Ep. 28 - Lyon, France
Episode 28 takes us back to France for the third time! On our third journey to France we hit its third largest city. With beautiful architecture, out of this world food, a long running history, and wild views, this city is worthy of any traveler’s bucket list.
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Transcription:
*Intro music*
Hello and welcome to the 28th installment of The Friday Take Five, a podcast where we take just about five minutes every Friday to step back from crazy lives to delve into history and adventure. I’m Mark Moran, the host of the show, and I do what I can to scratch an itch for travel bugs and history lovers alike. Every episode, we discover a new destination and a new story, in the hopes we help you relive great memories, or give you the inspiration to book your next trip. We’ve got a great city on the docket today, so let’s get to discovering.
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The SNCF train began to slow down as we closed in on the end of the second of three legs in a trip from Montpellier to Geneva. This stop would give us a little bit of time in the city, but I could already tell it wouldn’t be enough as this city was hopping. This stop brought us from Marseille into Lyon, the third largest city in France.
In the hour and 45 minutes between our trains, I still got enough of a taste of the city to know I needed to get there again. Funnily enough, and unsurprisingly to those who know me, I initially panicked at the idea of leaving the train station with “so little time” before our next train was set to leave. But I decided to take the chance of exploring because it was either that or get left behind by my friends that were going to explore anyway haha. We raced out of the train station and tried to at least see something in our roughly hour and a half of freedom. We managed to see some of the fountains and shopping centers of the city, but I felt that so much of the city was just out of reach. I vowed to myself to make it back.
Fast forward a few months… After returning back to the states I met a lovely lady who would end up becoming my girlfriend, now fiancée. The kicker? She’s French and her family is from Lyon. Thanks to Covid getting in the way for a bit, we haven’t yet had the chance to get back there to visit, but it’s finally on the books for next year!
I’m so excited to get back to explore Lyon and the surrounding area. There’s so much to do, see, and eat, so I’ll definitely be taking the help of my personal tour guides!
Lyon is well known for its cuisine. I personally can’t wait to get my hands back on some of the specialties of Lyon, like Bugnes, which are pastries similar to beignets, just better, and also try out some Rosette de Lyon which is a type of cured sausage… Yes please!
As always, I love the history behind each and every destination. Lyon has awesome bits of history sprinkled all throughout. One of the popular squares in Lyon, Place Bellecour, is part of a Unesco world her- heritage site rather, and it is loaded with history. From a military and commercial installment during Roman times, to an Arch Bishop’s vineyard in the 12th century, to a guillotine pedestal during the revolution, to finally a town square with a statue of Louis XIV that was erected during the Bourbon restoration, the place has really seen it all.
I’m also psyched to get to Vieux or Old Lyon. With world renown renaissance architecture that has been actively preserved with cultural preservation laws since 1964, I have this little neighborhood high on my list. One place that according to my fiancée is a must see for me and you guys is the Basilique Notre-dame de Fourvière. Built on Fourviere hill, which is where the Romans founded the city in 43 BC, the basilica itself is beautiful, but also, just as a bonus, on a clear day, just outside the Basilica, you can look out to get a great view of the Alps!
Hats off to the city planners of Lyon. They managed to get me excited to head back in just a few short minutes in my first touchdown there. Now, I can’t wait to get over there. With great history, awesome views, and incredible foods, it’s another can’t miss destination. We’ve already got our trip in the works. Are you planning yours?
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Hey there! Thanks for listening to another episode of The Friday Take Five. If you haven’t already, be sure to give us a 5 star rating on podcasting platforms, and don’t forget to turn on notifications and automatic downloads to keep up with new episodes. Have your own stories about Lyon, feedback or recommendations on places / stories for us to cover? We’d love to hear it so follow us and DM us on socials @FridayTakeFive or email us at thefridaytakefive@gmail.com. Stay curious, stay adventuring, and have a great weekend!
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