So we open our front door (white door above) and there is a short man with a man bun inside our apartment. Scared the bejeebers out of me until I realized it was part of the “ artistic apartment vibe”. Nice chandelier though!
Another easy flight into Lyon and a taxi ride to another donkey path and stairs. The taxi cost more than doubled between here and Lisbon so we did a bit more walking. All of this was forgotten when Fran swung around the corner (very unexpectedly) with her beautiful smile, (Fran stayed with us as an exhange student from Chile about 16 years ago.) It was WONDERFUL to see her, but so sad Maris couldn’t be there for the reunion. Lyon was a perfect place for walking, talking, eating, drinking and even bicycling while we caught up with our lives. Much has happened since we last were together, and it was so good to have time to just talk together.
Time to go out and celebrate Fran’s completion of her masters degree in law while studying in London for a year.Unfortunately I chose a restaurant not far away but a long way up the stairs. All worth it, if we get to slide down on the way back….
We had convinced Fran to go on a bike tour /food tasting trip around Lyon. The temps were a bit chillier than expected. In fact our tour guide said that the temp on the day of our ride it was the same temp as on Christmas Day last year! Thanks to Zara and Uniqlo I was able to winterize my wardrobe. I even bought gloves—-which came in handy when our apartment dropped down to 17 degrees (62F). Outside I believe it dropped into the 40s. Had I known the bike path was shared with the city bus system I might not have been so excited about doing this. Regardless it was a great way to see the city.
Yup that’s me—-gloves, wool scarf, Uniqlo thermal shirt, long sleeved shirt, sweater, jacket, leggings with pants on top—-looking hot (literally) and ready to go. Even with an e bike (barely) the slog up the hill wasn’t easy but very beautiful. It was the usual wedding cake type architecture and amazing views. They said it was the first day Mont Blanc could be seen—-that cooler crisper weather.A glass of wine and a charcuterie board helped us to keep going…We met this nice family at the park who asked us to take a rock back to the US that they had painted. We couldn’t explain that we actually live in Mexico but I think we can make this work. (Our guide interpreted).As it turns out Lyon became established because of it’s streetwalkers. Our guide spent a great deal of time explaining how this came about and how the trade worked in the city. For example they had secret passageways between buildings that allowed them to cut through rather than use the streets.There’s Fran in the secret passageway puzzling about all this Information….
And just so you can better understand our confusion, here is a brief video:
Finally someone asked about the streetwalkers and the importance of the secret passageways. At this point the guide creased his forehead and realized our confusion. While Fran was wondering why all the workers were sick; I had confused them with skillwalkers at an Olympics competition downtown. Regardless once we understood he was talking about SILK WORKERS and not sickness or prostitutes, it all made SO much more sense. So crank up the volume and check out this video. I may not have understood much but I do love that accent! (The skill workers -not walkers-apparently come from all over Europe to compete against each other in doing various skills, for example, building a wall or tiling. None of us had heard of it before but it is apparently a very big thing and we saw participants wearing the skill worker jackets all over the city. It’s called Worldskills 2024. The competition was underway while we were there with large area set up for their competition downtown). I am not making light of the skill workers—there is an excellent website for this.And through the magic of WhatsApp we learned that our palapa was completed in LB—time for a palapa party on return. (Note how well I reply in Spanish). I think thumbs up covers most things.
In front of the basilica on a beautiful day, We were surprised how quiet it was on a weekend. (Photo credit: Fran)
Have you ever noticed when you are in a country that doesn’t speak your language —and you try to tell them this—-that they just keep speaking to your in their language? At least French is a beautiful language, but you feel bad that they are wasting their time. In this case the women talked and talked a little irritably but intermittently said DRINK and tapped the table. Eventually we realized we needed to order drinks to use her table—we complied. And the oysters were delicious with my espresso DRINK. A perfect breakfast. Afterwards we went off to buy components of our lunch at the amazing morning market.
Brant and Fran went in search of bread and meat.
I did vegetables, fruit and cheese. And wine of course. (I had a technique, grab vegetables in one hand, put palm out with money in other..no telling what I paid)I have never eaten such sweet melons.And then we returned to our apartment where we had a feast of chicken, sausage, corn, strawberries, melon, figs, tomates and lots of cheese and bread. We saw a note in the apartment saying there was a table stored next to the stairs that we could take out to the main path way/stairwell. So we did. There were lots of people going up and down the passageway so when one asked us to take their pic we asked them to return the favor—-hence the half eaten table.A bright day makes brilliant stained glass…and the gilded mosaics really shineWe were told this was voted the most beautiful bar in the world so we had to check it out..even if we could only afford one drink…for all 3 of us.And even more interesting is that prior to being a bar, it was a hospital. Note the wood paneling in the Picture above and compare to the painting. Kind of interesting to think about? (We found this painting in a museum at the basilica, we took it as a sign that we needed to get a drink there).Honestly, I think I enjoyed the drinks on the barges along the river more than the Dome (even if the dome drink had 25 ingredients). A beautiful day to stroll the river and have a martini or a beer or whatever. I requested an ahlivay with a shoulder shrug—-and 5 minutes later I had 3 in my drink I keep meaning to check that on google translate—but it worked. …and somehow in France, they do “twinning” better… (Note woman on phone …do hand motions help while on phone?)
One of the main goals I had in Lyon was of course to eat the food! This is a quenelle floating in a crayfish bisque—-it was like this floating soufflé in my creamy seafood soup—EXCELLENT! A savory version of a floating island. Brant and Fran were convinced I had ordered duck but fortunately the waiter understood my fine French!
..and this is “pink bread”—-kind of a brioche with big chunks of sweet buttery praline floating around in it. The pink part I don’t understand but it was delicious. We bought some at the guid recommended site and then at an off brand boulangerie and I have to admit the guide recommended spot was far better.Was looking for this pic, this is the skill workers. There are probably 40 or more of these tents set up for the skill workers (not silk workers).I rarely include bathroom pics but in this case it is irresistible. In our air BnB there was this chair right in front of the sink. The reasoning was somewhat unclear but made us chuckle but also made standing in front of sink impossible...But have to say getting to sleep in same room with Danny Rojas (of Ted Lasso Fame and also Fran’s last name ) made for an interesting stay. Of course, that might have been a portrait of Nicole Kidman on Brant’s side of the bed. (Note heavy wool Scottish plaid blanket).
Regardless, Lyon was a beautiful city for roaming and eating and drinking and catching up. Easily digestible if that makes sense. Next time Maris needs to be there and we need to do it sooner…rather than later as they say! Fran off to Rome and as always wishing her all the best. We are off to Provence….time to see if Peter Mayle was telling the truth…..
…and a truly beautiful city at nightNow ….about that rock…and I forgot to get her contact info….
Life's Been Good To Us So Far! 
Wow!-Fran has become quite the sexy litt
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I loved reading such a detailed description of the trip and our meeting in Lyon! I hope to see you soon – hopefully with better weather!
Loads of abrazos!
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