More re Meals with Friends in France

As we have mentioned, we very much enjoy sharing meals and conversation with our French friends.  With have lunches with Estelle, our French daughter, meals with Roger and Dominique, our first landlords and very good friends, and lunches with our DelCano friends (see also April 30th post). 

Tuesday evening we hosted Nathalie and Stéphane, our landlords and friends, for dinner (see also 4/26 post re lunch with them).  Anna prepared "Simple Pan-Seared Duck Breast" (Delicious and easy! Happy to share the recipe.) which went well with David's Silver Oak 1995 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. (Yes, we do bring some wine from home, and we also take some French wine home with us. That's an example of balance of trade - right? 😏)

Lovely complement to the duck breast.

Anna has discovered a couple of interesting things about French duck breasts.  First of all, they are about twice as big as American duck breasts, weighing about 1 lb. each.   They also are readily available and can be found in most grocery stores and, of course, in any local boucherie.  In fact, she finds she has to alter her US recipes, cutting the quantity of duck breasts in half.  

This particular duck breast tipped 

the scales at .444 kg (.978 lbs)

One of the big bonuses of coming to France is the enjoying various repasts and conversations with our friends here in Lyon. Yesterday we enjoyed another lunch with our DelCano friends and will be going to lunch at Roger and Dominique's on Sunday. Delightful people and interesting conversations - it doesn't get much better than that.

Bon Appetit!

Anna's Window Boxes

Years ago (not sure how many), Roger, our good friend and former landlord, gave Anna hooks, frames, planter boxes, and planting soil so that she could have a mini flower garden out our living room window.  At the beginning of each of our visits, she plants flowers in the boxes – typically geraniums. 

This year David and Anna picked up four very inexpensive geranium plants on a bargain table at our local Carrefour store.  David hefted the boxes in to the kitchen counter so that Anna could remove last year’s dead plants and install the new ones.  As she was removing the dead stuff, Anna noticed a tiny leaf on an old geranium root.  She very carefully cleaned and trimmed the root and replanted the tiny leaf’s plant and the four “new” plants.

Two geraniums died rather spectacularly fairly soon.  That left two “new” geraniums, the rescued leaf and its plant, and two large vacant spots in both planter boxes.  So, on market day we headed over to our favorite flower and plant stall at “our” marché.  We came home with two nice lobelia plants that continue to thrive.

Notice the very happy lobelias.

Soon a third geranium began looking quite unhappy.  Why?  Who knows.  David did some research on the web valiantly hoping to find a cure.  He even carted the planter box back into the kitchen and tried flushing out anything nasty that might be lurking in the soil.  Anna continued to speak to it and encourage it.  But, it refused our good intentions and actions and died.

Very sad-looking geranium.

So, we were back to an empty spot in the planter box.  We went back to the marché and this time purchased a small petunia plant with bright red buds.  That plant seems to be thriving and rewards us with lots of lovely red flowers.  (The neighborhood bees are very appreciative of the lobelia and petunia flowers and visit regularly.)

The planter boxes now. 
(Notice the geranium leaves between the
lobelia and geranium plants in the left basket -
that's the rescued geranium.)

So, here’s our current plant census: one very healthy purchased geranium plant, one small but growing rescued geranium plant, two very happy lobelia plants, and one very healthy petunia plant.

Biking Around Lyon – AND, the weather this year!!

David has owned an electric-assist bicycle in Lyon for two years.  When we are not here, it lives with Estelle and Laurent – our French daughter and son-in-law.   A side benefit is that Laurent also returned a detailed bike to David!  In return, we brought Laurent a number of bicycle items from the bike shop in downtown Kirkland, items such as a biking jersey, bike gloves and sox, and a Kirkland water bottle.

While being physically active, David does no biking at home in the US.  To get all the bicycle muscles up to speed in preparation for the annual week-long bike trip in France, David rides 30-40km per day three or so times per week in Lyon.  Sometimes he rides with our friend Roger, sometimes alone, and sometimes with a group coordinated by Roger that takes day trips of various length and challenge in the areas around Lyon. 

Beautiful Day from our Apartment

Rainy Day 

Looking Down from our Apartment - Wet Pavement

One problem this year is that the weather has been extremely variable, with many days of rain, cold, or both.  David is not into biking in the rain, so he has had to take advantage of the nice days.  Yesterday was nice, today is rainy…  So, David contacted Roger the other day, suggesting that we ride around a large park in Lyon and then ride out to Meyzieu, a town about 15km away and then have lunch at a restaurant that David had found on line.  We met at Roger’s place at about 9:30AM and headed for Parilly, the large park that has a few hills and a number of paved paths winding through it. 

Overlooking Lyon from a Hill in Parilly

After about 2-1/2 circuits of the park we headed off in what David thought was the correct direction, only to find it blocked by construction projects.  David changed directions and continued to head in what he thought was the correct direction overall, leading us both seriously astray!  Suffice it to say that this did not end well – after an hour of floundering around in which we found ourselves farther away from Meyzieu than when we started, Roger saved the situation by getting out his phone and looking at where we were via GPS.  The decision was then made to head back to the square near where Roger and Dominque live and where there are several restaurants.  In the course of our trip, we again found ourselves at Parilly, passing a small bistrot.  David suggested we try that, which we did, and had a nice meal and a new experience.

Last week, Ascension Day [May 9] was a Thursday, which followed V-E Day [May 8] Wednesday, resulting in what the French call a ‘pont’, where a holiday or two is followed by one day before the weekend, thereby creating a ‘bridge’, or the perfect excuse to take another day off, thereby creating a very short workweek and very long weekend. Roger assembled the around-Lyon bike group for a ride of about 40km around the very large park area called Mirabel.  The plan was afterwards to go to a restaurant at a flea market area.  However, that restaurant turned out not to be open that day.  So, we shifted plans to another restaurant on the outskirts of Mirabel, that many of us had been to before. 

The bike ride was along a set of scenic paths that has the advantage of being car-free.  On the downside, while it did not rain, it was COLD and the wind blew, resulting in many of us becoming very chilled.  We did make it to restaurant, and enjoyed a fun get-together which included the appearance of a bit of sun.

Hearing about the Menu from the Chef

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.  Above and below are some examples of these attractive features, before repainting.  Included are decorative indications of which floor you are on.  As you may notice, the style of these decorative features is Art Nouveau, which incorporated sinuous flower and female shapes, and was popular in the period 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!