Lyon en pied

 Well, I was ready to marche a lot earlier than the other tourists, watched the sun come up from the top deck.  While the barge is a bit stranded on the Rive Adroit de la Saone, there is a nice view of Le Confluence (2iem Arrondissement) across the river.  So we got a late start by hopping on the city bus (stops right at the boat) and taking the short ride to Gare Perrache.  We walked north along the rive gauche and crossed over at a pedestrian pont.  Found a Boulangerie acote de la Cafe in Vieux Lyon and enjoyed the classic petit dejeuner on the trottoir.  

Then crossed back over and commenced our exploration of the centre ville.  Nothing would do but a cocktail at the Hotel Royal in a quaint little bar appointed in red velvet right next to Place Bellacour in the 5iem Arrondissement.  The Fan Zone that had been operating on the Place throughout the RWC pool round was being dismantled.  We then wandered around aimlessly shopping and people watching until we found l’epicerie de Ginette Bistro a Tartines where we had a croque monsieur and some very sweet wine.  Back to the self guided shopping tour we made our way south (more or less) through the “shopping area” and past the Gare Parrache into Le Confluence.  Within the modern shopping center, we found an elevated patio overlooking the Saone and across from the Barge and enjoyed some afternoon sun.  The weather was spectacular on this bright autumn day.  After that, we gathered some supplies at Carrefour and then tracked down an Uber for the fairly short trip back across the Saone and up Quai Jean Jacques Rousseau to our accommodation.  Not much time to have a nap and freshen up before we jumped back on the city bus to Gare Perrache and a short walk to Rustique, the Michelin star restaurant that Myles had reserved for us some months ago.  It was a truly special culinary experience with twelve (12!) courses (four hours!) of unique dishes peculiar to this region of France (including Catfish, which is an invasive species to French rivers and has predated most fresh water species out of existence!).  Paired with fine wines for each course (I have no idea what we were drinking) it was tres magnifique (even the pigeon) and a memorable evening beautifully prepared and presented by Helene and Maxime!  Being well past bedtime at midnight, we waited on the sketchy street outside the restaurant for what seemed a long time for an Uber to run us back to la Barge.  The tourists were played out and we all fell into our beds after logging possibly far too many steps on this first full day of our adventure.