Reflections on our time in Lyon

Bonjour amis,
We are having a marvelous time with our dear friends John and Letha. They were able to take a few days of vacation from their busy schedule to host us in their home in Lyon. They have been so gracious to make our stay flawless. I think that traveling to a foreign country where you don't know the language or the culture can be both challenging and stressful at the same time. John and Letha take the time to explain etiquette in various situations.

Our second day in Lyon:

We had a leisurely morning before venturing out for the day. We walked a short distance to a beautiful 250 acre park named Golden Head Park (in English). The landscape, man-made lake and walking paths were very, very impressive. Adjacent to the park is a zoo. We continued our outing by renting bicycles and riding along the Rhone River. Lyon was the first city in France and Europe to adopt the concept of providing bicycles for people to use to ride around the city. One of the tour books mentioned that there are over 1,000 bicycles around the city. When you are through riding, you simply stop at a specific return/pickup location and lock the bike up. You must be sure that the bike is locked because if it's stolen you pay a high price to replace it. The French have it spot on with transportation i.e. walking, biking, buses and trains. We arrived home in the early evening to enjoy a salad and of course bread, wine and sorbet for dessert.

Our third day:

We drove about 30 minutes to the Beaujolais region. We spent the day meandering the countryside stopping at five different towns, each with it's own personality. One of the highlights of the day took place at the second town called Bagnols. John happened upon a Frenchman whom we named Francois. John who is the master of conversation opened the door for us to have a firsthand experience with a local wine making family. This was the first day of the harvesting of the grapes for the 2009 wine making season. Francois informed us that this will be a very good season because of the dry/hot weather doused with rain showers at critical moments. We watched the grapes go from the tractor/trailer to the conveyor belt and into the vat for the first pressing. He invited us down to the cave (wine cellar). He opened two bottles of wine, one red and one white from the 2006 season. I, who am a light drinker was a bit concerned about drinking two glasses of wine on an empty stomach, but I decided to relinquish myself to being a bit tipsy because it was such an incredible experience to be invited into the private life of a wine making family business. On an added note, we went to a local cafe' immediately and had a BIG lunch before driving on to the next village. The fourth town Oingt was celebrating it's 29th festival of grind organs, but without the monkeys though! How delightful to see people in costume turning beautiful grind organs on every street corner. You could imagine what life was like on a Parisien street in the late 1800's. Again, it's awe inspiring to think that these villages were built during the Middle Ages. We have wonderful pictures to remember these lovely villages when we return home.
Later that evening we dined at an authentic french restaurant called L'est. We were one of the first parties to arrive at 7:00 pm and within an hour the place was alive with activity. It was as if the wait staff knew the cues for each other as they appeared to work in perfect harmony. The Fench really do know how to enjoy a good meal and take great pride in the presentation.
We are now at a small fishing village called Sete' located on the Meditteranean Sea. We took the fast train from Lyon this morning departing at 7:10 promptly, arriving in Sete' by 9:00 am. We will write more later.

P.S. We think that we are people watching but in reality they are watching us and we are providing great entertainment.

Au revoir et à la prochaine!

Kathy & Eric

(We will try to add some pictures next time)