A new week begins with the arrival of friends from Connecticut/Lisbon. This is the third time Jim and Vince have visited me on a Shirleyfest. On each of their last visits to Shirleyfest, they made sure to arrange for a wonderful birthday celebration for me. This time is no different. My friends have selected Circle, a Michelin bib gourmand restaurant where the menu is only revealed when each course arrives. Each course is lovingly delivered, explained and paired with outstanding wines by either the owner/maître d’hôtel Agathe or the talented chef Bastian.

Finally we have dessert! Orange blossom almond ice cream, creamy date and agastache.

What a wonderful evening! It is now midnight and after one more hug, I call my uber to whisk me home.

I don’t want you to think we only ate today. When Jim and Vince arrived, I was a little early to meet them at the monument Gadagne. Just outside the building is the famous L’horloge Charvet. This clock was built in 1852 and contains Marionettes Harlequin, Polichinelle, Guignol and Gnafron. I had just enough time to capture the quarter hour show.

This site has been in use since the 1st century B.C. It has had many occupants through the Middle Ages and beyond. A wealthy banker family, the Guadagnis of Florence, occupied it during the renaissance era. Finally in the 20th century the Ville de Lyon bought the land and building and it now houses two museums: The Lyon History Museum (Le musée d’histoire de Lyon)and the Puppetry Museum (Musée des arts de la marionette). The experience is unusual in that it is mostly interactive and thematic, as opposed to chronological. We see many school children with their teachers really enjoying the experience. The puppet side of the building was extremely colorful!

The next day while Jim and Vince climb up to Croix-Rousse, I set out to see what is going on with the annual Lumière Festival which is held every October in Lyon. It is named in honor of the Lumière brothers, who invented the cinematographer motion picture system in 1895. Hollywood may be well known, but Lyon is considered the birthplace of cinema.

I arrive to find a huge crowd. Some are buying tickets, some buying merchandise and some are there to see the first movie of the festival. The festival screens 170 movies in one week.

While Michael Mann is receiving the 2025 Lumière Award (Clint Eastwood won the first award of the festival nearly 20 years ago), Sean Penn is in town this year as a Guest of Honor and will present his film Into the Wild and do Q&A with the audience.

I’ve been to a couple of film festivals and at those festivals, new films, both mainstream, indies and documentaries are presented. Lyon’s festival was created as an homage to classic films and so most of the screenings are older, heritage films.

After enjoying the buzz of the festival tent, I decided to to go to the Musée Lumière.

It is fun to see the historical journey of the invention of cinematography, as well as the progress of the family over time.

I am going to the symphony tonight, but I want to go to mass at the historic 1325 Basilique Saint-Bonaventure before going home to get ready.

The stained glass windows in the church are beautiful and vivid. In 1944, the Germans blew up the bridges near the church and shattered the original stained glass windows. Between 1945 and 1965 the windows were restored and appear resolutely modern in their colors and style.

The mass is beautiful and once again very well attended. The music is particularly beautiful. Interestingly, I later learn that this huge basilique will be the site of a candlelight concert this month with the music of……Taylor Swift!

Vince, Jim and I have tickets for the symphony concert at the Auditorium-Orchestre National. The program is Grieg, Diamond and Beethoven. It is a beautiful program. I am captivated by the conductor, Jennifer Gilbert. Not only is she conducting, she plays the first violin for the program ( a 1781 Guadagnini violin!). There aren’t that many women conductors in the world and this is the first time I have seen a conductor also play an instrument in the performance. You know the expression “women have to work twice as hard as men?” I think I just saw a “classical” example of that.

After the concert, we walk about 20 minutes and have a drink at my apartment.

Then we head to Brassiere Roseaux on my street. It is a lovely restaurant and at a little before nine when we arrive it is packed. We have a great table and a wonderful dinner.

I really like this restaurant on my street and I guarantee you will see more food from here in a future post. I observed a steak tartare dish at someone’s table that I have my eyes on.

Today is Beaujolais Day!

I am going to meet Jim and Vince to head north to the Beaujolais wine region. First though, I have two things to do. I am beginning nominations for the best croissant of Lyon and I need to spread the tastings out over days.

I start today in my neighborhood.

Having gotten the first nomination out of the way, the next thing I want to do is head to the market at the river. This is the same market I went to early last week only to find it closed. Today is it bustling and everything looks fantastic.

I now wind my way over to our meeting place for the Beaujolais outing. We have a driver/guide named Almondine and along with five other visitors from all over the world, we head north. First stop is a hilltop tasting overlooking the valley. We learn that there are only two grapes in Beaujolais: Chardonnay for the white wine and Gamay for the rosé and red wine. There are very specific rules for this region. One is that the grapes must be picked by hand. There are 12 appellations with only the very southern part of the region called simply Beaujolais. Then there is a region to the north called Beaujolais-Villages and finally there are 10 regions that are considered “cru” and they are called by their village name. There is no mention of Beaujolais on their wine label.

Off we go to a restored medieval village called Oingt. All the buildings are made of “golden stones”, a limestone with high amounts of iron in the stone. This village is classified as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Today the population is small with mostly artists living here.

We visit the church and stroll the pretty streets. Now we head to a family-owned winery called Domaine de Fond-Vieille. This winery has been in the family for hundreds of years and grows both Chardonnay and Gamey grapes. The owner ( and his dog) gives us a tour of the vines.

We go inside to the crushing, storing, aging and bottling facility and then have a nice tasting of four of the family’s wines.

We drive back to lovely Lyon having had a most enjoyable day!

Another day, another nomination for best croissant. This time I try Eric Keyser which is a bakery started in Paris and famous for its baguettes.

I head to my regular coffee place to finish the croissant with a café allongé.

Today my friends Larry and Steve will be in town. I met them when they attended my workshop at Rancho La Puerta. They have been in France and England doing genealogy research. Now their Viking river boat is docked here for a couple of days. We walk together to Brasserie Georges. Started in 1836, this is the oldest brasserie in Lyon and one of the largest in Europe. It has a gorgeous art deco style . Ernest Hemingway, Jules Verne and Edith Piaf have all eaten here.

Steve suggests we start with foie gras and I think that is a terrific idea.

We follow that with moules et frites and of course French wine!

One of the funniest things about this restaurant is that people go here to celebrate their birthday because at the appropriate time the lights are dimmed in the whole restaurant and the waiter runs to the table with a flaming cake. It happened at least 6 times during our meal. Here’s one of the times.

We have a wonderful time together and we agree to meet later for a special dessert.

The special dessert is Lyon’s famous Praline Brioche. I mentioned this in my previous post. It is the creation of Auguste Pralus and while many bakeries mimic the creation, the place you must buy it is at the eponymous patisserie, Pralus. The store is known for its special wrapping of the brioche like a present and its colorful striped bag. Fortunately Pralus is located on my street so I get in the line to buy it. While waiting, I film the two men churning these out (presumedly for tomorrow since the shop is about to close)

I am getting worried because it is late in the day and the pile of brioche’s are dwindling. The woman three places ahead of me buys five! Then the next man buys three. Fortunately, the young girl just ahead of me takes only one so I get mine and head for the metro.

I am standing on the busy metro with my AirPods in when Laura calls me. I tell her what I’m doing and she asks how I will cut it when I meet my friends. Without thinking I say, “I have a knife in my purse”. The circle of people around me on the crowded metro backs away! When I realize what I’ve said, I show the famous bag and say,”no no, it’s for the brioche”. Everyone starts laughing.

I meet Larry and Steve and we look around the 800 year old former hospital, hospice and maternity ward that has become the five star Hotel Grand Dieu and high end boutique shopping experience.

Before diving into the brioche, we walk over to Basilique Saint Boneventure to see the stained glass windows before it closes.

Finally we end up at a nice coffee house and we dive into the brioche. It does not disappoint. In fact, the next morning when Larry was on a walking tour, his craving overtook him and …..

The next day, I decide to find some of the many murals that Lyon is known for. There are over a 100 frescos that cover the walls in Lyon and they retrace its history.

The biggest fresco in Europe is Lyon’s La Fresque des Canuts (the silk weavers’ wall). It is a stunning troupe-l’oeil mural. It was painted on a blank wall with no windows. The realism is staggering. One of the scenes is a storefront honoring the silk workers. The mural is refreshed every so often and the latest redo was in 2013.

After studying this mural for a while, I walk toward the river to see Fresque des Lyonnaise (Famous faces of Lyon).

I decide I can walk to one more of the murals and I choose a walk along the river to La Bibliothèque de la Cité (The City Library). This depicts an immense library with hundreds of writers in different genres.

This has taken a good part of the day and I’ve gotten many steps. That is good thing because tonight Jim, Vince and I are going to a different Bouchon restaurant.

I meet them at Bouchon des Filles. This bouchon was started 14 years ago when Isabelle and Laura, two former waitresses in the world of Bouchons Lyonnais, met at the “Café des Fédérations”. I wrote about that bouchon in my last post. They had the desire to perpetuate the tradition of Lyon mothers, and to open their “Girls” Bouchon with a more current and less caloric cuisine. 

You be the judge.

I did not take photos of the cheese course or the dessert course. The dinner was delicious and perhaps a little less caloric than Café des Fédérations.

Good thing I had a long walk back to my apartment!

Annecy Day Trip

I’ve been wanting to do a day trip to Annecy, France for weeks. Nicknamed the “Pearl of the French Alps” due to its location between its huge lake and the nearby mountains. It is also called “Venice of the Alps”, because of the many canals and the Thiou river, which pass through the old part of the town. I just call it beautiful.

I set my alarm for 6 am and quickly get ready and take the metro to the Lyon Part Dieu train station.

Despite the early hour, people are streaming into the station. A piano player tries to soothe the commuters with his tunes.

The train takes two hours and passes by many lakes and mountains. It’s a very enjoyable journey.

When I arrive, I decide to walk through the old town and see the canals first.

As I always do on Shirleyfest day trips, I have made a reservation for lunch at a Michelin restaurant.

I choose the special menu of the day.

The waiter was so nice and explained that the restaurant is committed to only using locally sourced ingredients and that all the herbs are from the chef’s garden. I leave very happy.

Now it’s time to spend time at the lake.

It is simply stunning. I have to find a way to return to Annecy. I must now make my way to the train. On the way, I stop for coffee at Adrenaline Roasters. My friend Charlotte in Lyon told me how good the coffee is there. I have a little time to discuss coffee with Sebastian before reluctantly heading home.

Jim and Vince must leave today. We have one more traditional lunch at Comptoir du Boeuf.

I say goodbye to Jim and Vince as they fly off to Portugal. I know they will come to another Shirleyfest and I will visit them in Portugal.

It is a beautiful sunny day and I have a mission to get flowers and walk in the sunshine. As I cross the bridge I see “The weight of oneself” statue on the river Saône in front of the courthouse.

It is such a beautiful statue with the sunny backdrop. At first glance, the giant marble figure almost 3 metres high appears to be a savior. But the man he holds in his arms is none other than himself. This antihero symbolises the issues of responsibility debated daily at the nearby courthouse, inviting us to reflect as well.

But onward to flowers. First stop is Place de la République.

Then I see a small stand with an elderly lady making bouquets. Her name is Juliette.

It is time to head home. I have to pass by the Halle de Paul Bocuse so I cut through and wouldn’t you know it…this tart citron just jumped out and insisted I buy it.

A Dutchman, an Englishman, a French woman and an American traveler (moi!) convene in Lyon tomorrow. Watch this space to see how much fun they have.

Thanks for coming along on my journey.