I woke up, ready to charge for a fun morning in Lyon. I had breakfast in the hotel, which staffed by a really sweet older man who really wanted to make sure I understood all the breakfast options. So, he explained everything in English. I was very grateful for the help with the coffee machine. One thing I have noticed is that I think hotels think that Americans really, really want scrambled eggs in the morning. He said that he would make them to order, but I told him I was fine. More baguette, butter and cheese for me!
After breakfast, I checked out and brought my bags to the train station to lock them up so I could wander unencumbered. This was the first train station where I encountered a left luggage room (behind the Xray machine) where the bags were handled by staffers rather than having lockers available for self-storage. I didn’t love it, but it was fine. All of my important stuff was on me, so that wasn’t a reason for concern.
First, I went to the mall and browsed. It is similar and dissimilar to our malls. It’s a Westfield with some similar and some different shops. Honestly, it’s not the most interesting part of my day but I’m glad I looked.
My main focus was to get to the Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. Lyon is considered to be the foodie city in France and even though my appetite was enough to tackle a Bouchon solo, I wanted to check out the food hall.
This was the most established food hall I went to, meaning that the restaurants and vendors had significant interior construction that was far more than a simple stall. It was even more than the Markthal in Rotterdam, where SMS and I visited a few years ago.
First, I wandered. The vendor/restaurant ratio seemed about 50/50? For the vendors, there were several fromageries, a few produce, a few butchers, a few seafood vendors, and a few sweets/pastry makers.
It was getting close to lunchtime and I wanted to grab lunch here before the train. I spotted a sign at one of the fomageries offering a dégustation and glass of white wine for 11 Euros. Yes, please!
The two young fromageurs were quite nice and our conversation went back and forth between English and French. I was able to say that I liked fresher vs drier goat cheese in French so I held my own. But I was definitely grateful for some of the English explanations!
I took about half the tasting to go, bought some additional cheese (Rocamadour and Brillat-Savarin), and headed for more food. The young woman did check to make sure I knew what Rocamadour was. The answer was yes, delicious!
I ended up at Chez Lyon for oysters and a sea urchin (oursin). This was an exceptional decision. The waiter was very nice and complimented my French, lol. I love compliments almost as much as oysters!
Then, sadly, my stomach was at capacity and besides, it was time to go catch the train. I stopped at the Nespresso to buy capsules which made the connection pretty tight but I made my train to Marseille.
I decided to stay in Marseille for an extra hour or so, which led to Sézane and chartreuse shopping. Yay! My stowed duffel bag for trip shopping has proved it’s worth!
After some shopping, it was off to Cassis. I took the bus into town, since the station is up a hill, ~1.5 miles from town. The bus driver was very nice and we spoke for a bit. I think he was bored. He said hiking was fine but that I should definitely see the Calanques by boat. This ended up not happening (more in Day 27’s entry!), but my alternative beach day was pretty extraordinary so no regrets!
Cassis is beautiful. I’m so happy to be spending a little bit of time here. For dinner, I went the beach and ate the rest of my cheese with a baguette and had dessert of two boules of ice cream, licorice and amarena. Delicious!
Oh, now you’re down at the South of France! Exciting! We stayed a bit east of you, in Mougins, near Cannes, Grasse, and Nice. I’m afraid I didn’t love the food here as much as in Paris, but I suspect that was bad luck on our part, as I have heard there are amazing meals to be had. I’m looking forward to hearing about your next adventures.
I’ve never heard of Rocamadour, I’m going to keep my eyes out for it. I adore Brillat-Sauverin, we can get it at a couple of stores here.
I think Rocamadour is a fresh goat, so maybe only in France? Plus, on my cheese tour, I learned that there’s a “goat cheese season” for the fresh, unpasturized goat cheese since they have a shelf life of <60 days and are only made Spring-late Fall.