I was attracted by the beautiful artwork in the gallery and soon struck up a conversation with one of the artists, Michèle Baron, whose work was filled with light, colour and joie de vivre, just as she was. She happily told me of her experiences of living in Lyon and of the traboules and their purpose and charm. In fact the gallery was adjacent to La Tour Rose and she took me into the courtyard and explained some of the features including the old well.

At last estimate there are around 400 traboules in the city mostly in the areas of Croix Rousse and Vieux Lyon-the old city, with about forty open to the public. They are covered passageways and were used extensively by the Resistance during WW2. Initially built during the Middle Ages they acted as passageways for businesses and traders. Claire was an excellent guide and had great information and stories.  

There are hundreds of murals and frescoes in Lyon, and we stumbled upon a few inadvertently but made a special bus trip to ‘Mur des Canuts’ in the area called Croix-Rousses.

The mural was dedicated to silk workers and was first painted in 1987. It is a trompe-l’eil fresco (has a 3D aspect) and illustrates all that was typical of Croix Rousse- the area where most of the silk workers (canuts) lived and worked. It is repainted every fifteen years to reflect the changes in fashion, architecture and in the area. The last rendition was made in 2013 and apparently some the characters reappear and have been aged by the artists. It is a company that does this one and quite a few others. It is definitely a positive way to beautify the city and tell the stories of the inhabitants. 

We stopped for lunch and were surprised by the meal portions. I had a Lyonaise salad which was an entire lettuce springled with croutons and a half a kilo of lardons and John had veal which looked like the poor little creature’s entire thigh bone! It was delicious but daunting!

Then Max and Paul joined us, friends from London visiting relatives in Switzerland. They drove down from Geneva and stayed locally. Paul, the pretend arachnophobe, is very droll, and one has to pay attention as he casually makes clever and insightful observations of the world around him. Max never misses a beat. She is an intelligent, compassionate and dedicated person and we are delighted to call her a friend. I think they are so well matched. It was wonderful to catch up. We found bouchons and bars where we ate and drank, Paul Bocuse Food Market to drool and dine and even marvelled at the Musèe des Confluence. Two days to relax and simply enjoy each other’s company. 

Our last day in Lyon involved washing and tidying and packing. I never did figure out how the two in one washing machine worked so I’m pleased I started early and things dried. Our next destination was Aigle, Switzerland where we would again meet up with friends. The rail journey began early so we decided to organise a taxi. We had Roman’s number. He was the fellow who drove us from the station on our arrival. John called. We sent a text. He replied. 

Clothilde arrived to pick up the key and organise for her next client. We said our goodbyes and waited on the footpath…and waited and waited. After deciding he was not coming, we did what any normal couple would do: we panicked, struggled to come to a decision, accused each other of something, I can’t remember what and then settled and calmly called Clothilde who organised another taxi for us. It was going to be OK.