Home Again

July 8th, 2013

I have been home for a month now.  I am very happy to be home.  I have now visited all of my favorite places to eat, and taken hikes almost everyday.

I have learned that I love being outside, in the sunshine.  It does not matter how hot or cold as long as it is sunny.  I now know that I am not a city person.  I enjoy the wide open spaces and hiking for hours without seeing anyone. It is not that I am anti-social, well maybe I am a little, but that I enjoy being by myself or with a small group of friends, and I like being away from the cell phones and email and "twitter brains" that seem to be everywhere.  I like being able to say "hello" to complete strangers and not have them think I am a serial killer. All these things are possible in the smaller towns and I hope that I can return one day to Europe and visit some of the villages and small cites.

Thank you for allowing me to share my experience with you.  Writing the blog helped keep me sane when I only had myself to talk to.  I hope I was able to capture the flavor and feelings of being in Lyon, France.  I am not sure when I will be off on another adventure.  Right now I am focused on completing my research and graduating this fall.

Au revoir,
David

On my way home

The day finally arrived.  I was heading home.  I needed to get up at 5 in the morning to catch the tram to the airport for an 8am flight to London.  I originally booked an 11 am flight, but they canceled that one a couple months ago and my only choice was the 8 am.  Ugh.

I had already paid for a second bag, but both bags were over the weight limit by about 4 pounds.  Guess it was all the chocolate that I packed.  The airline was nice enough not to charge me any extra for the overweight bags.  Happily they were checked all the way to Denver.  The flight took off right on time and I arrived at Heathrow at 9 am.

Heathrow is a pain because all the international flights are taken outside of security and passengers have to pass through security again.  It took me 4 hours when I passed through last year.  I was sure because my flight to Denver was not until 4 pm and I had lots of time, there were no lines.  I was able to walk up to an empty lane, and even with the security patdown, it only took 15 minutes.  Now I just needed to keep busy for the next 6 hours.

I stayed for two and a half hours in one of the nice restaurants in the terminal.  They all serve nice food, though like all airports it was expensive.  A simple breakfast was only 8.  If it was dollars it would be fine, euros would make it a bit expensive, but it was 8 pounds, which made it about 12 dollars.  Still, that was less than $5 per hour for my time there.

Still needed to stay awake for another 3 hours.  There are three different sub-terminals for international flights from Terminal 5.  Terminal A is where security and all the shops and restaurants are located.  They only post the gate assignments about half an hour before boarding.  The flight to Denver was leaving from the B terminal.  So, everyone headed to the trams to transfer.  A short five minute ride and I was waiting again, but in new surroundings.

Then the announcement, "Due to technical difficulties, the flight is delayed."  After a half hour delay, they finally let us board.  I had an isle seat so I waited to be one of the last to board. 

On the plane at last, I could start to relax.  Only another ten hours and I would be back in Colorado.

T minus 100 hours

One hundred hours until I leave Lyon.


I had most of my possessions packed.   Finished laundry and boxing up all the items that I would not be taking back.  I would hold a giveaway on Friday.  I had laid out all my clothes for each day and food to see me through until I left.

We decided to go out to eat dinner at the Greek restaurant in Lyon.  A group of seven sat at the outside tables on a nice summer evening. The waiter gave up trying to understand our bad French and just spoke Greek with Akis.  Most of us ordered the tasting menu to enjoy all the different dishes.  We also ordered a bottle of Ouzo for the table with the appetizers. And then another bottle to enjoy with dessert.

The only thing I will miss when leaving here and heading home is the people with whom I have developed friendships.   I enjoyed learning about their lives and ways of thinking that are so different from mine.  There is a strong culture of going out to lunch with friends and I will miss the daily gathering of people, trying to decide where to eat, and walking and talking.

I also enjoyed walking along the river.  The swans are very large and beautiful birds.  The trees are now fully leafed out and the plants along the river are all green and flowering.   The street markets are always busy and I like buying from the same people each week.  I don't think that they recognize me, but I like the consistency of their upbeat and tasty offerings.

48 hours to go.


I gave my new chair from IKEA to Rachel and Torsten because it rocks a little and I thought it would be nice for rocking the baby.  They are also the only ones with a car that can fit the chair.   In return, they offered to buy me dinner when they picked up the chair.  Akis joined us and we headed over to what has become my favorite restaurant, Le Paradis du Fruit (Paradise of Fruits).  It was mostly because of the ice cream shakes and their platter of twelve different items served family style.  Vegetables, fish, chicken, and cheeses are all shared among the people at the table.  Good food, and good friends.  I could not think of a better way to end my time here in Lyon.

24 hours to go.

I took four boxes and bags in to the lab on Friday.  They were filled with all the stuff I collected, but will not be taking home with me.  It included sheets, towels, toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies and laundry soap.  I also had cooking utensils, cutting boards, spices, bowls, and a few cans of vegetables.

The graduate students came over for a shopping trip and each left with a bag full of goodies.  I was happy to see my stuff go to good homes.