On the outskirts of Lyon it passed close to the Parc de la Tête d'Or where we took a lunch stop by the lake. The Parc is one of the top sites in Lyon and was filled with families walking and cycling, runners and people practicing martial arts on the lawns. There is also a free zoo, but we passed on that one. We could literally smell the roses though as we cycled through.
After leaving the Parc the green route continued around the river and into other parks where there were people bathing in the lakes and sunbathing on the 'beaches'. It must be great having all these natural beauty spots so close to a major city and there are bikes that you can hire all over the place.
After cycling by the Rhone for an hour or so we crossed over at Jons and headed north towards Pérouges. it's a medieval hilltop town and so we had a climb at the end of what was otherwise a fairly flat route.
It was worth it though as the commune seems to have been frozen in time. Most of the buildings are timber frame and stone, with cobbled streets throughout. There is a tree in the main square that was planted in 1792 during the French Revolution and lots of flowers on all the buildings.
Like most French towns they bake their own bread and also some delicacies of the region which we sampled at a local restaurant (galette au sucre, a brioche pastry with lemon and sugar served with fromage blanc and a raspberry coulis) after a traditional meal (coq au vin with wild rice) with a pot of wine (Régnié). The chicken here tastes like it did when I was young and nothing like what we now get from the supermarkets.
Tomorrow I suspect things will be a little different; Julie has booked us into a nunnery for the night!
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