After a mere three-hour flight from Iceland, once again in First Class, we arrive as dawn is a mere suggestion on the eastern horizon. Clustered points of light against an inky blue-black backdrop of the ground below our plane form not the familiar square grid of USA cities; rather, communities are defined by a free form circlular theme a la “all roads lead to Rome”. This visual reminds me I am not in Kansas anymore.

Our flight touches down at the Charles De Gaulle airport at 6:05 AM, September 5. Our mission for the short-term is to meet up with Bonnie and head to the TGV train platform on the very lowest level of the CDG airport and beat feet to Lyon at 200 mph. By standing at the base of an escalator filled with people trying to find their train platform, we were able to practice our Francais–mostly ‘Non parlez vous Francais’. We reveled in assisting those who came up to us asking if we spoke English. Oui, but of course!

Connected with Bonnie, made our way to the designated spot on the train platform and excitedly (but wearily) awaited our train’s arrival. We purchased First Class seats which just meant more comfortable seats for the two-hour ride. The food & bar car was rather disappointing — all pre-made packaged food, sodas, beer and wine. So-so at best.

The French countryside blurred past my window, but when there was a larger view, it was all patchwork farmland with stone-building villages or homes. Sheep and the white cows only found in France grazed the fields. The day was hot with cloudless, blue skies as we rolled toward Lyon.

LYON ~ Sept 5, 2013

Ninety-degree heat greeted our senses as we disembarked the train, schlepping our wheely bags from the station to Rue Charlamagne where we were instructed to catch the T1 tram south to the Saint Blandine stop. Gosh, that sounds like such a simple task, doesn’t it? Au contraire! There’s busses, busses on tracks, trains, so here the heck is the “tramway”? We asked — “It’s white” we were told (the busses were not white). “You need to buy a ticket at the kiosk” we were told. Uuhhh, where? Long story short, we finally found the “tramway” which was a multi-sectioned, white articulated electric-powered vehicle that, in the US we would call a trolley. Tres bien, non? All the rest was easy — got off at the right stop, walked the two blocks to the apartment building, were greeted by the owners’ caretaker, Judy, and we settled in to our abode. Very fortunate for us, the apartment has air conditioning as the temps where still hovering around 90 F.

Dinner was at a sidewalk Italian place where we all had salads, wine, and crusty bread. Perfect meal accompanied by watching all varieties of interesting passers-by during the evening.

After dinner, we ambled to the Confluence, a rather new and very modern tri-level shopping mall to pick up   a couple of essentials for the morning.

Confluence shopping mall on the Saone canal

The mall (among many other things) takes its name from a geographic feature just to the south – the confluence of the Saone and Rhone rivers.

LYON ~ Sept 6, 2013

Today we had a leisurely breakfast in the apartment – yogurt, berries, and several cups of perfectly strong, hot coffee, thanks to the Nespresso machine provided by the apt owners. I am definitely going to buy one when I get home! (You’ll love it, Mike!).

In search of a tourist information center, we were told there was one in Bellecour, several blocks north of our apartment. Along the route there was a narrow, mostly pedestrian avenue lined with shops so a little retail therapy ensued. I was attracted to the very tall, old doors providing passage to the alleys behind the shops we passed.

One of the many vintage doors along Rue Victor Hugo, Lyon

Another beautiful door

At the end of Rue Victor Hugo, we emerged onto Bellecour Square, located the Tourist Information Center to search for something to do in our short time in Lyon. A wine tour brochure practically flew into my hands–we all agreed this would be a perfect outing.  See some countryside, local villages, and sip some world-class wines! Perfectement! We signed on for the full day Saturday tour (tomorrow).

Posing with statues is always entertaining–and there were plenty of choice targets.

Bonnie & friend

Robin takes turn with Neptune

Sue making nice with Neptune

The biggest challenges, it seems, while traveling in foreign countries, are performing all the everyday tasks like buying stamps, buying tram tickets at the kiosk, picking the proper settings on the washing machine. If I were fluent in reading French, this would not be an issue; however, since that’s not the case, my chores take longer to accomplish due to this handicap. I have a new appreciation for folks with physical challenges–my language challenge is miniscule by comparison. TTFN.