The early morning was beautiful. As I walked out of the apartment, I looked to the west and I saw a beautiful rainbow. It had been raining when we woke up. Seeing the color and the fullness of the bow, I knew that today was going to be a great day. The rainbow reminded me of the story of Noah and the hope that God promised him and his family. It also reminded me of the people who lived during WWII and all the pain and conflict, struggle and darkness that they endured. To hope is to know the God of hope and to know that He takes us out of darkness into the bright shining light of encouragement and strength to handle each day. Traveling always makes me appreciate what I have.
I walked to the bakery thinking of all that God has given me and how blessed I am.
The aroma, the smell of pastries, could be smelled from a block away. The bakery was very busy. I got my two cafes and pastries and headed back to meet up with everyone.
It was Monday morning, so the train was busy with people heading to Paris for the day.
We all found our reserved seats and settled in for the next couple of hours. People were reading books, watching movies on their I-pads, scrolling through their phones or just sleeping.
When we got to Paris, Becca gathered us all together to make sure we all got on the train to Lyon. It was going to be a 2 1/2 hour train ride. We all looked for a bakery to grab a sandwich to take with us.
The train ride was very pleasant and the countryside was spectacular. The weather was still nice, so the terrain was green and lush. Seeing the rolling hills, you wanted to be out driving or riding your bike through the lovely villages.
On the train, we were all sitting together. The people around us knew we were not from there. Some people were curious about us and spoke some English. They enjoyed practicing speaking English, as we enjoyed practicing our French with them.
About 2:30 p.m, the train pulled into Gare de la Part-Dieu Station. We gathered our belongings, got a taxi and headed to Hotel Globe et Cecil to drop off our luggage and freshen-up.
We had finally arrived in Lyon, the capital of gastronomy and where Becca has lived for five years. Becca was excited that for the next few days she would be sharing Lyon with us.
The afternoon was spent taking a tour bus and seeing Lyon. Lyon is a town of about 550,000 people and the metro-area is about 1,700,000. Lyon is a major center for banking, as well as for chemical, pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Historically, Lyon was known as an important area for the production and weaving of silk. Lyon is the gateway to the Beaujolais viticultural region and it also has the Alps nearby. The next 2 days we will be learning a lot more about Lyon.
We ended the day with a wine and cheese tasting!
1 comment:
An interesting post if I wasn't in so much pain I would say more
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