We awoke to the day of the rein of Queen Jude. She had won the Tour de France tipping competition and we were at her beck and call. She wasn't too keen, so shouldn't be too hard for us!
When Christine, our landlady, had shown us around the apartment she told us not to leave a key in the inside locked door when we went out . There are two doors, a street and and internal that both have locks. We couldn't get the inside key out this morning so took the key of the key ring and left. I pulled the inside door shut without thinking and then we had a problem. We didn't have the spare key and we couldn't get back in. Christine actually lives next door, but is traveling to Modenne this week. At breakfast I called her and explained our stupidity. Her husband would not be home until 8pm to sort it. While we were sitting enjoying our cafe and croissant with cute little birds flitting around, Jude looked in her bag and found the spare key! She had forgotten she had put it in there the night before. We were still unsure if this would fix the problem as we had left the key inside the door. Anyway, the boys went back and the disaster was averted. I phoned Christine again and fortunately she just laughed at us.
Finally sorted, we visited the Cathedral . It is quite beautiful, with some lovely stained glass. I lit a couple of candles and sat in the peaceful space . As we were walking down the street we saw a sign for an ancient garden. It is actually very ancient - the ruins of a 0 bc building!
We walked over the river Saone. There were some markets along the river on the peninsula side. There was a bit of everything. From clothes to haberdashery, suitcases to cigarette lighters. Some of the clothes looked ok, but with nowhere to try on €30 was too much.
The area between the two rivers is the posh part of town. There are a lot of shops and restaurants. We wandered through the shops. Jude left her sandals in Alpe d'Huez so we are on the lookout. The boys went ahead and we joined them eventually in a mussel restaurant for lunch. We are eating well!
Ken and I both had mussels and Mike and Jude had enormous salads, with great slabs of Roquefort cheese. The restaurant had unlimited frites, but we did limit ourselves to just one bowl!
My gorgeous friends had given Ken and I a Segway tour for my birthday. Jude and Mike also joined the tour. We met our guide, Arthur, who gave us a training session. It was actually reasonably easy and soon we were on our way, whizzing along the city. The first few little turns through traffic lights and pedestrians was a bit tricky but soon it became pretty natural. We crossed the Soane and went to Bellecour Square to open up the speed. The top speed is 20kms hour. It was fun flying along. Queen Jude went outside the official zone and upset her Segway, so she had to swap with Arthur. She now had the official Royal Orange model .
Arthur took us to see the sights, along the Rhone where it is being developed in to a social area. We went to the Parc de la Tete d'Or. It is a massive free public park with large grassed areas. There were families picnicking, couples canoodling, people sun baking or sleeping and generally enjoying the peaceful space. There is also a free zoo within the park! We saw flamingos, some monkey type things (we couldn't go right in on the Segway) beautiful giraffes, including a very cute 5 month old and deer. There are heaps of other animals there too. We actually felt close to the giraffes as there is no big fences separating you. The park also has a large lake, which is really beautiful and was busy with people out on little boats. A gorgeous place.
The tour was a lot of fun and we certainly covered a lot of ground and learnt some interesting facts from our guide. As we were leaving he showed us into one of the private traboules, the covered passageways linking streets in Lyon. This one is beautiful and peaceful.
It was time for ice cream. My choice was gingerbread, very nice.
The boys went back to chill at home and solve the problems of the world over a beer while Jude and I solved the problems of the French economy by going shopping.
The Presqu'ile area between the two rivers has some great shops. We went into the Printemps department store and enjoyed looking at the beautiful things, and making a couple of purchases.
Hot and exhausted we climbed back up that long, steep, cobbled street to rest and have a cold drink (of which there was none left so Queen Jude sent the boys down that street to sort it!)
Our terrace is a lovely place to chill and relax. We have views over the rooftops of Lyon. It is quite beautiful.
Out for dinner again, we deliberated and finally found somewhere. Ken was looking forward to lamb and had a great meal. Mike and Jude had chicken, with a Saint Marcellin cheese sauce. The Saint Marcellin is a local specialty. I had a pike quenelle in a lobster sauce. The quenelle is a local dish, sort of like a large fillet sized dumpling, made with eggs, flour, cream and fish. It was really good.
Dessert, back to the ice cream shop. I had prune Armagnac. Good!
Another lovely day in Lyon. The reign of Queen Jude is over. I really don't think she fully utilised her powers.

Steps - 16,547
Kms walked - 12.4