We woke to rain this morning. Ken ran out to take moody photos, I jumped up to get the washing off the terrace. Nothing changes!
We started the day with breakfast at the little boulangerie we went to on the tour yesterday and had the praline brioche and coffee . We were heading off to the Roman Ruins this morning and are definitely going on the funicular. We jumped onto the one going to the ruins as the doors closed on Jude once again. She made it in, but Mike was left behind. We had got in on the exit side as it pulled into the stop, so he had to walk around the other way and join us. Then we decided that maybe it would be a good idea to go to the Basilica first so all jumped off and got on the other line. It was a short, but very steep ride, mostly through a tunnel.
We walked into the beautiful building and my first words were, "Holy crap!". It is absolutely gorgeous. There is so much gold in the enormous, detailed mosaics, the beautiful, ornate ceilings, golden chandeliers hanging down and the sun shining through the stained glass. It is big, bold and beautiful.
We walked downhill to the Roman ruins and wandered around. These are dated from about 1AD. There are two amphitheaters, still in use today, and the ruins of houses and the ancient aqueduct
It was really interesting.
Having completed the only thing on the agenda for the day we spent quite a bit of time contemplating what to do next and decided to meander and see where we ended up .
We wandered downhill and stopped at a lookout and admired the view over the city for a while and then contemplated again. Surprisingly, the conclusion of this contemplation was food. We were heading down to Vieux Lyon to book dinner and find some crepes and ice cream for lunch!
The restaurant we wanted to book was closed so I rang instead. It looks very cool.
We found a creperie/Mexican cafe. I had a delicious smoked salmon and prawn crepe, Jude had an amazing looking fruit and nutella, covered with a mountain of chantilly cream and the boys had chicken fajitas (Mexican crepes).
We left them finishing their wine and wandered through the little shops on RueSaint-Jean. We sampled some of the wares in a cute biscuit shop and the lemon shop. The Menton Limoncello was so good I had to buy a bottle.
The boys met us and we went in search of our final ice cream of Lyon. I really wanted to try the pretty, rose shaped ones I had seen people eating. I had Armarena with raspberry, it was very good, and very pretty.
Back to our lovely apartment where we did our packing, chilled out and got ready for dinner . Lyon is all about the food. It is the gastronomic capital of France (some would say the world) and we need to make the most of it!
Dinner was fantastic, The restaurant was La Nef des Fous, The Ship of Fools. It was in a small room with a low ceiling made even lower by big beams. The decor was extravagant and rich, with beautiful coloured glassware, crystal, big quirky chairs and eccentric touches, such as a bathtub pond on the stairs.
The champagne was glorious. For entree Jude and I had a creamy potato gazpacho with fried leeks. The boys both had the duck tartlet. For mains Jude had a pork dish with Saint-Marcelle sauce and the rest of us had a massive cassoulet that none of us could finish. it was very tasty with a lot of beans. Jude's pork was her favourite meal in France, but she did resist licking her plate.
For dessert I had a chocolate/hazelnut mousse with a raspberry centre, Ken and Jude had apple crumble and Mike had créme brulée. All good, all full.
The restaurant was lovely, the food delicious, but we were rushed through our meal a little.
Back up the steep, long cobbled street for the last time we headed off to bed, all ready for our next destination - Cannes.

Steps 13,784
Kms walked - 9.8