A Quick Trip: Overnight to Lyon!

Whew! We just got back from a whirlwind 10 days in Spain in one of our famous “turn a work trip into an opportunity to sight-see” visits. The baby did four flights! It was a little overambitious and a little taxing but we’re settling in and I’m trying to play catch-up!

Before we went to Spain, we were lucky to have the most wonderful visit from my mom- we did two favorite day trips, to Lavaux for the Wine Train, and to Yvoire. We also just did a lot of sitting around our favorite neighborhood park, Parc La Grange, gushing over James. In addition to being the most loving and best patty-cake-player ever, she’s a good luck charm! We surged right into a heat wave after she left, but throughout her visit we had the most idyllic weather. It didn’t rain one day during her visit last fall to Geneva and Grindelwald either! It was a blast and we can’t wait to see her for James’ first visit to the US in just a few weeks!

Much like we did during the last grandparent visit, we took the opportunity to get away overnight to nearby Lyon, France – foodie capital of the world.

We enjoyed lunch at Bocuse Les Halles (sort of like a more refined Reading Terminal Market) – where naturally my husband enjoyed “the butcher’s plate” of five selections of meat. Because I subscribe strongly to the “When in Rome” philosophy, I had a lovely Lyonnaise salad.

The “Butcher’s Plate” –

It was about a two hour drive from Geneva and while we didn’t get quite as much time to explore as we would have liked, we truly enjoyed the Vieux Lyon (Old Town)…

and climbed up to the Notre Dame Basilica. Locals call it “the upside-down elephant” and it sits perched high on top of Fourvière hill watching closely over the city. Much like Paris and Strasbourg‘s own it was an incredibly special church. Simply gorgeous and ornate gold everywhere. It honors the Virgin Mary in thanks for saving Lyon from the Black Death plague and was built in the 1870s.

Lyon is a city lined with Michelin stars. For dinner, we received so many wonderful recommendations for restaurants but struggled with a reservation during the summer tourist season. I finally was able to make one and while I expected the neighborhood to be more scenic, we loved our experience at La Table D’Eugene. Great service (though they refused to be impressed by my French) and a really stellar meal – we enjoyed avocado and mango tartare with with scallop and chorizo , filet with Saint Marcellin sauce (a Lyon staple), and nutella crème brûlée (obviously polished it off before taking a photo.) While we wish we could have explored the city more, our little retreat was such a treat – and we were back in Geneva by lunchtime the next day to hang with our little guy. We were so grateful to my mom for being a great sleepover buddy for him so we could get away and take a deep breath (in between bites of fine dining.) 😅

Up next, I’m going to attempt to get together everywhere we went in Spain – a true marathon from South in Málaga and Seville to North in Gijón, and finally the island of Mallorca!