Lunch in Lyon

{wearing a ($10) Zara tee, Urban Outfitters jeans (yes, three days in a row) and H&M panama hat}

After Avignon and Chateauneuf du Pape, we continued north along the lavender/olive tree/sunflower- lined highway (gorgeous) 2.5 hours to Lyon. Although we were only there for an afternoon, I've definitely pinpointed it as somewhere to go back and explore further. It seemed pretty young and vibrant and more gentrified than the other French cities we had visited up until this point, most likely because it's bigger. We stopped for lunch at Paul, which we later discovered is more or less a French fast food chain (think Au Bon Pain, I guess, but much cuter/more rustic and 10,000x better bread & food)...but really good if you ask a fat American like me. After lunch we window shopped around Rue President Éduoard Herriot & Republique and then of course had to stop for ice cream before hitting the road to head to Beaune. This time: Terre Adélice. Over 150 flavors of heaven and really obscure/interesting ones including balsamic vinegar, caprese, foie gras, lilac, mascarpone, olive, sesame, truffle, wasabi and verveine among others. I stuck to the one French word I know really well: macaron.

{the buildings along the river brightened up an otherwise overcast day}

{a cute antique print store in old town}

{a quick baguette at PAUL, which we later realized is not a cute/unique restaurant specific to Lyon but at every rest stop, airport, etc. but really good nonetheless}

{one of the many outdoor restaurants overflowing with students/young adults}

{a cool doorway to a bookstore between Rue de la Republique and Rue President Éduoard Herriot}

{about to make out with some macaron ice cream at Terre Adélice}