Just above us on the hill sit two Roman amphitheaters. We want to go up there and explore today.

Dad makes french toast for breakfast! Lilian even helps! It reminds me a little of the days when we lived with my parents in New York.  

It’s a lazy morning at home. The kids play with the toys in the apartment, mostly Legos. Lillian and grandma have some learning time together. I catch up on blog posts.

//Grandpa Note: A little guitar practice, but mostly morning nap time!

//Stefan Note: Getting in and out of the apartment is really about 7 stories of winding or steep stairs.  You are always sweating.

//Stefan Note: Especially when Olaf does not want to walk

//Grandpa Note:  The favorite grandson representing for Oklahoma State.  Go Pokes!

When we finally leave the house, it’s lunch time. We go down the 145 steps to the street. I try to capture this journey a little better today. It is a unique journey.

Then we walk two blocks and take the funicular up the hill. Most of the trip is in a steep tunnel. When we walk outside from the station, we are confronted with a glorious sight. The Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere is beautiful, with lots of intricate details and gold touches. Built in the 19th century and dedicated to Mother Mary, it is one of the most fantastic churches I’ve ever seen. The inside doesn’t disappoint. Mosaics cover the walls, and colorful stained glass windows brighten the space. We guide ourselves, but the museum next door coordinates different tours of the church.

We walk one block to the Restaurant de Fourviere. It offers set menu lunch for 17 Euros on a patio with incredible views. Unfortunately the plat du jour (dish of the day) is steak, and we have yet to eat a decent French steak.

//Stefan Note: That’s because it does not exist

They’re always tough and tasteless. This one is no exception. Luckily everything else about the meal (salad, wine, dessert, company and view) is perfect.

Next we walk a couple blocks over to the Roman amphitheater (12 AD) and its accompanying small theatre (1st century). Again I’m surprised how many excellent Roman ruins we’ve seen in France. I forget how expansive and wealthy the Roman empire was. And I’d really only seen Roman ruins in Rome before, which is covered in tourists. Here there are maybe 5 other people on the site. A much better experience.

The Musee Gallo-Roman is next to the amphitheater and only 4 Euros/adult. It contains many artifacts, not just from Roman times, but from the Bronze Age and before! While we can’t spend too much time, it’s really cool to see jewelry women wore thousands of years ago and be reminded that we really are just a blip in time. The kids enjoy this museum for about 15 minutes, then listening to tv presentations keeps them occupied another 15.

Grandpa: This is the secret red door entrance to the seven stories of stairs we had to climb to our apartment.  My heart races just looking at the door.

It’s 5pm when we take the Funicular back down to the house. Because our house is situated high on the hill, I wonder how close we were at the ruins and whether we could have more easily walked down to it. We may have to explore that.

We spend some time at house. The kids’ laughter fills the apartment as they play games like hide-and-go-seek with grandma. Oly flies around as batman, superman or captain america. These capes and masks from the grandparents are real winners. We open some of the Champagne we brought to share with my parents, and it is so good. We’ve had so much good wine that sometimes moments like this help to really appreciate it. 

When it’s almost 8pm, we walk down through the beautiful streets of Vieux Lyon. This neighborhood is enchanting. At this hour people are starting to head to dinner. We go to an authentic Lyonnaise restaurant called Notre Maison. It’s a family restaurant, so we enjoy the joking between the staff. The food is incredibly rich and just too much. To start we have gateau of cow liver, pate of who knows what and rosette of Lyon (a thinly sliced salami). Our mains were cow cheek, pork roullette and sausage in lentils. I think the cow cheek is the best. We have the house wine, both white and red, and they’re very good and inexpensive. I’d definitely recommend this place. It has a very homey feeling, not as fancy as some of the places in the neighborhood.

//Grandpa Note: I did my best to eat all of the pate of who knows what, but couldn’t get enough help from Kimberly or Stefan.

As we walk home, the squares are still full of people enjoying their dinners. The soft murmur of conversation follows us all the way home.

My mom and I stay up too late talking. I feel like I never get enough time with her. Dad insists he is the smartest for taking advantage of the gorgeous view from the backyard patio, sitting with an iPad movie and a cigar.

//Grandpa Note: And a bottle of wine.