Bless me bloggers, for I have sinned. It’s been one week since my last blog post. Sorry for the hiccup in recounting our vacation but my sister was here visiting and we kept so busy there was no time for blogging.

A few more photos of street scenes to share with you.

Front of the St-Jean Cathedral built in the 12 century.

The crêpe cart. You could get them “to go” or eat in at the restaurant. We ate at this restaurant one night and I did end up having a delicious fromage/jambon crêpe. Yum.

Bikes for rent. You could rent them in one place and return them in another. But as to who really wants to ride on rough cobblestoned streets ... well ... not me. ouch.

Over on the Presqu’île one building was painted completely in wall murals.

Let’s take a closer look at some of them.

The lovely Place des Terreaux.

And it’s huge fountain of four charging horses symbolizing the two great rivers running towards the ocean.

They even blow steam from their nostrils!

Tunnel under Vieux Lyon

Visiting a “foreign” country is a little like Alice going down the rabbit hole. When you emerge on the other side your world is turned upside down. Things no longer look like what you normally see. People behave differently and speak another language. It takes a little while to assimilate, but it’s well worth it.

This is what I saw from our hotel room window:

Our hotel was in the heart of Vieux (old) Lyon. A little on the quirky side, but very nice. At one time it was an old school, hence the name le Collège and the dormitory/school theme throughout. I thought the chairs on the outside of the building were whimsical.

The rooms were kind of sparse and all in white. Our closet was a locker. Every morning the linens were changed—all crisp and wonderfully fresh smelling. The hotel did not have a restaurant, only a breakfast room, but since so many restaurants were within a short walking distance it was not a problem. A continental breakfast awaited us each morning, complete with freshly squeezed orange juice, meat, cheese,  yogurt, and a variety of breads. I have to admit I was happy not to see beans, mushrooms and tomatoes offered which was part of our Irish breakfasts.

Painting in the reception area.

Lyon doesn’t really get the credit it is due. It’s always Paris, Paris, Paris! Lyon lies at the confluence of two mighty rivers: the Rhône and the Saône. The older part of the city being on the west side of the Saône, and la Presqu’île (almost an island), home to the best shopping streets, lies between the two rivers, and the newer parts of the city lie east of the Rhône. Quite a beautiful setting!

There are many beautiful forms of architecture. And you know me: I’m a doorway-and-window kind of girl.

Looking up at the ceilings of balconies.

The streets are narrow and cobblestoned.

The view from a little way up a montée, but more on montées in a another post! (Montées or rises consist of winding flights of steps and steeply sloping streets.)

to be continued ...

P.S. You can see an example of a montée in the second to last photo.

Our journey started with two days in Dublin, Ireland. The first day was our day of arrival and Rick and I had the day together. We took a three-hour nap after checking into our hotel. There were plans to meet up a little later in the afternoon at the Guinness Storehouse with the people attending the training, so we decided to take a taxi there so we would know where it was.

When we got there we saw horse-drawn carriages waiting curbside so we took a short tour in one. Our horse was very peppy and trotted right out. What fun! Sometimes you just have to be a tourist! Here are some scenes taken from our carriage ride. Mind you, we were snapping these while in motion!

St. Patrick’s.

Christchurch.

There were an amazing number of horse-drawn carriages on the streets, and not all of them were for the tourists. One absolutely gorgeous horse went trotting by so fast pulling what looked like a harness racing buggy that I just stood there with my mouth open and not even enough time to get the camera out. This is obviously a country that loves their horses.

Another thing that is quite obvious that the Irish love and are proud of: their Guinness. Hence, the obligatory tour of the Guinness Storehouse with it’s “free” beer at the end. I say “free” because they charge 15 euros for the tour ~wink~.

The best part of the tour for me was not the beer, but learning how the coopers made the barrels. True craftsmen. It’s a shame that it’s a dying art.

On the way up to the bar at the top these reflective windows caught my eye.

And finally the end of the tour and what everyone really came for.

I am not a beer lover, so after getting about half of mine down I handed it over to Rick to finish. I was amazed at how long it held its foamy head though!

The view of Dublin from the top of the Storehouse.

I am throwing in this photo taken on the Guinness grounds just for fun. Someone had a sense of humor!

I have to admit that although I found the people warm and friendly, Dublin itself did not grab me in any special way. And beans (like pork & beans), cooked tomatoes and mushrooms are just not appealing to me as a side for breakfast!

After another day of sightseeing on my own, it was off to France!

I am home. Sans baggage (my suitcase decided to take a Swiss Air flight home instead of the one we were on); but home.

Coming home after ten days away is a little unsettling. You have to jump back into to all your old routines, the ones that you totally abandoned while gone. Like cooking for yourself and cleaning up afterwards. Taking care of the dogs and cats. Speaking English again while my head is still whirling with long forgotten French words and phrases. It will take a few days to recalibrate I think. My body is here but my brain is in France.

As I type this entry I have started the long process of transferring the 500-odd photos I took from Rick’s laptop to my computer. Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with all 500+ of them! So, photos are coming.

Can anyone tell me why after eating more than I normally do and lots and lots of bread that I actually lost the last two stubborn pounds I could not get off before I left? I could not believe my eyes this morning when I stepped on the scale!

Rick and I both reconnected with the French people and France itself in a big way. We did not feel foreign at all. As we found our old house and the medieval village where we used to live and finding some things changed but most things not, it was very bittersweet. Also reconnecting with friends Greg and Danièle who we had not seen since they had a short working stint in the U. S. in 1996 was wonderful. Maybe even a plan down the road to meet them in Normandy and share a vacation.

Our French came back quickly, which was a good thing. In fact, I think it was even better than when we had lived there! We tried to do everything in French, but at times it was easier to switch to English when it was obvious they were just as comfortable speaking English with us once we had started in French. Restaurant speak and little daily things are easy. The things we can’t do are banter back and forth, tease and joke; all of which are part of the way the French communicate with each other. But it felt good to be understood and to also understand and even translate for the the guys that were there for the training from other countries. Sometimes my French was too good and the answer to the question I had asked came rushing forth in a torrent of French far too fast and complicated for my brain to take in. It felt good and very satisfying.

France is very special. I get it; it gets me. I could live there (again). There is just something about it that’s hard to explain, but it has to do with the people themselves and what is important to them, the way they live, their connection to the food that nourishes them, the beautiful countryside and more that all work together to form a very pleasing whole.

I mean, really. Where else could you go to have a 7 course four-and-a-half hour Sunday lunch of absolutely wonderful food looking out on the beautiful Rhône river amongst the vineyards of the Côte-Rôtie?

More to follow ...

I’ll be back after May 5th! I hope to blog a few times on the road, but not sure what our internet access will be.

See you then!