There ain’t no way to hide your Lyon eyes
Okay, really running short on time here...
Yesterday was spent almost entirely on a train. As I may have mentioned before, I feel that it is on train rides that I center myself, and that only on trains now do I really feel at "home." I change cities so often that nowhere feels that familiar, or at least not more than any other. I've been on a million trains though.
I thought that getting up at 7 AM would ensure that I would arrive in Chamonix by the late afternoon at the latest. Boy, was I wrong.
Due to infrequent and booked trains, the best deal I could get was a morning 5 hour train to Lyon (which as the crow flies, is kind of out of the way), a 4 hour layover there, and then another 4.5 train to Chamonix, to arrive at 9:35 at night. That's 13 hours, including the layover.
I took advantage of my time in Lyon to have a delicious 4 course meal and walk around for about 45 minutes. The meal was at a tiny restaurant near the big central square. For only 10.50 euro I had an appetizer of pate (cooked, with tomato sauce), the rarest lamb I've ever had for an entre, a bit of Creme fromage and then an apple tort for dessert. SOOOO good. And free water. And a bit of local wine. Probably one of the most satisfying meals of the trip. The guide book says that Lyon is famous for its food. It deserves the reputation, I think.
What Lyon is BAD at is internet. I wasted a lot of time, searching all over town for internet, and never found it.
I met an old French Armenian woman on the subway from the old town to the train station who told me all of her life story that she had time to tell within 4 stops.
I arrived in Chamonix late at night. So understandably. Little was I prepared for the view of the mountains surrounding the town that would appear the next morning when I woke up.
The trip from Lyon to Chamonix was lonely though. The train was small, the riders sparsely spread among the cars. I read a lot of Foucault's Pendulum and listened to my iPod, and thought a lot. Thinking about memory. Thinking about how I am probably going to be thinking about this trip regularly for the rest of my life.
Yesterday was spent almost entirely on a train. As I may have mentioned before, I feel that it is on train rides that I center myself, and that only on trains now do I really feel at "home." I change cities so often that nowhere feels that familiar, or at least not more than any other. I've been on a million trains though.
I thought that getting up at 7 AM would ensure that I would arrive in Chamonix by the late afternoon at the latest. Boy, was I wrong.
Due to infrequent and booked trains, the best deal I could get was a morning 5 hour train to Lyon (which as the crow flies, is kind of out of the way), a 4 hour layover there, and then another 4.5 train to Chamonix, to arrive at 9:35 at night. That's 13 hours, including the layover.
I took advantage of my time in Lyon to have a delicious 4 course meal and walk around for about 45 minutes. The meal was at a tiny restaurant near the big central square. For only 10.50 euro I had an appetizer of pate (cooked, with tomato sauce), the rarest lamb I've ever had for an entre, a bit of Creme fromage and then an apple tort for dessert. SOOOO good. And free water. And a bit of local wine. Probably one of the most satisfying meals of the trip. The guide book says that Lyon is famous for its food. It deserves the reputation, I think.
What Lyon is BAD at is internet. I wasted a lot of time, searching all over town for internet, and never found it.
I met an old French Armenian woman on the subway from the old town to the train station who told me all of her life story that she had time to tell within 4 stops.
I arrived in Chamonix late at night. So understandably. Little was I prepared for the view of the mountains surrounding the town that would appear the next morning when I woke up.
The trip from Lyon to Chamonix was lonely though. The train was small, the riders sparsely spread among the cars. I read a lot of Foucault's Pendulum and listened to my iPod, and thought a lot. Thinking about memory. Thinking about how I am probably going to be thinking about this trip regularly for the rest of my life.
posted by Jed at 4:39 AM
3 Comments:
Hey Jed -- If you're going to be in Paris, wanna contact my grandmother?
She'll love you. And feed you loads. And take you to synagogue on Friday, if you want. (Her rabbi is an English dude who's been in Paris for years -- very funny guy.)
Lemme know.
Happy trails, dude.
Emma
can't remember if I offered yet, but the above comment reminded me... if you want I can put you in touch w/a friend of mine in paris, too. very smart/insightful guy, very interested in intl stuff, may move to ca soon. email me (lindsaycarlson at g-mail).
enjoy the rest of your trip, man. work comes all too quickly. contact me sometime after you get back & settled in -- I'm in cc also.
Yo, the both of you. I think I am probably going to be fairly occupied as I already am staying with two different people. Thank you for the offers though.
And Emma, I think after Prague, Budapest and Warsaw I am a bit synagogued out. But again, thanks for the offer.
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