France: Lyon 2/11

Our walking tour guide certainly gave value for money. There were only three of us and we walked for three and a quarter hours. The third person was a young woman from Andorra the tiny country in the mountains between France and Spain. She was quite impressd that we had been there although we didn't tell her it was just a brief stop to walk up the main street. Jerome, the guide said his maximum number is 10 and he had nine in the group that afternoon. He said the cold months used to be quiet but now they seem to have tourists all year round. It was certainly busy over in the ancient part of the town when we  went there with large groups everywhere.
We began in the Jacobite Square where a church and monastery had once been. The Jacobites were defenders of the Holy Right of Kings and lost the struggle and power when there was the separation of King and State. Jerome showed us where parts of the monastery had been retained as a building entry and small courtyard when the the Square had been created in a redevelopment phase of the city. He also took us along a street which led from the square which began wide and then abruptly narrowed where the developers lost to the conservatinists and 17th C buildings were retained.
From there we went to a huge hospital building fronting the river which was built in the 15C and operated until 1990. It has been retored and converted into offices, shops and an Intercontinental Hotel. The conversion isn't quite complete so the hotel doesn't open till next year. A Benedictine Order of Nuns operated the hospital and the best preserved area was their cloistered garden which was beautiful. It also included a sculpture by Rodan which was impressive. It was called "Adam's Shadow" (in French) and had been a present to a benefactors mistress. It had not had the figure's hands and feet completed but was powerful regardless.
From there we wound in and out of trabouls, down past 15C , 16thC and 17thC houses having their features pointed out. We went into a street in the old town that was almost untouched since the 17th C and quietly walked into the foyer of a 5 star hotel which was a restored building and had created the lounge area by adding a glass roof. Because we were a small group we mostly avoided the body jam of colliding with the large groups. Jerome was proud of being able to take us where the larger groups couldn't go. He concluded by taking us to his 17C apartment for snacks of local produce. Cheese, sausage, bread, wine and chocolates. It was beautifully restored and afterwards we wished we had had the cheek to ask  if we could take photos.
We did a bit of last day shopping and then in the evening went to a very nice restaurant which Jerome recommended and then booked for us. It was above our usual price range but we treated ourselves for the last night in France. We also had a soup just so we could have French onion soup. This was almost a meal in itself and by the time we had our mains we were very replete. Another day ends.