San Francisco has nothing on Lyon when it comes to hills. Wow. We walk a large amount of the city today, which involves ascending numerous stairways. The kids are troopers.

Lillian relishes in waking up grandma and grandpa. They love it too.

//Grandpa Note: Purest love and joy.

My dad and I walk down to the main street below and buy groceries for breakfast.Eggs, nectarines, toast and orange juice.  It’s so great to have a full breakfast with my family.

//Grandpa Note: “Walk down to the main street below” does not do justice the seven story walk down and back up that is required to get to the `’main street below”.

When ready to set out, we go down the 145 steps to the street and begin on a route Stefan found online .It will take us up through our neighborhood, Vieux Lyon, across the river and to the Croix Rousse neighborhood. It doesn’t look too bad; it seems we can see most of the city from our apartment.

Just around the corner from our apartment is a beautiful old church. Oly thinks this is the best place to put on his superhero costume my parents brought him.

//Grandpa Note: Spiderman must be constantly vigilant for the evil doers.

We walk down a busy walking street with many bistros and shops. There’s a lot to see and smell. My parents purchase some soaps made in Marseille. And then we get some local biscuits, filled with either chocolate or lemon curd.

We walk for about an hour and decide to stop for lunch in this area. We find a great little spot, Le Pique Assiette, with outdoor seating on an alleyway. The cool breeze and shade provide the perfect temperature.

//Grandpa Note: Lillian doesn’t mind the long walk to the top of Mont Blanc.  Okay, we didn’t walk to the top of Mont Blanc, but it was close.

We eat for nearly 2 hours! The food is very good, and everything is super reasonably priced for lunch. We have the best Chardonnay ever. Dad gets frogs’ legs for his meal, so the kids can try it. Lilian does, but she says she doesn’t like it. I think it’s just hard to get over some mental issues with certain foods.

We are still in the Vieux Lyon, where we’re staying. We keep walking up to the St.Paul area and cross a footbridge. The sun is beating down on us, and the kids are getting tired.

Then we being the ridiculous ascension to Croix Rousse, a neighborhood up on the hill. We take so many stairways. And we just keep going. The views are amazing, and it’s fun to see how the neighborhood changes. This feels more family-friendly. We pass 4 different playgrounds, and I can hear kids playing in nursery schools. The vibe is very relaxed and less touristy than Vieux Lyon.

When we finally get to the top, we sit and relax at a cafe overlooking the city. The wind whipping across the top of the hill provides welcome relief. A local seated nearby practices his English with us and informs us Lyon is where the very first movie was ever made. He suggests visiting the museum about it because it’s different from anything else you’ll see in another European city.

The walk down is easy, but so so long. It’s only now I realize just how high we’d walked! It’s around 5pm, and people are walking home from work. Oly needs to stop to poop, and yells at us to stop looking at him. I wish he’d use the toilet. We have to stop to buy more diapers and change his diaper in the middle of the rush hour pedestrian traffic. At least now he can ride on Stefan’s shoulders again.

We plan to pick up food and cook at home, but everything looks so good when we walk past the restaurants in Vieux Lyon. I suggest pizza, and we stop a block from our apartment entrance at Al Dente. Our Airbnb host recommended it. They are just opening, so we take the only table outside, basically in the street. The pizzas are so good! I feel a little silly having pizza the week before we go to Italy, but it really hits the spot. Dad orders two bottles of wine. The first is red, but effervescent. It’s a little sweet, but surprisingly good. A nice aperitif.

We climb back up the stairs to the apartment, exhausted from our full day. We all try to stay up an hour or so, but then we all collapse around 10.