There is no quarter given to vegetarians in Lyon. A city legendary for its meaty gastronomy, at times I was reduced to eating half a round of brie at a meal. Not even a mild piece of fish made it to some menus except for the Norwegian restaurant that had 20 different ways of serving salmon. Its only alternative was tartare of bison (although it's still a mystery why bison was on a Norwegian menu). Hot veal head and tripe was as hard core as it got. Well, almost. The tartiflette served on the street consisted of heart stopping chunks of lardon, cartons of creme fraiche and cheese. Mr and Mrs B-M, our sprightly retiree hosts were also pretty hard core - inviting us to join them for whisky and liqueurs before 11am. God bless the French and their arteries.
If the food is not enough to take you to Lyon, or the history of the silk trade, or the UNESCO listed old town with its gothic cathedrals and cobbled streets, then come ye pagans to worship mammon and light at the annual Fete des Lumieres. Banish economic crises and corruption and the demise of democracy by playing gigantic pinball on an entire courtyard. Wind down alleyways past floating elephants and walls that melt and twist and burn. Hard surfaces submerge into underwater worlds. Trees become kaleidoscopes. Bodies become candles. Hands become black from eating roast chestnuts and tummies become so warm from the vin chaud that you will no longer feel your feet. And just when you think it couldn't get any better ... someone will put Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas' on the sound system. So we dance and remember what enchantment feels like as fairy lights lead the way home.
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