Day 1
We arrived in Lyon about 4pm on Saturday, May 11. After waiting over half an hour for our bags, we emerged from customs and found our tour director, Jean-Jacques Legalle. We boarded the coach and met our driver, Emmanuel. The drive to the hotel took about an hour, during which we got to know Jean-Jacques (JJ) a little, and begin appreciating his wicked sense of humor. This was going to be a great tour!
We were given an hour or so to settle into our rooms and freshen up. JJ had told us about Les Halles, an indoor market that was two blocks from the hotel. Mike and Marilyn and I set out to find the market and explore. If you’re familiar with Cleveland’s West Side Market, let me just say that Les Halles in Lyon (and we were later to learn – similar markets throughout France), is West Side Market on steroids! [Read a foodie’s review of Les Halles.] After feasting our eyes on meats, cheeses, and macarons, we hurried back to the hotel for the official start of our tour.
We began our adventure together with a kir (regional aperitif made by combining five parts white wine with one part crème de cassis – black currant wine – or by another account, “a thumb’s level of crème de cassis covered with white wine”) in the bar. There were only 14 travelers on this trip. That meant that getting into and out of places would go much more quickly than with a larger group. The downside was that some of the activities we had signed up for would be cancelled for lack of participation.
From the hotel, we went to Chabert & Fils for dinner. The decor of the restaurant was eclectic. Antique gewgaws covered the walls, and several dozen puppets were attached to the ceiling, as a nod to the history of Guignol puppetry in this region of France.
Dinner Menu
Aperitif Kir
Salade Lyonnaise or Saucisson chaud (hot pork sausage) avec sauce Beaujolaise or Small raviolis stuffed with herbs avec blue cheese cream sauce
Pike dumpling with topped with a crayfish, crayfish cream sauce and rice or Salmon with lemon butter sauce and pasta or Chicken fricassee with Lyonnaise cheese sauce and rice
Fromage blanc or ½ St. Marcellin
Crème caramel or tarte aux pralines or fondant au chocolat
Permit me to wax rhapsodic about fromages blanc (white cheese). Oh.My.God. 
This French cheese is sort of like natural yogurt without the bite, or like a puréed cream cheese with more flavor. (Click the link in the menu above to learn more.) The waiters passed sugar to sprinkle on the cheese. Honestly, I could have made an entire meal of this cheese, a little biscuit, and a cup of tea. Délicieux!
For dessert, I chose the chocolate cake, which was similar to a flourless chocolate cake. A perfect end to a wonderful meal.
Day 2
Our first full day in France began with a lavish breakfast buffet, followed by a guided tour of Lyon with local guide Nicola. Emmanuel navigated the narrow, winding roads to take us up the Fourvière hill, from which one gets a sweeping view of Lyon and the Saône and Rhone river valleys. We stepped inside Notre Dame de Fourvière, with which I had fallen in love on a concert tour visit ten years ago. The mosaic murals in this basilica are exquisite. The brilliant decorations inside the basilica have to be seen to be appreciated and believed. Cameras can’t do it justice. When I had first visited, I had been taking mosaic classes in Tucson. 
The detail of the work and the brilliance of the colors took my breath away. The murals in the lower level of the church were under renovation at that time and I was looking forward to seeing them again. Alas, a festival was taking place there on the day we visited and we could not see the extensive tilework.
The tiles were all ordered from Venice and the island of Murano. The colors are all very precise and distinct, and are created with animal bone ash, allowing the minute variations in colors and the wide palette of hues.
After viewing the Roman ruins, we drove back down the hill to Vieux Lyon, the old city of Lyon. Here I was thrilled to again visit Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Lyon, where I sang in 2004 with The Washington Chorus. Two weeks before our visit, the astronomical clock dating from 1383, located in the transept near the altar, was damaged by a (according to our tour director) “loony” attempting to destroy the clock. We could get no closer to the clock than about 20 feet. (A couple of weeks later, the same Iranian man was arrested in Paris for attempting to slash a rabbi’s throat.)
Panoramic view of Lyon from the Fourvière hill
A unique feature of Vieux Lyon is the traboules. I had walked through the traboules on my earlier visit. Being a fiberholic, I had loved the story about how they were used to protect the silk moving from one stage of production to another. I asked our guide if he was going to talk about the use of traboules to protect the silk. I had heard and read of this use from many sources, but Nicola said that wasn’t so. He said the traboules’ origin was far earlier than the silk trade in Lyon. Further, he stated, the silk merchants waited for the rain to carry the silk down the hill to the marketplace, as they were paid for their silks by weight, and wet silk was much heavier than dry! And yet as I read more guidebooks, the writers all talked about the use of the traboules to transport rolls of silk. Who do ya believe?
Given a couple of hours to explore and have lunch, we stepped into Le Petit Glouton and enjoyed savory crepes. After our lunch break, we reboarded the coach and headed to the medieval town of Pérouges. Pérouges was delightful. Our guide, Daniela, introduced us to the church-fortress (église-forteresse), and then led us around the cobblestone streets of the town. Marilyn and I kept envisioning how we could spend a summer month here, venturing out for day trips to other towns in the area. Read more about the history of Pérouges. And here is another nice travel blog post about Pérouges.
Daniela told us the church is popular for weddings, but that brides show up in their most chic high heels, never taking into account the cobblestone streets. I also loved that every few feet a cobblestone has been drilled out and a small light installed to shine up on the adjacent building. I’d love to walk those streets after dark and see the effect of those lights. (See Jas’s toe pointing to the light embedded in the cobblestone.)
[Now these are beautiful shots of Pérouges!]
As this was a food and wine tour, our visit to Pérouges included a wine tasting at Caveau Saint-Vincent. (Note: I searched for more information on this winery, but was unsuccessful. Their website is under construction.) The owner introduced us to his wines, made from organic grapes. Alas, he spoke no English. We bought several bottles to bring home, as we have friends who are always searching for organic wines. The medieval cellar was enchanting.
You will also notice, toward the end of the slideshow at the bottom of this page, two pictures of a local delicacy, the galette. It’s similar to a dessert pizza, a flatbread spread with a custard and then topped with cream and sugar. Jas’s sweet tooth demanded that he sample a galette, and those of us who stole a bite from it were glad he did! Unbelievable!
[Another blog post about a visit to Pérouges]
[And one more specifically about the galettes]
After a couple of hours walking around Pérouges, we headed back to Lyon. Jean-Jacques suggested a restaurant where he wished to have dinner and told us we could accompany him if we wanted. 
The place he wished to go was inexplicably closed, so we wandered around the corner and happened upon the delightful Pizzeria La Squadra where we passed an enjoyable evening. This was the first of many happenstances that added to our enjoyment of the tour.
I have to tell you about this meal. First, we were served by the delightful Arnaud. Honestly, in retrospect, I don’t believe we had a surly or unkind waiter anywhere on this trip. Arnaud was great fun. We were at the end of our second day, and I felt like I had been eating non-stop since leaving Pittsburgh. I wanted something light and got the goat cheese salad. 
Ooooooh. Just what I wanted. In fact, judging by the ooohs and aaahs around the table, I believe everyone got exactly what they wanted and were swept away by the tastes and textures.
And because I only had a salad for dinner, when I heard the waiter list profiteroles on the dessert menu, I caved. My history with this wonderful dessert (a cream puff filled with ice cream and topped with hot fudge) dates from 
1971, and of course I had to taste it at the source. (A personal wink here to my college piano duet partner, known on my blogs as PianoLady. Our profiterole history is long and multifaceted.)
To this point in his life, I believe Jas had never passed up an opportunity for crème brûlée. This meal continued that tradition, although by the end of our time in France, that was to change!
Sated, stuffed, and tired, we headed back to the hotel to pack.
Next: Dijon
