We left the paradise that is Jean-Louis and Annie’s home Sunday morning and got our reserved seats on the train from Nantes to Lyon. Pretty cushy-just like the life we lead at the Lambert house. We hadn’t thought to bring lunch. We had become like pampered cats.
Luckily there was lunch at a little cafeteria outside the Lyon station. Perhaps not the gourmet food we had been enjoying or anticipate enjoying in the gastronomic capital of France, but sustenance. We were able to get a taxi and get to the Park & Suites fairly easily, but that’s where the ease ended. It was Sunday and the hotel isn’t staffed on Sunday. There is a little electronic lock box by the door with a phone number, so thank Goddess we had working phones. The voice on the other end would have preferred French, but she was SOL. Eventually we worked out the code for opening and closing the box and got out envelope with room key and the electronic fob (called a badge) that opens the main door. Easy to get to our floor with the working elevator and then to open our door which is fairly fancy.
We have two beds larger than twins but smaller than doubles. One lives in the living room. We have a kitchen in a closet-about ¼ the size of our closet at home-maybe less. It has a two burner cooktop, under the counter refer avec freezer, and nice deep round sink and a micro. Some shelf space. There is plenty of shelf and closet room in the flat, a small flatscreen tv mounted to the living room wall, and basically two desks-one serves as dining table. There are 4 little orange chairs. The bathroom has a tub with the usual European water stuff-faucet to run water in the tub and a handheld shower. However, there is no curtain, so run the handheld shower carefully. The tub is adequate for me to sit in-just. To get out I have to swivel around to my knees and work my way to standing. There is some effort to make it non-slip, but not enough to suit me. I did manage to get out without incident, but warned Marcia. She managed somehow. In this room the toilet lives with the tub and sink-as opposed to our recent hotels where the toilet has a room of its own. This toilet has a rather spacious corner. There were quite a few towels for the bath but nothing in the kitchen.
Also, most significant for us-no wi-fi. We went without internet from late Sunday afternoon to Monday morning. I went down and got the cat5 cable and the code this morning. Whew!
We do have a laundry-a shared washer and dryer that Marcia will have to tell you about. Suffice it to say that some clothes are dry and others hang in the bathroom.
So, by the time we got all moved in it was my nap time. We have really become like cats. At Jean-Louis and Annie’s we got up when we pleased unless we had an adventure planned. We got our breakfast pretty much like we do at home except Annie usually makes the coffee-a full pot. We ease into the day and have lunch anywhere from 12:30 to 2, and it lasts till about 3 or 4. 4 has become my nap time as I am usually quite tired by then. Besides, the midday or so meal is the big meal of the day and one needs a rest. The evening meal doesn’t begin till sometime after 7 or 8, so one might as well sleep a couple of hours.
After sleeping for 2.5 hours on Sunday, I made myself get up and knew that nobody would be making our dinner and I would have to go on the hunt. Along the way I found the metro and a couple of posted maps which was a good thing as we have no maps. We don’t even have a guidebook which wouldn’t have done us much good anyway as we are off the map. Next was a kebob shop which seemed just the thing for take away, and around the corner a little Mom and Pop store where I could get eggs and milk and bread. This neighborhood is not totally Arabic, but quite a bit so. I was greeted in Arabic for grocery buying. My Arabic makes me look fluent in French. So, to be polite I responded in French. The shopkeepers said, “Thank You”, and “Goodby” as I left. We all try our best.
So the kebab hit the spot at about 7:30, and there was photo editing till bedtime.
We live behind a rail station, so there is a bit of noise and not the chirping birds we have become accustomed to, but we were pretty tired and we both slept well.
This morning we were up before 8 and braved the bath. By 9:30 I was on the Metro headed for the tourist area of Lyon, Bellecour. The machine for buying billets speaks English and we had learned to use them in Paris, so little problem. Out of the Metro I was able to find an English language bookstore fairly easily. It was the only shop open on that block-it’s a holiday. So, I figured that if I could find nothing else on my “to do” list I could at least read the guidebook and plan. The clerk pointed out the tourist office, so I was headed there when something possessed me to go down to the end of the street. There was an open market of stuff-no food but stuff. It was a long line of various stuffs under tents and lots of people from Africa and the Middle East. We all worked our way around the stalls finding what we need. I needed an over the door hook, a little rubber backed rug to be able to stand in the shower, two pair of black socks, a sponge with scrubber and a bottle of dishwashing liquid. Voila! Some responses from stallkeepers in this market were in Italian.
Luckily there was lunch at a little cafeteria outside the Lyon station. Perhaps not the gourmet food we had been enjoying or anticipate enjoying in the gastronomic capital of France, but sustenance. We were able to get a taxi and get to the Park & Suites fairly easily, but that’s where the ease ended. It was Sunday and the hotel isn’t staffed on Sunday. There is a little electronic lock box by the door with a phone number, so thank Goddess we had working phones. The voice on the other end would have preferred French, but she was SOL. Eventually we worked out the code for opening and closing the box and got out envelope with room key and the electronic fob (called a badge) that opens the main door. Easy to get to our floor with the working elevator and then to open our door which is fairly fancy.
We have two beds larger than twins but smaller than doubles. One lives in the living room. We have a kitchen in a closet-about ¼ the size of our closet at home-maybe less. It has a two burner cooktop, under the counter refer avec freezer, and nice deep round sink and a micro. Some shelf space. There is plenty of shelf and closet room in the flat, a small flatscreen tv mounted to the living room wall, and basically two desks-one serves as dining table. There are 4 little orange chairs. The bathroom has a tub with the usual European water stuff-faucet to run water in the tub and a handheld shower. However, there is no curtain, so run the handheld shower carefully. The tub is adequate for me to sit in-just. To get out I have to swivel around to my knees and work my way to standing. There is some effort to make it non-slip, but not enough to suit me. I did manage to get out without incident, but warned Marcia. She managed somehow. In this room the toilet lives with the tub and sink-as opposed to our recent hotels where the toilet has a room of its own. This toilet has a rather spacious corner. There were quite a few towels for the bath but nothing in the kitchen.
Also, most significant for us-no wi-fi. We went without internet from late Sunday afternoon to Monday morning. I went down and got the cat5 cable and the code this morning. Whew!
We do have a laundry-a shared washer and dryer that Marcia will have to tell you about. Suffice it to say that some clothes are dry and others hang in the bathroom.
So, by the time we got all moved in it was my nap time. We have really become like cats. At Jean-Louis and Annie’s we got up when we pleased unless we had an adventure planned. We got our breakfast pretty much like we do at home except Annie usually makes the coffee-a full pot. We ease into the day and have lunch anywhere from 12:30 to 2, and it lasts till about 3 or 4. 4 has become my nap time as I am usually quite tired by then. Besides, the midday or so meal is the big meal of the day and one needs a rest. The evening meal doesn’t begin till sometime after 7 or 8, so one might as well sleep a couple of hours.
After sleeping for 2.5 hours on Sunday, I made myself get up and knew that nobody would be making our dinner and I would have to go on the hunt. Along the way I found the metro and a couple of posted maps which was a good thing as we have no maps. We don’t even have a guidebook which wouldn’t have done us much good anyway as we are off the map. Next was a kebob shop which seemed just the thing for take away, and around the corner a little Mom and Pop store where I could get eggs and milk and bread. This neighborhood is not totally Arabic, but quite a bit so. I was greeted in Arabic for grocery buying. My Arabic makes me look fluent in French. So, to be polite I responded in French. The shopkeepers said, “Thank You”, and “Goodby” as I left. We all try our best.
So the kebab hit the spot at about 7:30, and there was photo editing till bedtime.
We live behind a rail station, so there is a bit of noise and not the chirping birds we have become accustomed to, but we were pretty tired and we both slept well.
This morning we were up before 8 and braved the bath. By 9:30 I was on the Metro headed for the tourist area of Lyon, Bellecour. The machine for buying billets speaks English and we had learned to use them in Paris, so little problem. Out of the Metro I was able to find an English language bookstore fairly easily. It was the only shop open on that block-it’s a holiday. So, I figured that if I could find nothing else on my “to do” list I could at least read the guidebook and plan. The clerk pointed out the tourist office, so I was headed there when something possessed me to go down to the end of the street. There was an open market of stuff-no food but stuff. It was a long line of various stuffs under tents and lots of people from Africa and the Middle East. We all worked our way around the stalls finding what we need. I needed an over the door hook, a little rubber backed rug to be able to stand in the shower, two pair of black socks, a sponge with scrubber and a bottle of dishwashing liquid. Voila! Some responses from stallkeepers in this market were in Italian.
Next the tourist office where I got a map that includes the Metro and two city cards so we can see oodles of good museums and get on any public transportation-good for 3 of our 7 days here. The nice young woman who sold me the cards was able to show me where I could find Starbucks and Body Shop-the last of the “to do” chores. Along the way I found the post office-which was of course closed but had the usual drop boxes near the front door, so Voila again. Starbucks provided a well deserved if reckless coffee (no nap today for this kitty), and Body Shop will keep me clean and well oiled. Time to head for home.
After lunch we decided to head out for the grocery. Marcia had been doing research online and I had been consulting with the hotel staff and discovered that we have a Casino on the next block. Casino, pronounced Kazino in French, is a chain of grocery stores. Turns out that Kazino like most of the rest of Lyon is on holiday today,so no groceries. Plan B was dinner at one of the two Asian restaurants we found on the way to Kazino and breakfast tomorrow will be downstairs at the little café/take away. There is a big bank headquarters across the street, so this little café specializes in quick and light healthy food and lovely espresso.
As I said, no nap, but time to read the guidebook and edit photos. Will get them posted as soon as Marcia is done with the cat5 cable. Dinner was at Nouveau Saigon-a buffet that was quite satisfying. Tomorrow threatens to be a rainy day, so we will probably do a museum or two.
KG
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