Day One in Lyon

June 22. I am feasting my eyes on the golden glow of the Basilique  Notre Dame de la Fourviere  floating in the night sky.  It's perfectly framed, along with something that looks an awful lot like La Tour Eiffel, in my bedroom window as i tuck in after a long but perfect day.   I landed here in Lyon early this afternoon and caught  the Rhône Express tram from St Exupéry to Part-Dieu.   Berengere, who's fabulous view this is, was waiting to meet me. We walked back to her place up here on the 13th floor, swapped histories (in French!) and then went out and did a little explore together. This is SO much better than staying in a hotel. She got me oriented in the hood, walked me to the Centre Commercial La Part Dieu, helped me figure out how to buy a phone charger, food and vino, and gave me a great recommendation for dinner (not just where, but what as well).  I went to Le Bistrot du Palais and had a legume salad with poached egg, crispy bacon, asparagus and a dressing that could only have been made in France's food capital. So good.  The building across the street from my little sidewalk table just begged to be sketched.  There I was, absorbed in the details of the building, swapping the odd sentence with my French waiter, listening to the animated chatter of the locals at the next table, thinking 'this is exactly what I came here for'.   Now, after sketching Fourviere and the tour out my bedroom, window it's pushing on 2am here. Time for some shut-eye and on to new adventures tomorrow.