AN OLDIE BUT GOODIE

Last night, we dined on four or five kinds of cheese so good you can't buy them in the US, a pear, a couple of apples, strawberries, crackers, a fresh baguette, and some wine that a thoughtful previous tenant had left. I forget the name of it, but he (presumably) had bought a whole case of it and had finished all but three bottles, which we simply can't let go to waste. Bob checked on line, and they cost about $30/bottle, which, believe me, is much better than what we buy at Sprouts in Tucson. Finished off with a small pastry of some sort. Then Stew (this no longer spring chicken—maybe a winter chicken is more like it) went down for his ten hours of sleep, having had an hour and a half nap in the afternoon. Bob and Karin stayed up till midnight!

Approaching the market along the river

Anyway, today's activity was light, it being a Sunday and

sunny but still quite cool. Headed out first to the street market thinking that if we saw something we liked, we'd bring it back to the flat before heading out for the day's

planned adventure. Problem was, we liked everything we saw, and returned with bouquets of lilacs and tulips (Thanks, Karin), a roast chicken, some herricot vert to go with it, a baguette (of course), several more kinds of cheese (Who can resist, especially at those prices?),

Who could resist the presentation?

a bag of mixed nuts, delicious (small) strawberries, and I don't remember what-all else. My only regret is that I didn't buy asparagus, which is in season now. Bob thought the stems were too thick; Karin thought the white asparagus was tasteless; and faced with such opposition, I couldn't decide what to buy. So, clearly, it's dinner in tonight.

(I have no idea why the previous paragraph is centered. And it won't allow me to correct it! --B)

 Then, having put away all these goodies, we headed out for our day's adventure. Our flat is just a block from the Saône River, which we crossed on our very own foot bridge into Vieux Lyon. This old part of town was at its height in the Renaissance, when the city was rich with silk trade and banking. The .001%-ers liked to live on that side of the river in mansions modeled after those found in Italy. There is one of them restored to its former glory, but most are now disguised by bland, gray stucco (Why?). The streets are narrow and mostly reserved for pedestrians, not cars. Rue

Amorino (aka, home!)

St. Jean is the main drag and filled with small eateries and milling tourists. There, Bob found two of his favorite things: fresh-made crepes with jambon et fromage (okay...ham & cheese crepes!) and, later, an Amorino gelato shop that

Lemon gelato wrapped in raspberry with a macaroon

advertised frutti di bosco gelato, although the latter turned out not to be fruit of the woods, but rather raspberry. Even Karin, surrounded as she was with her two tempters, sampled both crepes and gelato. After all, one's not in Vieux Lyon every day. Our first Amorino Gelato Shop we discovered during one of our early trips to Italy. Now, it is home.

One side trip we took, thanks to Rick Steves'

recommendation, was to wander into a 'traboule.' What, you might ask, is that? It's a dark ally connecting two narrow streets and entered by buzzing open a door at either end. Inside are winding staircases going up five or six stories. They reminded Karin of one designed by Leonardo da Vinci for a castle in the Loire Valley. (Bob and Stew remembered climbing it.) These traboules, according to Rick,

helped save many a resistance fighters hiding from the Nazis in WW II.

Although we hated coming in-doors later in the afternoon, because it was so lovely out, none of us could resist the call of the nap. Then, in the apartment, there was the aroma of a roast chicken... So, we crossed our 'passerelle' and headed home.