Euro Trip (2022) Part Three: Turin - Lyon - Montpellier

Written on: March 30, 2023

Following our time in Siena, the three of us (Sesha, Tiama and I) took the train back to Florence where we said our goodbyes, for a while anyways, as Tiama was to meet us again in Portugal in a few weeks. From Florence we had a direct train to Turin in the north of Italy.

Turin

We only had one day and night in Turin due to our train connection into Lyon, so we didn't get the chance to form a strong impression of Turin other than that it seems like a fine place. We definitely had a bit of culture shock coming directly from southern Italy and Tuscany; the air in Turin was colder, the life less chaotic but the people just as friendly as everywhere else in Italy. We spent a few hours in the middle of the day sipping on delicious coffee and snacking while watching life pass by. Nowhere to be, nothing to do but enjoy living life in Italy.

The Druggery

Art exhibit

Our rough travel plan after Italy was to make a few train connections in France and see what we see before heading onto Spain and Portugal. One of the goals for this trip for me personally was to eat in the culinary capital that is Lyon, so that was our next destination and it did not disappoint! One of Sesha's friends from high school and college was also couch surfing in Lyon while waiting on his school in Milan to re-open so it was a great opportunity to see him and get the low down on Lyon as he'd been there throughout the summer.

Lyon

Roman amphitheatre with church and radio tower in the background

Church up close

A very French looking building

Bomp!

Lyon was one of the first cities where we started noticing street art become much more prevalent. It's really interesting seeing the differences in the amount of street art around the different cities in Europe. Surprisingly it seems like the eastern European cities are much more strict about where street art is allowed and how often it's covered up. Bratislava comes to mind as a place where I didn't see any due to it being highly illegal. On this trip it was more prevalent than not and we even took a few street art tours to get some background on the different styles we saw come up again and again. Perhaps I'll do a separate entry just for the street art as I have quite a few photos. Here are a few pieces we saw in Lyon.

"Drawn" building with famous French personalities

Paul Bocuse, the father of French gastronomy

And speaking of Paul Bocuse, the food in Lyon, my god the food! I am once again at fault for not documenting all of the deliciousness we came across in our time here but I was too busy salivating and stuffing my face. I think Sesha posted a lot of our actual plates of food on her social accounts, meanwhile I was too busy stuffing my face!

On our first day exploring Lyon we first visited a local cheese shop where a charming shop keeper gave us a lesson in the regions cheeses and recommended a few for us to take with and try (cheers to the best Roquefort I've ever had). They recommended a local wine shop as well so we spent the afternoon eating cheese and drinking wine by the river. The sunny day combined with full stomachs made it hard to get motivated to keep moving but somehow we made it to the next restaurant. I already mentioned we came to Lyon to eat, right?!

Lunch by the river

On our way to more food!

Chanterelle and leek Dish

All the cheese

A note on Bouchons and a story we'll never forget. French Bouchons are a type of restaurant found in Lyon, France, that serves traditional Lyonnaise cuisine, such as sausages, coq-au-vin, "salade lyonnaise" duck pâté or roast pork. According to our walking tour guide, the Bouchons were traditionally run by women and served as a sort of neighborhood kitchen where the industrial workers could come and eat simple and inexpensive meals that they were used to eating in their own homes. Eventually the kitchens became restaurants in their own right and now they are part of the traditional cuisine of Lyon. The wikipedia description goes on to say compared to other forms of French cooking such as nouvelle cuisine, the dishes are quite hearty, and this is where the story part comes in.

Dinner at a Bouchon (how it started)

As experienced travelers, Sesha and I pride ourselves on being open to other cultures and we always try to do what we feel is right in order to show respect. When it comes to food this usually means trying new things and not being rude by leaving food on the plate. If this is also your approach and you go to eat in a Bouchon for the first time, it may be your final resting place. The amount of food, the solidity of it, the heartiness! chips away at the free space in your stomach in wave after wave of full plates. All the while, the "boss of the Bouchon" is watching you, making sure you are enjoying and eating and if you're not eating, why then more food will be brought out! And it will most likely be made of blood in sausage form, or perhaps a potato salad or maybe a whole leg of chicken or calf hooves. As I'm typing this I'm swallowing hard and feeling full and I can taste the quenelle in the back of my throat.

Dinner at a Bouchon (how it progressed)

Dinner at a Bouchon (how it ended)

All in all, Sesha and I survived, happily survived. The French man at the table next to us, not so much. At the end of the meal while Sesha and I were looking for room behind our teeth to place the deserts, he ran out and proceeded to spew his meal onto the street. We couldn't help but feel a bit proud of ourselves for holding our own, even the boss appeared to smirk and give us a nod as we rolled our way home that night. Writing this down, I believe Lyon is the place where we started using the phrase it's a privilege to feel hungry, which was often invoked by us on this trip. How did we get so lucky!

The day after the Bouchon experience Sesha and I opted for a very light meal with our friend, followed by a walk through the Grand Parc Miribel which was nearby. The park is very large and very walkable, they even seem to have a zoo within it that's open to the public. We were only able to cover a small portion of it as it was our last day in Lyon but definitely something to explore more the next time we're in town.

Botanical Gardens

Random giraffes

Montpellier

We chose to visit Montpellier for a couple of reasons, we've both heard of it before and it was an easy stop on the way to Barcelona. We both ended up enjoying our time exploring the city and even though it doesn't top our list of places to visit again I would definitely recommend a visit to anyone interested. Some of our highlights there included art gallery walks, the walkable city center and a young university vibe. The city also boasts the oldest medical school in Europe and during a walking tour we got to witness a graduation ceremony which involved capes (think Harry Potter) and singing of silly songs, all inside of a centuries old castle!

A Roman aqueduct running through town

Arc de triomphe (does every French city have one?)

Typical three hour lunch

The city gallery was quite extensive and apparently many Montpellier-ites donate their personal collections to the city gallery which over time has come to include quite a few famous artists and pieces. Great way to spend an afternoon.