(Lyon, France)

I’ve written before about a vacation’s last day – it can often be tinged with a bit of sadness. But because of what happened in Largentière (more details to follow in my trip debrief), the paradigm had shifted on this trip. Everything I did on the last day was really just a bonus.

I spent most of the last afternoon in Lyon’s grand 19th century downtown. A significant part of it is pedestrianized, so it is really a great place to be when the weather is nice (unlike my visit here in the winter of 2024!). I even revisited some familiar haunts, like the FNAC music store on rue de la République

Walking along the Rhône (see photo at the very top of this post) under sunny skies was a pleasure too. Topping it off with some delicious gelato (cassis, of course, this being southern France) was undoubtedly the right thing to do. I took care of some business at my hotel, before heading out for a dining adventure.

Even though I had Ethiopian food the night before, I was ready for more African food. It is much more readily available in France than in Canada, particularly West African food. Remembering my 2018 trip to northern France, when I had eaten at a Senegalese restaurant, I decided to try some Senegalese street food at a place called La Cuisine Moudery.

I went for the Tiep Rouge au Poulet: basically grilled chicken with a red tomato and onion sauce. I went for the full experience – a large helping of the main course along with a typical beverage (Bissap rouge) and dessert (Beignets sénégalais). I don’t know if the photo captures the enormity of the meal, but it was too much for me. The bowl was very deep; it could have fed two people easily! The deep-fried “donuts” with a chocolate sauce were delicious but probably unnecessary.

My trip back had to Canada had an interesting twist. My Lyon hotel was right beside the train station…a location I chose deliberately. My first “flight” was actually a TGV train from Lyon to the De Gaulle International Airport in Paris. I was there in exactly 2 hours, and I didn’t have to arrive 3 hours before the train left! There was a security checkpoint at the Lyon station but it was over very quickly. The train segment was on my airline ticket.

I had a direct flight from Paris to Montreal. Once again, I was reminded of how the glory days of economy air travel are over. I had an exit row seat, so at least I had extra legroom. But the seats are now so narrow that the legroom is no longer the only pressure point. Anticipating this, I had already treated myself to a business class seat on the train from Montreal to Kingston.

Next up – the “debrief”!