Traboules et Blues à Lyon

Seeing Taj Mahal live has been on my bucket list since the first time I really started listening to him play on the online radio I listen at work. He is a very avid tourer, but never before has he been this close to us. When I found out that he and his band will be playing at Les Nuits de Fourvière in Lyon — what could be nicer than listening to blues in the ruins of an Ancient Roman amphitheater in a warm Summer night? — I immediately booked the tickets. I did not know then that another blues artist on my bucket list, Eric Bibb, was also to play there.

First some beautiful photos of Lyon. Vieux Lyon, the old town Lyon:

Musée des Confluences. Last times we visited Lyon, the museum was still under construction. Now it was open, but there was a line, perhaps because just a handful of people were let in at a time. We did not feel like queueing in the bare sunlight for long, and reasoned that we could be back for another visit any time!

Blues

The concert at Fourviére started promptly at 8pm, not with one minute of silence but with as much noise as the audience could make to commemorate the victims of the July 14 attack in Nice. Then a “local” band opened before Eric Bibb and Habib Koite started their session.

By the time Taj Mahal entered the stage the sun was already down, so unfortunately we have no photos of his performance (photo taking was discouraged anyway, and surprisingly the audience complied).

Traboules

This was our third time in Lyon and we made another attempt to track down the elusive staircases that we have missed previously, and we were a bit luckier this time. I think this is La Longue Traboule in the old town Lyon. It traverses four buildings and five courts:

This one is also in the Saint Jean area in Vieux Lyon:

One of the best known staircases, Cour des Voraces in Croix Rousse:

L’escalier des Feuillants, also in Croix Rousse, is claimed to be the most beautiful staircase in Lyon:

Food

And then finally to food. Let’s start with the best, Le Boucan Canot, a restaurant that serves cuisine from Ile de la Réunion. Absolutely delicious. The flavors were so versatile and complex. And not surprisingly reminded us of Mauritian kitchen. Here is a appetizer set conisting of a samosa, a dumpling, two types of fish, and some vegetables, each with their own sauce or condiment.

La Cuisinierie, a place recommended by our Airbnb host (a Japanese!). This is a very typical main in a place advertizing being local (e.g., Savoie or Dauphinoi): boiled potatoes (or gratin), meat with some gravy, and mushy green vegetables. As mentioned in our earlier blog post about Singapore, the flavors are far from complex or interesting.

Bistrot Jul, located just a little off from the most touristy old town Lyon, which also means that few patrons find it. For starters we had gazpacho and for mains veal in hearty tomato gravy that tasted like a canned pizza sauce. Not bad but not very interesting either, and definitely not worth 18 euros.

To finish the post, here is an early morning picture from our residence, a small garden hut, in the old Lyon. It was tranquil and quiet, like being in a summer house in the country side.