[2015 France-Lyon] Sunday, market day

It's Sunday today. As the French are devout Catholics, most of the stores were closed. I remember reading about the Marche de Creation by the Saone river every Sunday morning, so hence started our morning. I've never been too comfortable taking picture of artwork, so the one above will have to suffice. It was a pleasant stroll, not super crowded, very low key, and some of the stalls had interesting artworks.

 This is one of Lyon's main attractions: the library mural. Lyon has converted various empty wall spaces into these spectacular works of art. I highly recommend seeking them out.

 When crossing the river, don't forget to look back. There's the lovely Fourvier hill and its Notre Dame.

Got peckish along the way and decided to walk into Paul. Yes we have it in the US as well, but hey, these breads don't look so bad! Also got some figs from the supermarket next door (and wanted to kick myself 15 minutes later...)

Turns out the entire riverfront on the other side was a huge farmer's market. Unlike the artist market, this one was packed with people & all sorts of shopping baskets.

 The cheese stall smelled very chevre indeed...

Anyone knows what this big block of mushroom is?

 Shoulda gotten them here!

 Mouthwatering...We ended up NOT getting any because I thought I could get it at Paul Bocuse's market...Never EVER pass up on the chance to buy anything!

 And the scary rose praline tarts I had at Cafe du Soleil...

After a break at the airbnb and a snack, we're out again. This time, we crossed both rivers, passing by the ornate Hotel de Ville...

 And a beautiful green walkway by the Rhone...

 To our final destination: Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. I thought long and hard about whether to go to his 3 star restaurant, but finally decided against it. The older I get, the less inclined I'm to pay for fancy meals. A $50 meal and $300 meal make me equally happy, the $300 one is rarely that much better than the $50 one, so might as well save that money for shopping!

 Sadly the Sunday curse has extended here too, many of the stalls were not open. Also, because it was past lunchtime, the few that were open were getting ready to close shop.

 These candied fruits look too pretty to eat!

After walking around a bit, we decided on a light lunch at an oyster bar

 Unsure about the quality, we started with a half dozen No.2 Normandy oysters. In France, the oysters are priced by number, smaller the number, bigger the oysters (and more expensive). These were about 3 euros a piece, so not that cheap. But holy guacamole they were so fat and juicy we immediately ordered another half dozen after the 1st slurp. We also got some shrimps, which were sweet & succulent.

First time for Mr. D., the escargot connoisseur.  We tried everything to stuff our bread into the shells for the addictive buttery pesto.

 Can you believe how fat they are?!

 Satisfied, we went back to Old Lyon to catch the cable car up to Fourvier to check out the cathedral. Unfortunately we arrived during mass, so photography was not allowed. The interior of the church was beautiful, with many panels of colorful stained glass. I can only imagine how beautiful they are when sunlight hits them just right.

 

 

 The church was built in 1832, so not too old at all.

 Behind the church is an awesome view of the city.

And a small Lyonnais Tour Eiffel :)

 

Further down the hill were two Roman amphitheaters, offering more views of the city.

 Back in old Lyon, we walked by the Guignol museum, which is a puppet character that originated from Lyon, and represents the local silk workers. Unfortunately this was closed Sunday too.

 Since most of the restaurants I found were closed today, and we didn't want to try any of the touristy places, we decided on Le Cabaratier，which had pretty good reviews on Yelp. The interior was very cozy.

 Fifi the cat kept us company while we waited for the food. Somehow I managed to make him look like a French bulldog...

I went all out and ordered the house foie gras. This was so rich I almost passed out near the end, but it tasted great!

 D's turn for Lyonnais salad, these bacon pieces were not as crazy generous as last night's.

 Red wine sausage that got Mr. D's approval (yes they were indeed yummy)

 I've been craving steak, but this was a little too heavy on the sauce and wasn't as marbled as I'd like. The baked polenta was also very rich.

 When the dessert menu came up, Mr. D was gonna order his standby again, until I mentioned: you're not gonna get the pear dessert? Good thing he changed his mind, this pear was poached in Calvado and tasted amazing.

 I went with the old standby because I really can't take anything more substantial...

Lyon's lovely night view