Redecoration of our Building Stairwell

 We have often talked about our apartment in Lyon – in a building dating, so we have been told, from the 1880s. [see this year’s first post for a repeat look at the building exterior.]  For the past few years, a number of improvements to the structure have been undertaken.  The gas lines and meters to each apartment have all been replaced, as has the electrical wiring to each apartment.  Now underway is a project to repaint the stairwell.  

Our Apartment's New Gas Line and
Meter in the Stairwell

There are number of features in the old decoration of the stairwell that we have been hoping will be preserved.  Below are some examples of these attractive features.  Included are decorative indications of which floor you are on.  As you may notice, the style of these decorative features is very similar to Art Nouveau, which incorporated sinuous flower and female shapes, and was popular between about 1890 and 1920.

A Beautiful Decoration Midway up the Wall

Entresol Floor- Just above Ground Floor

3rd Floor, outside our Apartment,
actually the 4th above the Ground Floor

                                                                                                                                                                 

Covering the Stairs Outside our Apartment

We have also observed sample swatches on the walls, showing some of the new colors [see below].  Included were penciled descriptions of the colors, seeming to indicate that, indeed, at least some of the decorations will be redone!

Paint Sample Describing Colors for
the Wall Decorations

Approved Green Paint Sample

Stay tuned for an update on this fascinating project!

May Day In Lyon

May first is Labor Day (Fête du Travail) in France.  It is a public holiday and the only day of the year when employees are legally obliged to be given leave (with the exception of some professions that cannot be interrupted, hospitals, police and fire departments for example).  In Lyon there is no public transport today - no buses, no metro, no tram, not even the funicular to get up Fourviere hill. 

The large commercial centers near us, Les Halles Paul Bocuse and Le Centre Commerical, are closed, and most restaurants, cafes, and boulangeries are also closed. David and Roger decided to take advantage of the quiet, largely deserted streets and bike paths to go for a bike ride.  It is incredibly quiet in our neighborhood!

In the past local trade unions in Lyon have organized parades to celebrate the day. I haven’t heard anything yet, but it’s early in the day.  

Our Muguets

In France, May Day is also referred to as La Fête du Muguet (Lily-of-the-Valley Day), as people traditionally give bouquets to loved ones. Why? Well, this tradition goes back to 1561 when King Charles IX of France was given lily-of-the- valley flowers as a present on May 1st. Legend has it that he liked them so much that he decided to present lily-of-the-valley flowers to the ladies of his court each year on May 1st.  Leading up to May 1st, les Muguets can be found for sale in many, many places from grocery stores to street corners. It's a lovely tradition, and we make sure to get some every year when we're in Lyon.  This time we bought ours at our favorite flower and plant stall in our local marché.

So, although les Muguets have no relationship with labor and workers, the French make the tradition work.  It's a delightful combination!

Another Delightful Lunch Date

Each year we’ve come to Lyon, the local Del Cano group has invited us to join them for their monthly lunch.  This group of Brits has been very gracious in their welcome of us colonials, and it is definitely a pleasure to enjoy a relaxed lunch and very interesting conversations with them.

Our happy lunch group

These lunches take place is local Lyon restaurants, typically smaller ones, and provide a chance for us to taste some local favorites.  The restaurant we went to this last month was the restaurant, Les Adrets, in Vieux Lyon.  While we were limited to two choices per course on their prix fixe menu, each of us was found their three courses both interesting and flavorful.

T

But, there is something we have found fascinating about small restaurants and cafes in France. Somehow, they manage to serve multiple courses of delicious food with only one or two people in the kitchen and one person managing the dining room.  This is no small feat!  The person in the dining room sets the tables, explains the menu choices, takes the orders, serves each course to the correct person, removes the plates and cutlery after each course and brings on the next, and manages separate checks and payments for each person or couple.  And, this person somehow remains not only welcoming and very pleasant but also totally professional. 

This amazing woman does it all!

This is one of the things that not only makes it possible for these places to keep their overhead costs at a minimum but also makes dining in these small establishments so very delightful.  

Vive la France! And, Vive les Françaises et les Français!

 

Lunch at Nathalie and Stéphane’s

As most of you will likely remember, we were a bit concerned when Roger and Dominique, our original landlords, told us they had sold “our” apartment.  As it turned out, our new landlords, Nathalie and Stéphane are also delightful and have become friends. Over the years we have enjoyed getting to know them and their two lovely daughters.  We have had the pleasure of attending a variety of musical events with them, doing a bit of sightseeing and shopping (Nathalie and Anna), providing material for Lucie’s senior project, cheering on Lucie and Fanny in their dramatic and musical performances, sharing meals, and more.  And, there’s a further bonus – all of us, Roger and Dominque, Stéphane and Nathalie and family, and the two of us enjoy getting together every so often.  Which brings us to the subject of this posting: our recent lunch chez Nathalie and Stéphane.

Here’s a photo Lucie took of (L-R) Roger, Anna, David, Nathalie, Dominique, and Stéphane.  

It has become sort of a custom for all of us to get together for lunch during our stays in Lyon.  So, off we went to Nathalie and Stéphane’s with Roger at the wheel.  (Nathalie and Stéphane live in the ‘burbs, far enough out to be beyond Lyon public transportation.) We don't see the girls often since they are grown up now and busy with their own lives; Lucie works and lives in Paris, and Fanny is attending University and has an Internship. (Not sure how that happened so fast – weren’t they just in middle school?)  But, both of them were at home with Mom and Dad, and it was great to see them again and have them join us for lunch.  

This was a full French meal:  aperitif, appetizer, entrée (first course), plat (main dish), cheese course, dessert, and digestifs (after dinner drinks).  With that many people at the table, there are bound to be a variety of drink choices. Before dinner Stéphane brought out a new drink for us to try, an Italian aperitif that is served with tonic water.  Anna gave it a try, actually a couple of tries, and found it quite pleasant. One of the great things about these French meals is that they take place over a period of time and include LOTS of great conversations and, of course, the appropriate libation with each course.  They are really a wonderful way to reconnect with friends and discuss a wide variety of things – even a bit of politics in multiple countries. 

The Italian aperitif.

In addition to delicious food and very enjoyable conversation, we were treated to a bit of entertainment.  Stéphane has added three hens to their domicile. The hens have their own house and fenced yard and reward their owners with eggs each day.  Those hens have quite the setup!  However, the red hen had somehow found a way to get out of the confines of their enclosure to go exploring.  How she managed to get out was as yet undetermined, but each time it resulted in someone at the table discovering her escape and Stéphane jumping up to catch her and put her back into her enclosure. (Is the grass truly “greener on the other side of the fence” - is this a case of “why did the chicken cross the road/escape”?  It’s a bit of a head-scratcher.)

The three hens just hanging out and behaving themselves in their abode.

The time went by incredibly fast, and suddenly it was time to say our goodbyes.  It is great to spend a few hours and share a delicious lunch with such pleasant folks.  We may not have commented on all the positive world events or solved all the problems of the world, but we likely did identify and discuss them.  

How fortunate we are to have such wonderful friends (and landlords) in Lyon!

“Reunited, and it feels so good” (with apologies to Peaches and Herb)

Laurent, Estelle’s husband, is a very knowledgeable and avid bike rider, and he assisted David in choosing and purchasing his electric bike.*

He also babysits David’s bike while we are back home in Washington.  Since David and his three biking buddies have another bike excursion planned, David was ready to get on his bike and start getting back into training for the trip. So, we got on the Metro, which now goes all the way to St Genis Laval, where Estelle and Laurent live.  

Then, after a short bus ride from the Metro station, we arrived chez Neveu (at their home).  There we enjoyed a short visit with them and their son, Paul.  (As a side note, we were very pleased to have Paul as a guest at our home in Kirkland, Washington, for a short while last summer.  It's always interesting to act like a tourist at home, and we packed quite a bit into Paul's stay with us!  It was great fun, and he's welcome back any time.)  

After coffee and conversation, we went outside, and Laurent brought out David’s bike – an incredibly clean version of David’s bike.

David taking a couple of practice
rounds at Estelle and Laurent's.

David got on the bike and rode it around their yard a few times, and then pronounced himself ready to ride it the 15 km or so back to our apartment.  

Yes, “Reunited, and it feels so good”!

* For some additional background information on this bicycle's adventures of see the April 25th and 27th, 2023 posts. 

Back “home” in Lyon

Ah, time for our annual return to Lyon!  We left Seattle Sunday, March 31^st and arrived in lovely Lyon Monday, April 1^st.  We had heard that France had experienced some rain, but we were surprised at the number of flooded fields we saw while on the train from Paris to Lyon.  We also saw some rather spectacular rainbows!

We arrived in Lyon to “our” apartment which our landlady, Nathalie, had totally ready for us to move in and make ourselves at home.  And, our friends (and former landlords) Dominique and Roger also helped us settle in by bringing over the boxes of clothing they had stored for us and picking up some basic food items for us.  We are so very fortunate to have these friends watching out for us!

That's "our" apartment - 4th set of windows
 on the left, above the ground floor

The following day we went for a walk to keep our energy up and avoid succumbing to jet-lag.  And, guess who we saw walking down the street in our direction?!  Estelle, our French Daughter!  After lots of hugs and fond greetings, we made a date for lunch on the next day to celebrate Estelle’s birthday (a big one with a 0 on the end) and just because we like to have lunch with Estelle.  Sometimes a little exercise can bring surprise benefits!

On Thursday Anna went to the Thursday Morning Coffee at AVF, the organization we belong to that was created to help returning French and various expats like us get acclimated with current French culture.  Anna was delighted to see several friends including Michelle, her first French teacher in Lyon.  She was even more pleased to be invited to join Michelle’s Intermediate French class the following Thursday.  Then, after the Thursday Morning Coffee at AVF, David arrived and joined Anna, Dominique, and several others for lunch at a café in Vieux Lyon.  For those of you who have not had the pleasure of visiting Lyon, Vieux Lyon is the medieval area of Lyon, and is packed with history as well as quite a few restaurants. 

A typical street scene in Vieux Lyon.

Are you seeing a theme here?  How about friendly folks and, oh yes, food!

                                        Welcome to Lyon!

John Finishes His Adventure in France

After stopping for our obligatory café and pastry breakfasts, we headed to Gare Part Dieu and John's train departure.  But, guess what!  That train was delayed.  At that point John and David decided it would be a good idea to visit the restroom in the shopping center across the street.  Here one purchases a ticket with a QR code on it, passes the ticket under the reader, and gains admission to the facilities.  However, David and John soon joined other men in line, and none of them could get the reader to work.  So, now the question, "how many men does it take to get the reader to validate their tickets so that they can use the restroom?"  The answer?  One French woman! This lady was able to hold the tickets at just the right distance from the reader to make everything work (and earn the gratitude of all the men in line - not to mention adding a touch humor to the trip).

John's train finally arrived, we exchanged our good-byes, and he embarked on the rest of his adventure.  Here's the photo he sent us of him with a family he met on the train:

John and his latest new friends (on the train).

(John wrote the remainder of this posting.)

From Lyon, I continued south to Nice and treated my beachside hotel as home base for venturing east to Menton and Monaco and then west to Cannes.  My timing put me in Monaco for the first days of the Gran Prix and in Cannes for the second week of the Film Festival.  Lunches at beach clubs along the coast and dinners in restaurant-filled plazas in Nice.  Lots of easy train rides and walking.  And I did catch some sun and get into the Mediterranean!  From Nice it was back to Paris. 

I will want to work on my language skills before my next visit.  I had a basic set of phrases to get things engaged, but I was lost as soon as someone would respond…just too fast for me!  But I never met anyone who wouldn’t try to help me in communications and English is surprisingly common in Paris.  So many details to each little adventure.  So much to bring me back for more. 

Encore une fois merci, Anna and Dave.