August 14, 2016
Lyon: The end of the first stage of our trip
There was a restaurant close to the hotel in yet another beautiful setting built partly over the river. They were justly proud as they had recently received a Michelin Star. Ken wasn't nearly as keen to visit it as I was but also he doesn't like starving, The setting, the food and the courtesy of the staff were all outstanding. They were so polite that they didn't even address one word in English to me and appeared to understand my fractured French. The meal itself - the first course of various hams and truffles, a main course of a kind of veal risotto then a desert which was a complicated concoction of a cake like substance, icecream and meringue with half a strawberry on top. Really good local wine. Ken particularly enjoyed watching someone taking their boat out of the river.
After a really excellent breakfast we lugged our bikes down the river and were riding in a green tunnel beside it. Even though it was still quite early it was warm. There were lots of cyclists and runners out on this Sunday morning. One of the amazing sights we saw was a man on an overgrown scooter but the difference was that he had two big Golden Retrievers harnessed to it and they were trotting along giving him a ride. When our children were little we had a Golden Retriever but she was so lazy she really didn't like going for a walk and only walked keenly when we were going towards home. The entire way was through parks of one sort or another. There was a magnificent one La Grande Parc. Here although it was only about 9.30 the extensive car parks were already filling up, families were setting up picnics under trees and dogs eagerly chasing balls.
Probably the most exciting thing we came to was Le Puce. It is an absolutely huge area selling all sorts of junk. It is complete with many disreputable looking people and mangy dogs but amongst all this are some very well dressed people picking through the assortment looking for some prize. Ken thought it wonderful and in particular the most decayed looking motor bike which he announced would be pre war and worth thousands if he could only get it to NZ. We had a grubby looking coffee feeling we rather stuck out as the two men next to us were smoking cigars and drinking beer. At the table on the other side were a very elegant couple, she in a flowing white dress and interested to see what we were up to.
Riding the last few kilometres into Lyon is gorgeous and the city looks beautiful. Even though the area we were staying in is a mass of train lines, motorways and stations we had no trouble finding our hotel as this is where we had stayed when we were in Lyon for two nights last year and a little local knowledge goes a long was. It is very hot now at 7pm it is still 33 degrees, I had taken the precaution of reserving a room with AC so we can hide out there. The weather will be same for the next few days so we will leave very early and travel only short distances aiming to stop riding around 11am
Today's ride: 32 km (20 miles)
Total: 539 km (335 miles)
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