As I sit here on a train to Arles, France, I am quite amazed at how relaxed I can be during times of great stress. Let's get through Lyon first, shall we?
After that morning of being terribly homesick, I decided to dust off my tear-stained self and make the most of my time in Lyon. Anne was awake by then so we headed downstairs to have breakfast at the hostel and after securing our belongings, walked down to the information center to grab a map and devise a plan.
First on our list for the day was the Parc de la Tête D'Or. We walked about an hour to get to it, and once arriving we marveled at what a great place it was. A very large open and green area, it was probably a few acres big, with trees lining the various paths for runners, walkers, and families taking quiet strolls all around a beautiful green lake that could also be accessed by pedal boats. There were duck families making their way about the trails, and did not seem much disturbed by Anne and me as we walked through their little home on our way to find a quiet resting place. The hour long walk had included a visit to a farmer's market, where Anne and I bought very large apricots to have once we got to the park. After the flurry of Paris tours, we spent about three hours at that park talking about so many things. I'm thankful to be on this journey with Anne, she and I have grown a lot closer as we have had the chance to sit down and talk about so much during our trip.
As we sat by the edge of the lake and chatted, I noticed a young boy fishing by the side of the lake. He remained in one spot for about 45 minutes and then made his way down the lake closer to where we were sitting. He set his tools down and retook his position by his fishing rod. I watched him patiently as he sat still and waited for a colorful part of the string to bob up and down signaling a new catch. He kept the fish he caught in a net and did not keep the net out of the water for too long. At times he would put fish he caught right back into the water. I had to know more about this very structured and organized way of going about fishing.
I walked up to him and asked if he had any luck fishing. He held up the net and told me today was actually starting out pretty well. Henri had no school that morning and had decided to go to the lake in search of fish. "They most colorful ones are there best," he said, holding one out proudly for me. "Those are the ones the pet store wants the most." Henri was fishing for rainbow fish, as they are quite the fashion statement in the pet world at the moment--at least at Lyon's finest pet fish store, or so Henri said. He also stated the store owner knew his fish were often the most colorful. I asked him how many times school has been "cancelled" for him to get such a reputation, and he smiled as he admitted, "well sometimes I leave my house early and get to school late, but earliest is when the fish are most awake here!" He also told me about the POISSONS PREDATEURS, the predator fish who come by and scare his rainbow fish away. Henri doesn't like those predators, and neither do I now. I thanked Henri for showing me the art of rainbow fishing and Anne and I got on our away.
Next to do was visit a chocolate factory. Anne had read it was quite a sight; it was supposed to even have a chocolate wall inside. We made our way up yet another set of stairs (will they ever end?) and through a few bridges on our half hour walk to one of the more affluent districts in Lyon. We got to the factory and realized it was closed from 12:00-14:00. The time now read 14:25 but the storefront remained quiet with no one in sight. We stood across the street wondering what to do when two women came up the street, opened the doors and walked inside. They looked like they knew what they were doing, so we followed suit. The ladies had been employees and were eyeing us as we took a look inside the store.
There was indeed a chocolate wall, and chocolate other things. Chocolate cigars, yep, they had those. Chocolate tools in a chocolate tool box, yep, those too. Chocolate in the form of a ball to honor the World Cup, why indeed they did have those as well. Unfortunately, other than the extravagant chocolate objects, there was no factory that we could access, so we thanked our hostess and walked out. We made our way down to Vieux Lyon, the older part of the city and the original town looking for crêpes. We felt they would be a perfect snack while we made our way to the cathedral at the very top of the city. Around and around we went, but crêpes were either very expensive or just not available. Just as she and I decided to wait and make the walk up to the cathedral sans crêpes, we noticed a Chocolatier store. Inside was a beautifully decorated country style shop with all types of chocolate in various shapes. Contrary to the very modern objects found at the supposed chocolate factory, here we browsed chocolate flowers and chocolate that was formed to be like an Italian sausage,for example. Also there were flavored rum barrels, including: pistachio, piña colada, blueberry leaf. The best part about this Chocolatier was the samples! I enjoyed sampling many of the goodies insides the store and we walked out of there with happy tummies, crêpes or no crêpes.
Finally making our way up to the cathedral, we were faced with one of our toughest staircases yet! It was long, about nine or ten long flights of stairs, steep and unevenly spaced steps. We powered through the entire length and made it to the top. We walked along a rose garden until we finally made it to the top of the cathedral. From the cathedral, we were able to enjoy very pretty views of Lyon, which included a tall Radisson hotel tower that seemed very out of place as it stood so far from the other buildings surrounding it. It reminded me of the he Eiffel Tower, although not as beautiful and not as historic. This one just seemed to be a mosca, or just butting in where it didn't belong. Oh America, your presence is felt in Lyon.
We walked to a shop with a sign for glace, which in French means ice cream or gelato. The employee signaled for us to come over and buy one of his frozen treats, which were a type of carton-held mainstream ice cream brand. I was tempted to purchase a scoop of their "American" flavor (not really), but I apologized and said we might be back later. This is the second time we have seen a brand or flavor labeled as "American." In Heidelberg, the American brand had included chocolate, cheesecake, and cookie dough flavors, but I didn't want to try and guess what the American flavor tasted like. Down the hill we went in search of our crêpe as the walk up to the cathedral had made us hungry, yet again.
We stopped by the gelato stand next to the smaller church down in the town, and as we ordered our mûre confiture crêpe, we noticed that this stand also sold paninis and sandwiches at great prices. Dinner, we thought, and I let the guy know we would be back once we had freshened up at the hostel. Once back a the hostel, we showered to avoid the morning rush. We had a 09:20 train to catch the next morning to get us to Avignon, and we had just enough time to have breakfast at the hostel before heading to the train station. By the time we got back down to Vieux Lyon, it was past 20:00, and the panini/crêpe guy had already shut his doors. Feeling spontaneous, we decided to splurge and seek a full three course meal. We came across a tiny restaurant called Vieux Lyon. One of our roommates from the hostel was just finishing up her dinner there and promised the food was delicious. We sat down and ordered, Anne and I started out with salads and for our entrees, we decided to share what the other ordered. Anne felt like trying the plat du jour, which was a selection of French sausage with poutin. I tried the steak with what turned out to be a creamy mushroom sauce. Both were so delicious Anne and I left our dinner plates without a speck of sauce or meat. For desert, Anne and I enjoyed chocolate mousse and a slice of tarte ah citron, which is just fancy French for lemon pie. Needless to say, we were both glad the panini/crêpe guy had been unable to serve us dinner, as we had really good French food for the first time. The food in Paris wasn't as good, partly due to the fact that we rushed through it, but it may also have been due to the fact that it was at the end of two very packed days and in the middle of the touristy part of the city. This small restaurant was only partly filled with locals. There was a sweet couple who has finished dinner just as we sat down to order ours. They remained sitting at the restaurant, talking and gossiping about their newest daughter-in-law until right before Anne and I left. We headed back to the hostel with tummies happily filled and hearts content.
This morning, we woke up and quickly packed up, heading down to have breakfast before getting on the metro to the train station. Our train was to depart at 11:20 headed for Arles. When we arrived at the station, however, we were informed that the union strike in Paris has spread throughout France and trains all over the country were annulé or en retard. Remember the union workers from Paris Day 2 who filled the plaza by the army museum and spoke of equality and injustice? Yes, their strike actually influenced unions all over France! Cancelled and delayed trains all over, there was no 11:20 train, or trains that left within the hour for that matter.
As Anne panicked, I found myself gravitating towards a state of calm. Just as I had been doing in the months leading to our trip, I decided to regard this as just another opportunity to practice patience and grace with myself and the things I cannot control. There was nothing we could do about the strike, and if it meant altering our plans then we were to do just that: adjust our plans and be flexible. The train schedules on our phone apps were understandably inaccurate, but after speaking with a very nice station employee, we found a train with a pit stop in a random town we had never heard of. Valence, France is where we are now, on a two-hour window before our train boards for Arles. Anne and I looked at the city map and found a wonderful park to sit and have lunch while waiting. This is where we have been for the last hour and a half. Instead of feeling disappointed that our plans did not go smoothly, we have enjoyed and outdoor lunch at a very big and beautiful park, complete with fountains and schoolchildren tugging up and down on a colorful parachute. I'm very proud of us for dealing with the chaos at the train stations. We have now survived train station dilemmas twice now. Anne and I are not going to let anything keep us from having a great time while we are here, union strikes or bad weather, we are determined to keep enjoying our travels no matter where they lead us. For now, they are taking us to the southwestern French countryside.
Allons-y!
Apricots from the farmer's market on our walk to the big park our first morning in Lyon.
Watermelon. The samples were delicious!
A view of Lyon. There are two rivers that pass through. Anne and I crossed them tree times in one day. That's crossing six bridges, mind you.
My apricot from the farmer's market as we ate our goodies by the lake. It was so peaceful there.
My friend Henri! Here he was fishing as I caught a quick shot of him.
Here are the semi colorful fish he showed me. This was before he caught a really pretty rainbow fish.
This is at the fancy chocolate shop with the chocolate wall. They had fancy chocolate lipstick and everything, but no samples.
This chocolatier had samples, though! They were really good; the chocolate had tiny praline flakes. So yummy!
Flavored rum. Need I say more?
Is that sausage? Why no, it's praline chocolate!
So many stairs! This is one of the many many many. This view doesn't cover half of the stairs we climbed.
Souvenir shop. The guy at the information center said we could see all these sights in three days. We covered them in one. Pros I tell you, pros.
Our dessert at Vieux Lyon. It was yummy. Have I tried something in Europe that is not yummy? Nope.
The train station employee who finally got us on our way to the next part of our adventure. Her nails were fabulous. She made me want to do mine on the train ride over to Arles. You're welcome, Casey.
Anne and I at the beautiful park on Valence, France. We haven't taken any pictures with our backpacks on!
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