COMFORTABLE AND CONVENIENT, SITUATED IN A VILLAGE IN THE CITY

We were pleasantly surprised at how large this studio apartment is.You enter a foyer with the bathroom ahead, the kitchen to the right,and the living room/bedroom to the left.The bathroom was stylishly modern.The kitchen was large,modern and well equipped, the living room/bedroom, large and comfortable.The ceilings were high,and the windows tall, both adding to the spacious feeling.There were ample cupboards for clothes storage. Artistic touches added to the ambiance of the apartment.The exterior of the building is quite plain, and the lobby and corridors are a bit tired. But the apartment is a find.On Google Earth, we had seen that this apartment was located on the edge of an area undergoing transition from being the wholesale food market terminal. We explored the redevelopment area to see some very interesting commercial and residential architecture .The Confluence, a multi level shopping centre about 3 blocks away along a boat basin had recently opened, and included a large Carrefour supermarket as well as specialty food and wine at Paul and Cellerie, and many clothing stores, and restaurants. A boat trip, Navette, went from Confluence up the Saone River to Vieux Lyon.What a treat to find Max Poilaine boulangerie/bakery, a Paris favourite of ours, just one block away! The small but excellent neighbourhood Bayard street market held on Thurs and Sun mornings was around the corner.The tram service one block away with connections to the Metro was excellent, and reasonably priced. We took the tram to attend a concert of the Lyon National Orchestra in which Steve is a cellist, and an organ concert at the same concert hall the next morning. The organ is modern, large and quite a sight to see.If you like flea markets, on the first Saturday in May, there was a wonderful, huge Vide Grenier (literally empty the attic) with stalls along many blocks of the main street, Charlemagne,one block from the apartment. Watch for the Portes Ouvertes where many places such as the Opera House are open to the public for a behind the scenes look. We found an Eric Kayser bakery, another Paris favourite, across from the Opera House. They make good sandwiches. Wine is one of our interests. We found John Euvrard, an excellent wine shop, at 12 Quai de la Pecherie across the Saone from Vieux Lyon. Look for the two murals nearby. We took trams to an interesting area of urban design and murals around Blvd Etats-Unis in a 1930's planned community. Merci Brigitte and Steve!

My daughter and I recently stayed at Brigitte and Steve's flat in Lyon. It's a lovely place: clean, comfortable, convenient and close to everything. It's everything the write-up claims it is and more. We loved it there.