Everyone managed to rise without too much prodding after a long day. Nice to have some more conventional b’fast fixins (yoghurt and such) before departing the Barge. On the #8 to Perrache once more where we disembarked and walked along the Saone rive adroit to find our guides Pierre and Amillee close to but not precisely at the prescribed meeting point. After I tested out the public facility (no one else dared - good thing), we connected with some additional folks and we were off along the bike lane headed north along the Saone.
After a couple of stops where Pierre pointed out some of the history of Lyon (notably the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere being on top of an unstable hill that is at risk of a major slide), we arrived at Parc Tete d’Or. This large parc opened at about the same time as Central Park in New York, it is about 20% of the size of Central Park. Pierre relayed the legend of a golden bust of Jesus in the lake. Rode around the parc and then through a very long tunnel across to the Rhone. Pierre stopped for a “pee” break for the ladies using an “organic” facility which made the public toilette I used positively civilized. The one lady on our tour that inspected the offering came back out declaring it to be unsuitable. Onward we passed a public pool along the Rhone rive a gauche that was famous for it’s Olympics origin, but not used for that purpose. That pretty much wrapped up the two hour tour and we returned to the beginning where half the riders bid farewell. Amillee led us to a quaint little shop where we were treated to some Prailine syrup (original recipe) mixed with wine, and a really great sampling of sausages and cheeses made for this unique little Lyon speciality shop. Pierre asked if we wanted to carry on cycling for the rest of the second half, which after learning would include a ride up to the Basilica, we were game - so off we went. Glad to have the peddle assist for the winding climb, a great stop to view the “fake” Eiffel Tower
and Basilica and a final stop to walk around in and out of the church. Spectacular view of Lyon from on high, and a beautiful (active) Catholic Church which is a part of the European Christian pilgrimage leading to Spain and the famous El Camino, seemed a bit of a stretch, but this was not the only “exaggeration” articulated by our guide. We took a quick look through the inside of the Basilica, then off for the steep downslope with a brief stop at the Lugdunum Roman ruins, with seating for up to 10,000?!? on the hillside. One last stop in front of St. Jean cathedral made the second half of our eBike tour or Lyon more than offset the relatively lame first half. Returned the bikes to the starting spot and took a shortcut through the ancient secret passage way (traboules) to avoid the heavily trafficked Quai Romain Rolland, we found what appeared to be the only open restaurant, which sadly turned out to be a Halal operation (sans alcohol), but we enjoyed a soft drink - very sweet iced tea.
We wandered around the cobblestones and found the Wallace - a british style pub that apparently ignored the mid afternoon closures (oddly the Elephant and Castle across the street was buttoned down). After a pint, we made our way back to the Sirop de la Rue and bought some wine and sausage, picked up a six pack and Karen and I said we’d had enough and would hop in and Uber back to the Barge while the younguns continued exploring Vieux Lyon. “Hop in an Uber” proved more challenging than I had imagined with a bunch of false starts, a move to what would hopefully be a better pick up spot and another lengthy wait, we finally got a ride. Along the way, we passed the kids who had made it most of the way back on foot. Once at the barge, a charcuterie was prepared and we had a wine, cheese and sausage party on the top deck. Some discussion about what next, but all were happy for an ETB after two full days exploring Lyon.
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