17th of May.
The 17th is one of those days I warned the reader about earlier. No doubt I did something of note as even in my worst excesses I’ll generally crawl out of my pit at some stage and go for at least a token walk even if it is merely to the nearest bar for a small beer or two but I am not sure I did during the day.
I have explained that I am leaning particularly heavily on my images as aides-memoire to write these entries up many months later but I am afraid I have let myself down somewhat here as this is another day with a mere single image. Still, it did jog my memory as to a very decent little snack I made myself which I can still remember clearly. I’d hit the local supermarket and bought myself a decent french loaf (they certainly do know how to bake bread in those parts) and a cheap jar (maybe €3?) of some sort of fish roe, basically poor man’s caviar. Don’t ask me what species of our piscine friends it had been removed from and, with my totally uncultured palate, it might have been caviar and, yes, I have had the good stuff before you ask. The whole lot was washed down with a nice bottle of chilled Muscadet (or maybe more than one, I really do not recall now) and very pleasant it was.
I know I must have gone out for a walk on what looks like another lovely day as I took the two random images you can see above.
Back to my soapbox now. Wasted time? I don’t think so. This supper was just after 1800 so I am guessing I must have opted for a quiet night and an early bed, odd as that is for me.
18th of May.
Straight to the next day now and I suspect this is getting repetitious for the reader. It would appear that the 18th of May was very much like the previous few days but without the daily walk. Sit about the hostel, hang out with the myriad lovely young people from all over the planet and have a drink and a smoke (cigarettes only, I hasten to add). It was a lovely day which I singularly failed to take advantage of as I do not appear to have set foot out of the door. Whilst that is pretty lamentable it is perhaps understandable as I had food in the fridge, a 24 hour bar (and undoubtedly some supplies of my own) and so nothing really to move for.
The images show just what a quirky and fun place Flaneur isand obviously I have included the obligatory “arty” skyscape. I just cannot help myself. They have a Doctor Who Tardis and a Star Wars R2D2 both of which looked genuine enough to have been proper film / TV props. It may seem strange to include an image of a can of beer but I do so to illustrate a point. They don’t sell that brand in the hostel (decent though it is) and, whilst I like it well enough (it is a very decent beer), I would not have thought about buying it in the supermarket and so it must have been a gift. It really was that kind of place. Everyone just sat about and shared whatever drink, food and cigarettes they had and there really was a very “commune” feel to the hostel which I know the management promote heavily. As well as being a hostel the building seems to double as a local community centre with all sorts of meetings and artistic activities taking place. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.
19th of May.
Well, the 19th May dawned and I would love to say it dawned fair but no such luck as the weather had returned to what was becoming par for the course on this trip. How far South did I have to go to get three consecutive days of sunshine? In the event, I didn’t get any further South then but that is a story for a future entry in this blog and I know I still have plenty to write up. Trust me folks, I am making the effort.
A mere three images was my total for the 19th but they have jogged my memory of what must have been a fairly unremarkable day. I can tell that I must have been to one of the several excellent nearby supermarkets at sometime and I have to say that the area is very well served for them. I mentioned that it is a very student area and so there is plenty in the way of microwaveable meals, Pot Noodles etc. although with it being France there was a lot of very good “proper” produce as well and I thoroughly enjoyed catering for myself, and occasionally others, in the well-equipped hostel kitchen.
I see that at teatime I was tucking into a bottle of Crement d’Alsace which I had never heard of before but I now know to be a “poor man’s champagne” somewhat akin to prosecco and very good it was not to mention inexpensive. I distinctly remember drinking it and noted that it was beautifully dry as I am not a fan of sweet wines. OK, I suppose it was a bit of a sacrilege to be sitting in the heart of the Burgundy wine region drinking a bottle from the extreme North of the country hundreds of miles away. Similarly, the third image shows my supper which I remember was a very tasty Indonesian (mild) curry soup and which I appear to have paired with some French cheese. Fusion food indeed but please remind me never to open a restaurant.
That appears to be it for another day doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying myself, getting my head together and again I make no apology for it nor for my style of writing this blog which must be starting to be somewhat of a drag for those looking for travel information about Lyon and other places I visited.
I do eventually leave Lyon (really) and things get interesting again so stay tuned and spread the word.
Fergy's Rambles. 