Leaving Paris and arriving in Lyon

Friday was a quiet day, spent preparing for departure from Paris. We took a last stroll through the Marais finishing with lunch at a cafe on the corner of rue Charlot and rue de Bretagne. We both had an Auvergne sausage and aligot which is mashed potato with cheese through it. Very yummy!! That was our farewell to Paris as we had an early start not to mention that it was cold and drizzly so not a great day for doing much.

We left our apartment at about 7.45 am so that we had plenty of time to have breakfast at the station and also to find our train. It was cold in Paris but when we got to Lyon it was freezing. We found the trolley bus required to get us to Vieux Lyon where we were staying but on arrival found no-one there to meet us. We rang the owners of the loge we were staying in but they did not answer their phones. Once again we are glad we acquired an Orange France local sim before leaving Aust. Fortunately when we were starting to feel anxious, the guy who was to let us in turned up, showed us around and gave us the keys. The room is comfortable and warm.

We bought a sandwich and took a walk around the old town looking at some of the oldest buildings and medieval walkways (traboules) of particular interest. One such house was Maison Chamarier built in 1498, and in the 17th century a place where the Marquise de Sevigné ( a famed lady of letters) is claimed to have stayed when in Lyon. [Since our research suggests that she divided her time between Paris and her Breton property, one suspects that the claim is overblown, and may rest on a coach stop during a visit to her daughter in Provence:  "En 1672 et 1673, la marquise de Sévigné séjourne chez le Chamarier de l’époque, beau-frère de son gendre le Comte de Grignan. Lyon lui sert de halte lorsqu'elle se rend au château de Grignan pour voir sa fille."] What it is used for today we don't know although it does house a boulangerie. The old town looks very touristy, every second business being a bouchon (a cafe which serves Lyonnais food) and most other businesses catering for the desires of tourists for food or souvenirs, several with English names, for example Elephant & Castle.