Day 9: Macon to Lyon

Alex:

Kenneth and I are writing to you after almost witnessing a fight between the owner of the Irish pub across the street and one of our fellow diners at the Auberge Rabelais. If things got too hot I might have had to jump in on the side of the diner--not only out of a sense of restaurant patriotism, but also because the bar owner is being obnoxious... Honestly, he's shouting obscenities and insults like we're in south Wales, not Lyon. 

In any case, today was a brisk ride from Crèches-sur-Saone to Lyon. We were delighted to see the "Bienvenue a Lyon" sign around 3:30 pm .... Three hours later, we staggered into our youth hostel. Today, it seems, getting there was only half the battle.

Lyon is a beautiful sun-splashed city, falling over itself as it sweeps from the valley heights down to the confluence of the Soane and Loire rivers. From our hilltop hostel, we have the best view in town.

Kenneth:

The ride down the Saone was gorgeous, and, thankfully, flat. We booked it from Macon down to the city limits of Lyon, but that was just the start of our trip. You see, we did not know that half of Lyon, the part where the Hostel is, in fact, is one enormous hill. It was as if yesterday was back, only this time, instead of lush farmland and cozy villages, we were darting between busses and negotiating seven-way intersections. It wasn't pretty, but we eventually got there.

And boy, was it worth it! The hostel is on a hill overlooking the city center, and we could not believe the view from our window! Lyon is where two rivers meet, and we can see the entire city laid out before us, a predecessor to, say, Pittsburg, but many times more beautiful (and far fewer iron foundries, plus no joke of a baseball team). We set sail for Valence today, and I hope that goes well! It's gonna be a scorcher.