Ok- so I do love espresso... but in the morning- i just want to savor a big cup you know the regular size. Not a mini cup thats adorably cute but the size of my thumb. That to me is not a morning wake up call. But their idea of une grande cafe- is an extra shot of espresso.
Ugh.
On another note, Bill and I went back to Lolo the restaurant with the fantastic gnoochi.
I just had to take photos of my meal. Moment of silence for out of this world food.
I'd come back to Lyon just for this dish. It was that good.
Wow- a salad not slathered in creamy dressing! Amazing!
And of course bread.... shocking!
Tomorrow I head for Paris! I'm tres tres excited.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Oh Coffee- How I Miss Thee!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Ahh Lyon
I do love this town. The fantastic buildings, the cobble streets- the hundreds of restaurants downtown ( take note Edmonton). I've been to more than a few restaurants, and I must say wow. Best food I've EVER had. Bill and I went to this one place- no idea what it is called, but it had the best Gnocci we've ever had. And for Bill to say that, it was ridiculously good. We're going back for lunch today. 
2 nights ago- Bill took me and Liz (from the Edmonton Journal) to a gay restaurant. He had happened to stumble upon it, and besides the staff being in love with him, the food was amazing. So he took us back. 
We had a BLAST... here's a pic of our waiter Tony. We now have a place to stay if we ever return here. 
A few things I've learned so far:
So before I came- the rumours that the French were rude were flying though my ears. I find in Lyon quite the opposite. You do your own thing, they do theirs. You attempt to speak French, and they may laugh at you with pronunciation,but they appreciate the effort. You do have to watch where you're going, because dog owners don't believe in taking their dogs to parks and picking up after them. Today when it is rainy out... the streets are particularly dangerous because of that. Bread is served with EVERYTHING. I mean- absolutely everything. If you have a wheat allergy France is not the place to come... and finally you eat from 12-2 or you're not going to get lunch. Alot of places close down. Me who is usually the late lunch eater is having issues remembering that one.
On another note... The shopping here is also fantastic. I remember why I loved European style... there actually is some! Shopping at home won't be the same after this. Today it is raining, and I just finished breakfast so I'm going to head out and roam the streets a bit. I'm meeting Bill and Liz in a few hours for lunch, so I may just spend a bit of money before that. Tomorrow being Sunday ( and all the stores are closed) I'm heading up to the hill where the beautiful basilica is. The old 5th quarter is apparently amazing to explore- so that's my Sunday activity. And then I head to Pariee! More later!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Pics from Day 1
Here's a few pics from my trip so far
Beautiful view in the plane as we leave the border of England and carry onto France!
View from my hotel room- ok.. maybe looks a bit ghetto, but it really is nice.
The Opera house in Lyon. Where I'll be spending all my evenings
La France
Bonjour Mes Amis! Je suis a Lyon France…
First let me start by saying, that somehow.., I always get the interesting flights.
The ones where there’s some odd technical difficulty that requires 2 hours to find out
That it is nothing after all. Well- that happened to me in Montreal… so of course- we didn’t leave until 10pm EST( which is 6am France time)..in the meantime crazy red haired French lady keeps staring at me. And whenever I say anything to her- its like I interrupted the tearing down of the Berlin Wall or something. Anyhoo… lets just say she is what we would call a “treat”.My conclusion is that I think she thought I was a famous person. What gave it away lady- the lulu lemon pants, the sunglasses or the crazy hair? Come on!
So we finally leave Montreal. And I realize I forgot to take sleeping pills out of my checked baggage. Nice. There goes my good nights sleep. Ce’st la vie! I did get in about an hour and a half.
Arrival at the airport. All is well- I get my luggage and notice it is incredibly hot in the airport. Or is it….
Apparently I had food poisioning- broke out into a cold sweat and started vomiting in a garbage can. But man- I felt So much better after that! But then- suddenly my suitcase felt almost 10 pounds heavier when trying to get it on the train. Maybe I should have eaten something before I left the airport. Ahh well… I did make it to Lyon safely and can I just say- wow. What a great town! I’ve only seen small part of it- but apparently- it’s the good small part. Great architecture, fabulous cafes, etc etc etc.. and they have a starbucks! Right across from the opera house- so it makes it even better. After the 36 hours traveling- I thought I deserved one.
Met up with Elizabeth Withey from the Edmonton Journal- and we attended the Porgy and Bess Dress rehearsal last night. Great cast. ( and frikin hot too! ) Interesting way to stage the opera, and I will be seeing it 2 more times before I leave this place- so I wasn’t worried if I was going to miss anything!.... best part of the night? The Chocolate Mousse I had following the performance ( at midnight) yummy… the French know how to do it up!
Oh yeah- my hotel. Very cute- and seriously 2 steps from the sein River. Its beautiful! sounds of a band playing along the river put me to sleep last night!
Thats all for now! More later;)
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