A Performance of “Kurt Weill: De Berlin Á Broadway”

Our “new” landlords, Nathalie and Stepháne, are a delightful couple with two charming teenage girls, Lucie and Fanny.  They have actually been our landlords for three years now, and we have enjoyed meals at their home and in “our” apartment and also enjoyed jazz performances with Stepháne both in the audience with us and performing.  So, we were quite pleased when Nathalie invited us to a show Lucie and Fanny were in.  (Quite the talented family!)  The show was an adaptation of the musical, Kurt Weill:  Berlin to Broadway, a short musical synopsis of Weill’s journey from Nazi Germany to Paris to New York.

Originally, we were to take the train and have Nathalie pick us up.  But, since the train workers are en grêve and train service is a bit sketchy right now, we rented a car and drove to their home.  The girls were at the theater getting ready for the show, and Stepháne was still at work, so Nathalie prepared a “simple” repast for the three of us – a tart of tuna, fresh tomatoes, and cheese accompanied by green salad, fresh baguette, and a desert of sliced strawberries and kiwi. Delicious!   Our contribution was the rosé to go with dinner.  Then we hopped into our cars and were off. 

Theater in Villefontaine

We followed Nathalie to Villefontaine and the theater, La Salle Daniel Balavoine, and soon found ourselves at a row of seats where Stepháne’s parents and a few family friends were already seated.  La Salle Balavoine is a small, intimate theater, and the rows of seats are graduated so there are no “bad seats” in the house.  The show itself was quite impressive!  There was quite a large troop of performers (all teenagers) accompanied by a four-piece band.  The band leader would occasionally cue a song, but for the most part, the performers sang, danced, moved, and spoke without direction.  Each of the performers had a least one speaking part, and a few had multiple, lengthy speeches.  These kids were great! 

The transformation of the teenage girls, in particular, was stunning.  For the most part, their costumes for consisted simply of shorts, tops, fishnet stockings, and heels.  (Nathalie told us about buying her girls their first pairs of heels so they could wear them in the performance.)  Add in the heavy stage makeup, and suddenly they seemed to have morphed into young women.  Stepháne nodded towards Lucie after the performance and told David, “You can imagine how I feel.”

Both Lucie and Fanny were excited after the show and greeted us and the rest of their ‘personal audience’ enthusiastically.  They had both performed beautifully and had already told Nathalie they were looking forward to next year’s production (tba).  Hopefully, we’ll be in Lyon and able to be in the audience for that one, too.  It’s a pleasure to watch those two charming girls grow and thrive!

Back in Lyon - April 18, 2018

We are back in Lyon, and the weather is lovely.  Blue skies, sunshine, slight breeze – ahhh!

Our trip got off to an interesting start, though.  Because the train workers are on strike (not every day, and not every train, but ours on the day we arrived), we were unable to catch our normal TGV which takes us from the airport to Lyon in ~ 2 hours.  Our other choices were (a) going into Paris and catching a different train for Lyon (hoping that one would be operating), (b) finding a bus going to Lyon, or, (c) as Nathalie, our landlady suggested, renting a car.  David checked into all the options and found renting a car to be the way to go.  We were relieved to find how easy it was to find the car rental office and the very pleasant agent who also gave us directions, and soon we were on our way. 

The agent’s directions sounded super easy – just two well-marked highways to the A6 and off to Lyon.  BUT, we found that it’s very important to turn the correct way onto the second highway.  After a scenic detour of about 1 ½ hours that had us touring several of the charming suburbs of Paris, we were on the A6 and on our way to Lyon and the apartment at 154 rue Moncey. 

Lovely Lyon!

David dropped Anna and our luggage off at the apartment and was off to buy gas and return the car.  Little did he know his adventure was not over!  Not only is there no signage to direct people trying to return cars, but the street name changed.  After circling the block a number of times, he somehow found the right building/car park, and a kind Security Guard directed him to the return area.  A nice walk back to the apartment, and he was “home.”  At this point he had been up for about 24 hours.

Time to bring up a few boxes of things stored in the basement, have a glass of wine, and collapse.


Lunch with the DelCano group

There are a lot of Brits in Lyon – in fact they are one of the biggest groups of expats here.  We are fortunate to have been adopted by members of the local Del Cano unit, a group of British with ties to the Royal Air Force.  (In case you are wondering - Juan Sebastián Del Cano was the officer in command when Magellan’s crew actually completed circumnavigating the globe.  Magellan had died in the Philippines part way through the voyage.)  The DelCano group is made up of Brits living in Lyon – either as retirees or employed here.  (And, a good many of them are pursuing French Citizenship due to Brexit, but that’s another story.)  Anyway, they have generously welcomed us colonials to their monthly lunches.

Some of the members chatting before the meeting. 
 (In the very rustic room.)

We typically meet for lunch at a restaurant in Vieux Lyon in a small room that is rumored to once have been a Roman cistern.  Very rustic and cosy.  The owner of the restaurant is quite pleasant and was once an exchange student in the US.  He enjoys chatting with Anna in American English about the US and often makes a special effort to be sure Anna totally understands the menu options.  (David says she must remind him of his American exchange “mother.”) 

Our menu:  David had the Terrine of Pâté, Anna had the beet soup (with a dollop of crème fraîche on top), and both enjoyed the Parmentier (Shepherd’s Pie), and crème brulée.

There were sixteen of us for lunch on Thursday – a good turnout for the group and just the right size for our meeting room.  Our speaker, a member of the group, told us about sailing around the Caribbean with his wife on their catamaran.  He has been sailing all his life and comes from a long line of sailors.  He told us that an ancestor was among those who volunteered their boats to defend against the Spaniards when the Spanish Armada was sailing in to attack.  His ancestor was recognized by Elizabeth I as a “Freeman” (a person who is given special rights as an honor), and the title has been passed down to the eldest son through the generations.   So, sailing is definitely in his blood!

Attached are the maps he used to illustrate his voyage:

It was quite the adventure!  He and his wife met some very interesting other sailors in various ports; they are still in contact with one couple that is sailing around the world.  He told us about returning to a safe harbor just in time to miss a major storm.  And, he mentioned the joys of sailing in the Caribbean – for example, starting the day off with a nice dip off the stern and into the water, and sailing along accompanied by dolphins that actually swam between the two hulls of the catamaran.  He and his wife are already planning sailing trips to take as soon as she retires. 

 

It’s easy to see why we are happy to join the Del Cano folks for lunch when we are in Lyon.  Interesting conversations and interesting fellow diners as well as fascinating speakers!

It’s Beginning to Look at Lot Like Christmas!

We live quite close to Le Centre Commercial de La Part-Dieu, a huge shopping center.  It opened September 8, 1975, and remains one of the largest shopping centers in Europe with five levels, over 260 stores, and 33.6 million shoppers per year.  We often go there to shop at Carrefour (a large grocery, book, electronics, clothing, etc. store), David shops at Decathlan for his biking supplies, and Anna likes to shop for clothes in the many boutiques in the center.

It’s been fun watching all the Christmas decorations popping up all over the center.  Here are some of our favorites so far this year:

The ceilings in the center are decorated from end to end.

There is a large, open area in the center of the shopping center.  It’s used for concerts, fashion shows, demonstrations, etc., and normally has a dancing fountain. 

The fountain that normally is
in the center of the Shopping Center.

 

Right now it's the home of a giant Christmas tree with one bear climbing up the tree and another popping out of the top.  All this is accompanied by movement and flashing lights.

 

Santa's Helpers receive the many letters to Santa in this motorized display.

 

And, this throne is reserved for Santa and his many visitors.

 

Even the escalators are decorated!

 

More decorations seem to pop up daily in the various shop windows.  What a lovely time of year!

Thanksgiving 2

AVF has coffees every Thursday morning so members can get together and chat while they enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee and a pastry.  Periodically, a group from a specific country will host one of the coffees to commemorate a national holiday or just to share goodies from their country.  For instance, the Irish always host a St Patrick’s Day coffee.  Thus, it made sense for the Americans to host a Thanksgiving coffee on Thanksgiving Day.

To be honest we hadn’t thought much about having an AVF Thanksgiving Day coffee.  We were too busy packing what we would need for our 5 weeks in Lyon including Thanksgiving at Estelle and Laurent’s.  That is until we got an email from Dominique telling us about the planned American Thanksgiving Day coffee and asking us to bring something “American” and Thanksgiving-themed.  What could we bring that is “American”, fits easily in our suitcases, and can be obtained on short notice? Our apartment in Lyon has no real oven so taking something to bake there was out of the question.  Then Anna got the great idea of going to our local Dollar Tree store and buying Thanksgiving table cloths, napkins, fold-out or expandable decorations, and other table decorations.  Nice, flat stuff that fit well in our luggage and didn’t weigh much.

Why Dominique ended up organizing an American Thanksgiving Day coffee was a bit of a mystery to us.  Somehow, although she is a native of France who spent a good deal of her adult life in Ireland and has visited but never lived in the US, she got “volunteered” to take the lead on the American coffee.  Apparently, there just weren’t many Americans around when the planning started so the event was placed in Dominique’s capable hands. 

Then there was a minor American invasion:  Maria and Tom arrived from Iowa followed by our arrival.  Maria suddenly found herself “in charge,” several people volunteered to prepare “American dishes” for the coffee, and we were able to present her with a bag full of Thanksgiving table decorations and the promise to help set up and host.

Some of the American crew and friends part way
 through our Thanksgiving feast.  (You can see
some of the dishes are nearly gone.)

The result was a huge success!  The decorations we brought fit the tables perfectly, someone contributed a lovely cornucopia, we had streamers of American flags, and little American flag-motif signs to explain what each dish was.  Maria, who teaches French at a university, explained the Thanksgiving story and holiday to our guests in her flawless French, and the celebration began.  We had pumpkin pies, apple pies, pecan pies, chocolate cupcakes, small peanut butter sandwiches, even hot dogs!  In fact we had so much food, we were wondering what we would do with the leftovers.  But, no problem - there weren’t any!

People had such a good time and enjoyed the food so much that they just didn't want to leave; the coffee ended up lasting much later than the usual noon end time.   And, you can be sure that Thanksgiving Day and American hospitality (and food!) will be fondly remembered at AVF in Lyon for some time to come.

Thanksgiving #1

We have celebrated Thanksgiving with the Neveus (our French daughter, Estelle, her husband, Laurent, and their sons, Paul and Victor) and guests twice before.  Each time the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner was a big hit.   So, since we were in Lyon during Thanksgiving, we all decided it was time to do it again.  Our celebration would be the Sunday before Thanksgiving due to work and school schedules.  (No Thanksgiving Vacations here!)

The first thing was to ask Estelle to order a turkey.  (Anna always specifies a “naked and empty” turkey since we’ve heard it’s not usual to get a turkey that’s dead but still has all its feathers and all other body parts untouched by human hands.)  Whole turkeys are not as popular in France as they are in the US and generally are served at Christmas, so Estelle’s special order was a key part of the preparation.  She even went in to check with the butcher the week before our feast to make sure the turkey would make its appearance.

That done, the rest of the planning and prep began.  Dominique and Roger were coming as guests so we planned dinner for eight.  Here’s the menu: deviled eggs and California (onion) dip with chips before dinner; turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing (a special favorite for Laurent and Paul), corn, cranberry sauce (hard to find in any form in Lyon), and rolls and butter for the main course; lemon meringue and pumpkin pies for dessert.  Very basic and traditional.  Each course would be served with the appropriate wine choices, of course!

The catch is that dinner and all the preparation happen at the Neveus since they have a full kitchen.  We provide all the ingredients and do all the preparation, but all chez Neveu.  This involves transporting a few odd items – disposable pie pans, for instance – from the US.  (The tart pans in France are much shallower and just not the right shape for basic American pies.)  And, since our apartment is a metro ride followed by a bus ride away from the scene of the crime, that means planning carefully to make sure we take everything we need when we go to the Neveus.

We arrived Saturday and Sunday mornings to make sure everything would be ready for the feast.  Anna had prepared the “overnight mashed potatoes,” the dip, and cooked the eggs at our apartment so she got right to work on the pies Saturday morning.  Meanwhile, David and Estelle went off to retrieve the turkey.  Then David prepared the dressing while Anna removed the remaining insides from the turkey, cleaned it, and got it ready for the oven.  Sunday morning was spent doing various last minute things.  For instance, preparing the eggs was teamwork with David shelling them and Anna transforming them into deviled eggs.  We actually had everything ready with a little time to spare!

Our every move was monitored by a certain kitty.

At noon Roger and Dominique arrived with Champagne, and we started in with the appetizers.  It is always a bit of a surprise that those simple dishes are such favorites here, but there was not a morsel remaining.  Then we moved on to the dining area and the main event. It was time to get down to some serious feasting and continued conversations. David chose Dehlinger Pinot Noir from our cellar in the US (this is always a huge hit when we serve it in France!) and Pouilly Fuissé from our cellar in France to serve with our meal.  Both went beautifully with the dinner.   Everything, with the possible exception of cranberry sauce, was a big success.  Next came dessert.  Estelle had given Anna a very nice bottle of dessert Gewürztraminer (a special favorite of Anna’s) which went beautifully with the pies.  Then came coffee and the typical Thanksgiving groans of amazement about having eaten so much.  (With the exception of Paul, who never seems to run out of room for food.) 

Taken by Roger.  L-R:  Anna, Victor, Laurent,
David, Estelle, Paul, Dominique

And, taken by Anna - with Roger in the picture.

It just doesn’t matter where it’s celebrated – there’s something very, very special about sharing a Thanksgiving meal with good friends and family.  We are indeed thankful for all those who shared Thanksgiving with us – especially the Neveu family who so graciously gave us full use of their kitchen and were such wonderful hosts.

Découverte de la France

We have been members of AVF since we came to live in Lyon for a year in 2010.  (AVF or  Accueil des Villes Françaises is an organization that assists returning French and foreigners living in France become acclimated into current life in France.)  There are a number of activities, classes, and groups within AVF, and one we particularly enjoy is Découverte de la France.  Andrée-Anne, our fearless leader, created and conducts this class that is designed to help all us newbies learn about the geography, history, architecture, and culture of France.  (The class is entirely in French, by the way.) We have learned a great deal about France, met some delightful people and made new friends (including  Andrée-Anne) in the class.  So, although we are here for a short period of time, we made sure to fit in a class this trip.

And, last Tuesday we made our way over to AVF for the class.  Andrée-Anne’s current theme is “les grandes figures de l'histoire de France", and Asta, a classmate, was giving a presentation on Louis IX or Saint Louis.  It was great to reconnect with many of our AVF friends, and to enjoy Asta’s informative research and talk.  As always, we learned several new bits of information.  (For instance, did you know that after Louis died while on a crusade, his body was chopped up and preserved in a cask of wine so they could return his body to France?)  

As a surprise bonus, one of our classmates had brought a bottle of Champagne and some chocolates to class.  David was called upon to open the bottle and managed to do so without spilling a drop – you never know how much the bottle has been bounced around in transit.  So our class ended with toasts, bises, and good wishes all around.  How very civilized! 

Enjoying the Champagne with Andrée-Anne

 (sitting in the middle wearing the purple sweater)