Lyon, The city we knew nothing about before going there. The city we chose because we had heard of it before and it was a little bit over half way to Marseille from Paris. This city turned out to be pretty cool!
Upon arrival on a night bus from Paris, we walked to find our hostel and learned a valuable lesson: look up how to get to the hostel from the station BEFORE we get there! Presently, we don't have a phone plan (we're looking at getting one in Spain), so we've been just using WIFI from hostels, restaurants, and random free hotspots. The train/bus station didn't have WIFI, and it didn't have any good maps. In fact, we had a hard time just trying to find the exit! Through some sleuthing, we determined the general thing we wanted to do was head north, so we found the river and walked along it. Eventually (1.5 miles in) we found a McDonald's, stole their WIFI, and realized the hostel was just 1 more mile north. (When we returned, this was just an easy metro ride straight to the station!)
Over the next couple days we explored the city.
Day 1
We explored their large city park: Parc de la Tete d'Or. We had coffee and a croque monsieur while watching fish in a lake. After a nap under a tree, we wandered back through their free zoo. We then had lunch at a fantastic restaurant serving us fried babybel and goat cheese, Chicken Cordon Bleu, and a chorizo pasta dish. Food was SOO good, but we were starting to learn that meals are expensive in France. The bill for lunch was around 40 Euros ($47). Nonetheless, a PERFECT afternoon.
Day 2
We dubbed this a work day followed by some drinks at the hostel bar, a really cool rum bar (I really miss rum), and then a Leffe bar.
Day 3
It was all about exploring! I went on a run along the river while Audra had a yoga brunch. After a long walk, we had some beers on the river banks, and watched Wonder Woman.
Day 4
We worked and then set ourselves on finding authentic Lyonnaise cuisine! A work friend of mine (who happens to be a French teacher) told me that Lyon was known for restaurants called Bouchons. This turned out to be a great recommendation and a much needed date night (things had been flying up to that point!). We went to a restaurant called Barron and each had a three course meal.
- 1st course was an incredibly elegant cheesy chorizo dip with salad dusted with lavender.
- 2nd course was a buttery flaky cod dish for her and a duck with candied almonds.
- 3rd was a molten chocolate muffin and apple tart.
Best meal we've had so far!
Something to note: We learned from our hostel stay a few things about us. We like hostels, we really do! Especially for the people you meet and the local budget friendly recommendations. However, even though they are much cheaper, shared dorms are pretty tough on us.
We have hard time sleeping in dead quiet with no moving air. This particular room didn't have A/C, so we opened the window. Someone must have shut the window because it was really loud outside. The room got so hot that I had to open the window at like 3AM. I actually looked up hostel etiquette before doing so, but couldn't find if it was rude to open the window. This happened again on the third night. I get that people don't like noise, but it's a lot easier to put in earplugs (provided for free at the front desk) than to adjust to enjoy sleeping in an oven. Am I alone in this?
Either way, as we move forward, we have a priority that we won't do dorms with more than 4 people if it's possible (probably won't be on El Camino).
Marseille is a beautiful city on the southern coast of France. We came here because of a recommendation from a good friend, Patrick Conley, and also to get back to some beaches! We booked a studio on Airbnb for about $60 a night and it came with full kitchen and bathroom. We needed a bit of a return to a routine, so we've been using this place so Audra and I can work. It's important to note that there is a distinction between travel for fun and "living" abroad. We need time to just live: watch shows, work, cook, relax, etc. But we have been able to explore for a few hours every day. Marseille is lined with narrow streets, covered in graffiti, and quite windy at times. Most memorable sites were: ferris wheel right in Vieux Port, Notre Dame de la Garde (viewable from everywhere in the city), Cours Julien (trendy hood), and of course the beaches!
Since food and drink prices are so expensive in France (especially French cities), we've taken full advantage of the kitchen mainly for dinner and lunch. We've only eaten out once (other than breakfast) and it was an ok pizza paired with overpriced beers. At least the atmosphere was fun (soccer party/tailgate going on right in front of us). Luckily, the apartment is right above a bakery (Le Pain de l'Opera) and we've been able to get croissants, baguettes, and even quiche from here. The food is great and reasonably priced (baguettes are under $1) and the staff is super friendly.
Added bonus: we smell the fresh bread wafting up through our windows (five floors up)! Speaking of baguettes, we've been trying out what Tony and Louise taught us about lunch: cheeses, meats, and picalilli (I found some!). The meat I found was a version of pate. It's almost exactly what I grew up on and my dad's favorite: braunschweiger. It's basically a spreadable meat paste (aka liverwurst) that might sound gross to most, but I love it! Put it in a baguette, top with local cheese, lettuce and picallili (mustardy sauce with pickled veg) and you've got a gourmet braunschweiger sandwich!
Leftover baguettes? Make homemade croutons for salads. For dinners, I've also enjoyed being across the street from a boucherie (butcher). Pork, and chicken a few nights ago. Steak for dinner tonight!