Lyon
Monday May 15, 2017
Phew!
The French leg of my journey is almost over. I'm currently in Lyon, another beautiful city built at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone Rivers. Yesterday, I took the bus from Vallon Pont d'Arc to Valence and had a 15 minute layover before the train to Lyon. Though I needed to go to the toilet, the temptation to play on my final Piano en Gare was too great, and as it was a Sunday, there were quite a few families around who enjoyed my rendition of Let it Go.
I had ambitions to do some exploring after dinner in Lyon but it began to rain heavily, producing a whoa omg double rainbow in the sky. I left my explorations for today; I walked all the way to the confluence point of the two rivers, then took the metro into the town centre and walked around there. I can't help but think I should have stayed here a bit longer to enjoy all the Lyonnaise bouchons, traditional restaurants that serve typical Lyon foods like sausages, pâté and roast pork. I may have to come back in the future.
The last two weeks have been heaps of fun though. I thoroughly enjoyed the sights around the whole country, my favourites being Mont St Michel, the Machines on the Isle of Nantes, and the Ardeche River kayaking adventure. The food has been very enjoyable too, I didn't have a single bad meal. My rudimentary French has definitely helped, and I found people very polite. I couldn't hold a full conversation with anyone, but I managed to order food, ask for directions and get information. My ability to read is much better than my ability to speak, so I understood menus and signboards quite well.
I loved all the pianos in the train stations...wait a second. I can hear one playing now. I have to find it. This will be my actually final Piano en Gare. The guy playing is amazing but he keeps stopping midway through songs and playing something else. He better finish soon so I can have a turn.
Okay I cut it real close but I got two songs in - Let it Go and the Pokemon Theme song. A couple of keys were bung and I had to rush because my bus was leaving soon, but I made it. I didn't get a chance to get a photo of the piano though, this one will just remain a written memory.
Au revoir France, et merci beaucoup!
Posted by Jeremy at 2:40pm on Monday May 15, 2017 :: 0 comments :: 