Lyon - a city to come back to

It took us just about 2 hours to get to Lyon in France. The hotel was a hit with the most superb staff. Carlton Hotel is located in the center of Lyon and our views were of the big shopping street below. Still we hardly heard anything of the nightlife outside.

I had no expectations and I knew nothing about this city and I have to say I was happily surprised. I am not much of a city person but Lyon fits me like a glove. It reminds me a bit of Stockholm with the water and bridges and the architecture, which at places dates back to the 13th and 14th century. The buildings are magnificent. The streets are clean. It has a vibe of modern and vintage, mystery and simplicity. It is elegant and has a fresh feel.

We went out for a traditional Lyon dinner at a popular bouchon restaurant that first night. A friendly and simple place serving rustic meat dishes. It was good. The next day we ended up in an authentic Lyonaisse restaurant and that was a totally different story. If we had known that 90% of the menu was made from organs we would have chosen another place, we were slightly out of our comfort zone if I say so,  but it added to the adventure factor... The cheese platter was good and we finished the evening with ice cream and drinks to re-set out palettes. Being a tourist is not always easy.

We strolled the streets of Lyon, in rain and wind, stopped for lunch sandwiches and coffees. First up was the shop with the Liberty fabric but the announcement of selling this lovely fabric for 15 EUR a meter was restricted to a few pieces of fabric on sale... I still enjoyed the visit and just to touch teh Liberty fabric in real life was an experience in itself. I am not sure about using Liberty fabric for quilting though. It is more of a light garment making fabric in my opinion. But of course I didn't leave empty handed. No no no. I spent WAY to much money in there. I'll show you some other time.

The old town of Lyon was filled with Antique stores and Boutiques, Wine bars and Second Hand shops.  We visited shoe shops and clothes shops, quilt shops and how many hat shops were there??? Many! We just had to little time to explore it all, which gives us a great reason to go back. Soon! And do all the museums, markets and down town restaurants as well. And even some more shopping.

Kärlek
Annette