Lyon - my new favorite city!!

Sometimes things done on impulse work out better than you planned (thank goodness).

Earlier in the week someone suggested I stay the night in Lyon rather than just for the day. By Friday I was trying to figure out how it could work. Perhaps go on Saturday and come back Sunday. Unfortunately Nathalie told me that on Saturday there was going to be some nationwide demonstrations and Lyon was one of the city. She was nice enough to do some research and told me that the demonstration was going to start at 2:30pm on Saturday and even showed me where it was going to be so that I could avoid that area. After some quick thinking and some research on hotels on trip advisor I took a risk and booked myself a room in a 4 star hotel in the heart of old town Lyon for Friday AND Sat nights. It's a risk because I wasn't sure if I would have any trouble getting a train to Lyon on Friday night.

Based on the website there was a train to Lyon every 15 minutes so my chances were good. Well, apparently I didn't look at the right website. I guess there's a special website during the strike that would show all the cancellations. I got to the train station in Villefranche and the next and last train was at 8pm, 2 hours away. I had no choice but to wait. I could see on the board all the trains that were cancelled or delayed. It turned out my train got delayed as well, by half an hour. I guess reality was setting in!

When I gave the cab driver at the Lyon train station the address of my hotel - Rue du Boeuf. He was gessturing and telling me that it's problematic to get to that part because the street was very narrow for cars. I understood what he was telling me but what I couldn't get was if he was going to take me there or not! After a few iterations he gesstured for me to sit back, c'est bon! Whew! It was exciting to drive through the city, the hotel was a 15 minute ride. We passed over the Rhone river and then the Saone river before reaching Old Lyon. It was a miniature of Paris, I loved it! When we crossed over into Old Lyon it was like another world. The streets were cobblestone and only had enough room (barely) for one car. The buildings date back to the 14th century.

I love my hotel! Cour des Loges is a combination of 4 buildings in Renaissance architecture. It dates back to 1378 and were homes of weathly italian merchants before it was used as a monestary. Throughout are rich tones of orange brown and red. There is a big courtyard in the middles and lots of archways in each of the 5 stories. It was amazing - check out their website to get an idea http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.courdesloges.com/&ei=LDG7TN3iE-CR4gannaDPDQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcour%2Bde%2Bloges%2Blyon%26hl%3Den%26prmd%3DmThe guy that checked me in was a young version of Michael J Fox, cute and little. He walked me up to my room and showed me where everything was. Meanwhile another guys is carrying my little laptop rolling bag. Oh, did I mention that the reason I picked this hotel was because they had a spa? I so needed a massage and some pampering!

I almost passed this hotel when searching on trip advisor because it was #17. It turned out some bonehead americans gave it a low rating because they didn't like the strange architecture and layout of the room. They had the same room type as I had, the mezzanine room which is the cheapest. I thought the room was so cool. The architect was creative in using small vertical space. You walk into the narrow room and the bathroom and closet is on either side. Then a small space for a table & chairs. Straight ahead is a greenhouse like space that has a huge bathtub and rainshower. On the left are steps going up to a mezzanine with a big bed with lots and lots of big pillows. AND as a bonus my room happens to be on the same floor as the spa. All I have to do is get into my robe and slippers and walk to the spa, which I promptly did! I did book a massage for the next day. Oh the life, I've died and gone to spa heaven!

On Saturday I couldn't wait to explore the city. Since I did have a report to write I couldn't afford to be out too long. Old Lyon was amazing. I walked a couple of blocks and turned the corner and saw a huge cathedral. Turned out to be the Lyon Cathedral, there's quite a few of them scattered throughout the city. I wandered through shops and crossed the bridge into Lyon city center. Big bummer that the us dollars sucks so bad right now. The clothes here are SO cute! But expensive so I couldn't justify buying too much.

I had a late lunch at a restaurant across from the hotel that had asian food. I heard the owner speak Vietnamese on the phone so I struck up a conversation with him. He was very friendly and before I knew it he pulled up a chair and hung out with me in between greeting some other patrons and cooking the meals! He had a sister who lived in the states and learned that life in america was rough. Based on what he heard from his sister people work hard and do not have time to enjoy life. He couldn't imagine living with only 2 weeks of vacation. Even with a restaurant he only works an average of 4 days a week and would take off half a month if he wanted to. He only earn enough to live by is not interested in getting rich. He was very proud of his children who have gone through the university. He was interested in how many hours I work a day and kept repeating how it's a rough life living in america. The thing was I couldn't really argue with him. I have heard before that the french like to live the good life. Somehow they make time to enjoy and savor, unlike many americans who work too hard in order to keep up with their big mortgage payments and fancy cars. My new friend eventually brought out a bottle of wine and invited me for a glass. It was interesting talking to him. I was surprised to find out he was in his mid 50's, he looked 40! Hmm, maybe he had a point about living the good life.

My massage was good. At first I was disappointed that it wasn't a deep tissue which was what I needed for my tense shoulders. It was called a relaxation massage and I guess that's what she did. At one point I did ask her to be more firm but I don't think she got the point. I was thinking that it was too soft to be effective but wouldn't you know it, I was so relaxed I took a 2 hours nap after I got back to my room!

As tempting as Lyon was, I did have a deadline to meet with the report, had to turn in a draft version by Sunday afternoon. As a result I got up at 5:30 Sunday morning and cranked through the writing. All this done in my cozy robe, in bed, with tons of soft pillow propped behind me. I did take a short break to go out to one of the MANY boulangerie and got some yummy mini quiches, a crusty baguette, and a couple eclairs :-) Yeah, there's no way I'm losing (or maintaining) weight on this trip. The thing is, I don't care. Some things in life are meant to be enjoyed. Life's too short to deprive yourself. I can diet when I get home! If I can just do all my assignments like this! Turned in the report by noon and really wanted to do some sightseeing before heading back to VF. Good thing I thought to ask the concierge to check the train schedule because of the strike. Turns out most of the trains were cancelled. We did find one at 4pm so that was that. I had 2 1/2 hours to do some speed sightseeing. Actually I got a lot of walking aimlessly yesterday. I really wanted to see the Notre Dame Cathedral Fourvier that sits on top of a hill in Lyon. Heard that it's not to be missed. To get there you have to take a furnicular up the hill, only a 5 minute ride. Once we got out of the station the basilica was right there. I've seen many cathedrals in my travels but this one was the most breathtaking. The inside was entirely of tiny mosaic tiles, it was so ornate and crazy to look at. As a bonus you get a fantastic view of Lyon below.

I was sad to have to leave, will definitely plan a return trip with Gary. The train station was chaotic. Looking at the board literally every train was delayed. By miracle my train was on time! This strike is a pain in the ass. If it drags on I'm not sure if I will get back up to Paris this Friday! We'll see.