The flight from Boston was on Delta this time. Newer and more complicated check-in, then a long walk to the boarding gate. Unable to change to a more comfortable seat. Nonetheless, made it to Schiphol Airport at Amsterdam, got through passport control where I was tested on my knowledge of US Presidents, and had another long walk to the boarding gate for my connecting flight to St. Exupéry outside Lyon. VBT’s van then picked me up along with Dick and Anne from Houston and took us to the Hotel Charlemagne in Lyon. After settling in, had a talk with the hotel manager about the hotel’s failure to get me a concert ticket, and got a suitable apology, along with some chocolates. The hotel was good enough to provide three one-day transit passes which I took advantage of during my stay. I walked through the train station, only a couple blocks away, to the main city, where I walked a ways on Rue Victor Hugo and tried the subway. Interestingly, while surface traffic, including the trams, runs on the right side, the subway runs on the left a la Britain. After transferring from the A line to the C line, I went a stop or two to check out a restaurant I was considering—turned out to be out of my comfort range in price—and noticed the C line was actually a cog railway, as it had to climb the rather significant hill of the Croix Rousse. Came back to the Hotel de Ville stop and saw the Opera House and the Place des Terreaux with its monumental Bertholdi fountain and the Beaux Arts museum. Wandered around some, picked up some postcards to send back, then backtracked to Perrache and took the #1 tram on a scouting mission to Part Dieu where the concert hall was located. Having nailed down how to get there for the next evening’s concert, I retreated to the hotel to relax a little. Went back to the Place des Terreaux for dinner at Café des Fédérations, a bouchon specializing in Lyonnaise specialties, but it was booked full that night and in any case didn’t open till 8. Had dinner instead at Léon de Lyon nearby, which was eminently satisfactory. I was dragging after the flight and a day’s sightseeing, so it was back to the hotel where I wrote out the postcards and hit the sack.
Day two was devoted to Vieux Lyon. Subway A line from Perrache to Bellecour, changing to the D line to Vieux Lyon, which connected directly to the funicular up the Fourvière hill. At the Minimes stop were two theaters going back to Roman times. Some more climbing (past, inter alia, a music conservatory) brings one to the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière, s 19th century church built at the highest point in Lyon to celebrate the defeat of the Paris Commune. From there I took the other funicular line back down to the Vieux Lyon stop. A block or so away was the Cathedrale St. Jean, a wonderful Gothic church, which, alas, was undergoing repairs/restoration that obscured some of the windows and the astronomical clock. It was then time for lunch, and I found a boulangerie that was selling sandwiches—the line of patrons outside was what recommended it to me—so I got my lunch and ate al fresco on the steps of the cathedral. I wandered around the area and discovered the “long traboule,” a closed alleyway that passed between houses. After picking up a fridge magnet souvenir, I wandered back to the Saône and crossed on the cable-stayed footbridge. At the entrance to the bridge there were water jets that from time to time squirted: for show, to rinse the approach, or both—I don’t know for sure. On the peninsula side of the bridge was where the river tours departed, so I waited for the next boat. Naturally the actual schedule did not correspond well with that posted, but a boat eventually came along and I took a worthwhile trip upriver and back. After the trip I grabbed some refreshment at a riverside cafe, walked back through Place Bellecour, and caught the subway to Perrache, whence I caught a tram down Cours Charlemagne to an ATM for some cash. Walking back to the hotel necessitated a stop at Ste. Blandine church a block from the hotel, another Gothic marvel. I rested a bit at the hotel, then, unable to find a restaurant open early enough, I walked down Cours Charlemagne to the food court of a large indoor/outdoor mall and grabbed something quick. Returning to the hotel, I changed for the evening’s concert—Orchestre National de Lyon/Leonard Slatkin—and hopped on the tram to the concert hall, aka Auditorium. After the Beethoven triple concerto and other works (including an encore called Carmen Hoedown,) I got the tram back to the hotel and went to bed.
The last day was the one rainy day of the visit, but I had planned to do museums today, so it didn’t interfere. Started, and spent most of the day and the Musée des Beaux Arts, which had a really first rate collection. Lunch at the museum, and picked up another postcard to send. After finishing, I returned to Perrache and took the tram to Centre d’Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation, primarliy a history mueeum of Lyon’s darkest days during WWII. There was some English translation, but much was in French, which sometimes was irrelevant and sometimes not. Nonetheless a worthwhile hour or so to end the afternoon. From there it was back to the hotel to relax a little, then dinner at Brasserie Georges near Perrache. A lovely Art Deco (mostly) brasserie with good food, and a fitting last meal in Lyon.