(Lyon, France, and Zweisimmen, Switzerland)
On my last night in Lyon, I went to a Lebanese restaurant called Rose de Damas in the Part-Dieu neighbourhood. The location and appearance didn’t suggest that this was the #6-ranked restaurant (out of more than 2200) in Lyon. And roughly 90 of those restaurants have at least one Michelin star. Rose de Damas doesn’t. But I agree with popular opinion on this one: I thought my meal there was outstanding.
I went for the Menu végétarien, which had an assortment of hot and cold dishes. Check out the above photograph – doesn’t it look spectacular? The cylindrical pastry on top was filled with cheese. And they didn’t try to overwhelm with garlic, as some restaurants seem determined to do. Instead, the dip tasted of sesame. Other interesting flavours included walnut and pomegranate. My photo of the restaurant itself (see below) was taken at night, but I think you can tell that it looks cosy yet unpretentious.
The next morning, I was up bright and early to catch a series of trains from Lyon to Zweisimmen. I had to change trains in Geneva and Montreux, but those stops were very brief…thanks to the incredibly dense network of public transportation in Switzerland. Zweisimmen is in the heart of my ancestral Swiss valley, and is my base for skiing (and more!) for the next three days. The picture at the very top of this post is an overcast view of Zweisimmen taken from the ski gondola.
The posh resort village of Gstaad is just down the road: check out the 2nd class railway car on this route. The wood panelling and skylights are standard issue. The service was very impressive too.
I’m staying at the Hotel Sonnegg (above), a very friendly family-run hotel at the top of the town. It can be a demanding uphill walk from the downtown core, but it’s also very peaceful. There are no rowdy late-night disturbances!
Speaking of family, my cousin Catherine happened to be on a brief visit to the nearby village of Mannried. We hadn’t seen each other for a while, so we had an enjoyable catch-up dinner at the Bären Restaurant (see above). This restaurant serves mostly Swiss food, and I had my very first Rösti of the trip! Very good, but also very filling. Perfect for the demanding sports-filled days that lay ahead!
The uphill walk back to my hotel wasn’t easy, but it’s hard to complain when there are so many typical rustic chalets along the way. It’s so nice to see the real thing. (Don’t get me started on the Canadian restaurant chain called “Swiss Chalet”: it is neither Swiss nor a chalet.).
But what about the skiing, you ask? All those spectacular photos are coming up soon! And I’ll also be telling you about a very special sports experience I had in Gstaad, of all places…