Following a rather stressful train trip involving three train changes and two trains being delayed just for us, we arrived to the wide smiles of the Mitchell family. Jane's parents, Greg and Bron, and brother Jono, met us at the train station, having navigated the city of Lyon for an hour in their hire car just to be there to greet us.
Jono was studying his final semester of Law at Lyon University. The two Gregs, Bron and Jane stayed in a rather small apartment (not much bigger than the apartment in Southampton, but for four!) just near the crayola-shaped building in the photo above. Lyon is a lovely city on the intersection of two rivers, the Rhone and the Saone Rivers. Overlooking the city is the Notre-Dame de Fourviere basilica, perched atop the Fourviere hill.
Inside the basilica there's plenty of gold leaf and almost garishly coloured mosaics but the grandeur is impressive.
Jono was studying his final semester of Law at Lyon University. The two Gregs, Bron and Jane stayed in a rather small apartment (not much bigger than the apartment in Southampton, but for four!) just near the crayola-shaped building in the photo above. Lyon is a lovely city on the intersection of two rivers, the Rhone and the Saone Rivers. Overlooking the city is the Notre-Dame de Fourviere basilica, perched atop the Fourviere hill.
Inside the basilica there's plenty of gold leaf and almost garishly coloured mosaics but the grandeur is impressive.In the afternoon New Zealand was playing Portugal in Lyon for the World Cup Rugby. Despite valiant efforts to scalp tickets, Greg Mitchell was the only one to see the Haka and the match to follow. From this point the Altmanns developed a keen interest in the World Cup, stopping to view most of the following games at various big screens across Europe. Anyway, Dad missed out on a scrumptous picnic by the Rhone!
Whilst in Lyon we ate some terrific meals. With help from Jono we avoided the infamous black Andouille sausage (only to eat its cousin in Scotland several months later).
The girls and their Gregs. 
We navigated some brilliant markets and made the most of the set menu options at several restaurants in the Old Town of Lyon.
We couldn't eat French for a whole week straight so one day Jono took us to a pizza place he'd discovered (conveniently just down the road from an Aussie Bar with day's Rugby scores).
Whilst in Lyon we ate some terrific meals. With help from Jono we avoided the infamous black Andouille sausage (only to eat its cousin in Scotland several months later).
The girls and their Gregs. 
We navigated some brilliant markets and made the most of the set menu options at several restaurants in the Old Town of Lyon.
We couldn't eat French for a whole week straight so one day Jono took us to a pizza place he'd discovered (conveniently just down the road from an Aussie Bar with day's Rugby scores).
Jane particularly loved the Zoo in Lyon. Its a huge park that people skate in, run around the perimeter, and kids (plus some grown-ups) go crazy over the FREE Zoo. 
Some people preferred to soak up the serenity.
Sadly some of the animals did not seem happy. This elephant rapped to an internal beat for the whole 10 minutes we watched him. He just rocked backwards and forwards, making some very unelephant-like motions.
Atleast the turtles and pelicans were happy enough to breed - although the unusual extent of turtle breeding whispers discontent.
Lyon has some impressive artwork. We visited the museum with its impressive collection of paintings to suit all tastes. Picasso and Monet were two of many artists represented here. Even the streets oozed art. Here's an interesting use for the side of a building. 
Lyon also enchanted us with this statue. The horses actually have steam coming from their nostrils. Its not difficult to imagine this pack of horses coming straight at you.
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