all the food we ate but, unfortunately, I remembered this right as I was finishing my mousse.  My friends enjoyed similar fixed menus which included lamb chops and the mousse.  Their starter salads were slightly different.

The actual dining area we sat in was more like the basement and I should have taken a picture of that as well.  A couple times we thought we were forgotten because as the night wore on, we became the last group downstairs.  Eventually someone would come tend to us.  

Side Note: The one thing Jason wanted to show us was the basilica at top of the large hill in the old part of the city.  Unfortunately it had already closed by the time we got down to that part of town.  There is even a small trolley car metro line that takes you up the steep hill to the basilica and surrounding neighborhood.  We did eventually get there but not until the very end of our ski trip journey.  Something to look forward to in future blog posts!  

Leaving dinner, Jason mentioned that there really wasn't any sort of open container law in these parts.  He recommended getting some after dinner beers and strolling around town some more until we felt like heading back.  After a quick stop at the convenience store, we were off once again.  Crossing the rivers and heading towards our hotel, we decide it would be easier to take a bus back as we were tired and it was getting late.  We found a stop and waited...and waited...and waited...meanwhile all that beer didn't help the situation.  Finally the bus/tram machination shows up and carts us back near our hotel.

I collapse and fall asleep...the end of Day 1, consisting of many more than 24 hours.  I had to be over jet lag at this point right?  Day 2 starts the trek to the mountain!

For those that have never experienced jet lag, read about it here!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_lag

We will return to Lyon on our way back to the USA.  More stories to be told for sure.

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