I'm in France!

September 23, 2010

I can hardly believe that I am in France! I’ve known for quite a while that I would be coming here for a conference, but this trip has been rather overshadowed by my trip to the Marshall Islands and the start of school. So I haven’t really been thinking too much about it. My flight left Salt Lake at 10:50 on Wednesday, and I first flew to Atlanta. From Atlanta, I went to Paris and then on to Lyon. I couldn’t sleep on the plane J, but I did talk for a bit with a nice couple from Atlanta who were going to Paris on vacation.

I got to Lyon around 11AM this morning. I was actually doing OK considering that I hadn’t slept at all the night before. I had been warned that there was a big strike today, so I was worried about getting to my hotel. But it was a cinch. I took the airport tram and then got on the subway, which stopped a couple of blocks from my hotel. On the tram, I was surprised to discover how that I could understand everything the porter was saying to me, including when she asked me to move to a different seat so she could put someone’s luggage there. Thanks BYU French department!

The ride on the tram was really fast, but I couldn’t see too much. The tram cuts right through town, so the tram is route is mostly surrounded by buildings. I think my favorite thing that I saw was a pedestrian crossing sign that included a drawing of a pedestrian who was smoking a cigarette. I was also happy to discover that French people also feel the need to tag walls with spray paint.

I arrived at my hotel around 12:30. My hotel is very close to the conference, but I was also happy to discover that it is pretty close to the city center and Old Lyon. It reminds me more of a dorm room than a hotel, but it is clean and quiet, so I don’t mind. When I arrived, I decided to sleep for 2 hours and then go out. So 4 hours later, I pulled myself out of bed to discover that I had missed all the talks at the conference today. By that time it was 5PM, so I got cleaned up and headed out.

First on my agenda was going to the pharmacist to see if they had anything comparable to Pepto Bismal. (The airline food had given me a stomach ache). Luckily, the pharmacist spoke a little English, and with the little bit of French I could remember, I walked away with my Pepcidduo and was feeling much better.

Next, I got to do what I love doing most in a foreign city: walking around and looking at things. My walk included crossing the Rhone by bridge, walking through the city center, and then strolling though Old Lyon. I didn’t have my guidebook with me, so I’m not sure what I saw. Mostly, I was fun to just look at the buildings and old churches and watch people. I took some amazing pictures, which I’m sure won’t do the city justice. Of course I forgot both my USB cord and my charger, so we’ll see how many pictures I can take.

After walking for a while, I had dinner in a restaurant, outside in a square. The salad and desert were my favorites. The main dish was this soufflé with this really heavy cheesy creamy sauce, and I’ve never been a fan of cheesy sauces. Plus with my stomach, I almost wish I had just had crepes for dinner.

After dinner, I headed by to the hotel and went to bed early. The time difference and not sleeping on the plane is really making things difficult. It is not 4:30AM on Friday, and for some reason, my body thinks it’s time to be up. Maybe because it’s 8:30PM in Utah. Oh well. C’est la vie!