Lyon: where the Rhone meets the Saone, and the food is generous to say the least

We had heard Lyon referred to as the "food capital of France" and had for months been anticipating this stop. Much of what we'd been reading talked of the bouchons (an iconic local style of eatery offering local specialities), so we got brave and went an-eating. Having only two nights, we figured we could fit in a good four meals (dinner, lunch, dinner, lunch). As Brutus said of Julius Caesar, ambitious. Something we hadn't counted on was the fermeture annuelle (annual closure for several weeks to take holidays) - a surprising chunk of the town was shut, including some eateries we'd wanted to visit.

Unusual place for a meeting...

First up was Cafe des Federations, which proved a unique experience. No printed menus: a single 19-euro menu with a verbal list of options (ordering in French can be challenging enough at times, even when you can read it, but when you're being offered exotica such as calf's head, breaded tripe, blood sausage and the like there's a good chance you weren't taught this in school). Staff who, while perfectly helpful and professional, were keen on banter with customers (more tough French moments), as well as bagging each other out at high volume. A single squat toilet....shades of the Inca Trail. All in all this was a memorable occasion, but we wish that our French was better so that we could have joined in more. We waddled home and resumed research for the next day.
The day was glorious so we skipped breakfast and tried to earn lunch with a climb up the western hill to check out some Roman ruins. No-one said anything about Tracey having a work meeting that morning so we were most surprised when we bumped into Sarah, a work colleague (and Peter her partner), last seen in Hobart at Tracey's bon voyage work dinner. The UTas amphitheatre it was not!

A little vaudeville in Lyon

Lunch was at Aux Trois Petit Cochons (the three little pigs) which, as you may guess, specialised in pork dishes (Jews, Muslims and Ingrid may prefer to dine elsewhere). This was a cracking experience, with a pair of waiters that reminded us of some famous actors (a camp Dominique Pinon, and Nicolas Cage if you're wondering which). Salad of pig's ears, poultry liver parfait - and those were the starters.  The really serious stuff involved gratin de andouillete and the most succulent, jaw-droppingly delicious oxtail (parmentier de queue de boeuf)......fabulous, and certainly one we'll be trying to replicate. The waiters forced dessert on us. We tried so hard to resist....really...but the virtues of the Mousse Chocolat had not been exaggerated.
Lunch defeated us. There was no dinner.
Having learned from the previous day, we again skipped breakfast, packed and checked out. We'd agonised about lunch, but the oxtail had been too fine and the service far too agreeable: it was back to Aux Trois Petit Cochons. We were greeted like old friends and the tale of the meal was similar: attentive and agreeable service spiced with a touch of familiarity and, of course, wonderful food. Salade Lyonnais and a lovely sweet onion tart started us off, pig's trotter with olives and the oxtail (again - it was equally superb the second time) provided the main entertainment, and while a little fruit salad plus chestnut gateau absolutely finished us off. One of the finest compliments we can pay is to say that the menu (of which we only took a low-priced option) still has plenty on it that we want to sample, and we will definitely return.

Le quatrieme cochon (the 4th little pig)

With heavy hearts we returned to Pierre who, like the little champ that he is, hauled our replete selves out towards the French alps...and La Croix de la Rochette.