Lyon

After getting on the later train from Paris on Friday the 22nd of June, I made my way to Lyon. I was on the TGV (train à grande vitesse or high-speed train), which leaves regularly from Paris to Lyon. The trip is non-stop and usually takes a little under two hours. The train left on time and we made our way to Lyon at an incredible speed. I'm always amazed at how fast those trains go. I was amazed to watch as the scenery blew by as we reached speeds over 200 mph.

But, as my luck on the metro on the morning would foreshadow, my train was delayed. First we slowed then came to a complete stop about 5 minutes from my destination. After a few minutes of sitting on the track, the conductor announced that due to technical difficulties, our train would remain stopped for an undetermined duration. The people on the train were horrified, myself included. I could have walked to the station from where we were, but we weren't allowed off the train. Fortunately, we were fast on our way within 10 or 15 minutes.

A delay wouldn't have bothered me so much if I hadn't made arrangements for my friends from last year, the Georges, to meet me at the train station. I assured them I could take the convient, efficient metro system to their apartment, but they insisted on meeting me at the station. Honestly, I was glad to see them, and so were they to see me.

What I didn't know is that an entire group of my friends from the YSA from last year were also there. In a way, I felt horrible. They had all planned their day around meeting me at the station, and I had missed my first train. I had called ahead to let them know I'd be on a subsequent train, and they had changed their plans to be there an hour and a half later than scheduled. Then, my train was delayed 5 minutes from the station, and I was another few minutes late.

My disdain was short lived as I caught up with each of them on the metro on the way home. I can't tell you how good it was to see them again. They were so good to me last year, and was so good to see them this year too. In fact, two of them are on their way to the States, and I'll see them there when I get back.

After all that, I finally arrived in Lyon. It was Friday afternoon, and mostly what I wanted to do was catch up with people. We took it easy for a little while, walked around the city, and had a good time.

Friday night was relatively uneventful aside from a great time at a movie I went to with some friends. Mostly it was just good to spend time with them, David and Julien. They're both leaving on missions in the near future.

I don't even know the name of the movie in English for sure, but I think it was Wild Hogs or something like that. It was a movie with John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and a few others I recognized. I really had no idea what it was rated, who was in it, or anything like that. In France, if the movies don't have a rating, it usually means they're okay. The ratings start at like PG-12 or something like that. So apparently the French movie rating board thought this movie would be okay for kids. You never can tell with the French, though. There didn't seem to be anything too bad in it, and if there ever is, I usually can't understand it. One of the advantages of learning another language: it's sometimes easier to control what vocabulary you learn and use.

Saturday I got up early and went for a run. After a good night's sleep and still maintaining a high hemoglobin count from living in the mountains (as well as just being in better shape than I was last year), I took off on my usual route from last year. When I got to where I used to turn around last year, I barely felt warmed up. I continued for what must have been two or three times farther than I ran last year before I turned around. I was gone for full hour and ran at a good pace for all but 5 minutes of it. That might not seem very impressive to many of you, but that was a great accomplishment for me. I felt good all day.

Saturday afternoon I again went out with friends. Michele, a girl from BYU who is doing the same internship I did last year and living with the same family I did last year, David, and I went out for lunch at this really great salad restaurant. Lyon is revered by many of the French as being the food capital of the country, and we were not let down.

After an incredible lunch, we all parted ways and I met up with some more friends from last year. We wandered around the city and took care of a few errands. We took a beautiful stroll down the newly finished boardwalk of the Rhône river. We walked for quite a distance before turning around and heading back to town. Having run a lot that morning, I felt my legs starting to tire.

One of my friends whom I particularly wanted to see is engaged since last I saw him. His fiancée lives far away, and since my friend works for the SNCF (France's main railway service) and he gets free tickets, he is almost always out of town on the weekends. Fortunately, he was in town, and he invited the whole gang over for dinner at his place. It was so good to see Nicolas again, and especially to see him happy with his new fiancée. They'll be married in the temple in November or December (I can't remember, but I have the announcement).

Eating dinner chez Nicolas brought back so many good memories from last summer. What a great time.

Sunday, June 24: I went to Church at the same ward I attended last summer. Again, more of the same: so good to catch up with people. Church was wonderful: Elders quorum met outside, they now have a class just for the YSA, and Sacrament meeting was great.

After Church, we had an excellent dinner at the Georges' apartment. Hélène, my host mother from last year, made her famous lasagna, and it was every bit as good as I remembered it, if not better. After being away from France for a while, you forget how good the food is here. Dinner was delightful.

After an afternoon siesta, we took of for a walk in the park with the gang. Even after living in Lyon for over 2 months last year, I never visited one if its famous parks, le parc de la tête d'or. It's a park on the northern side of town. I knew it was well-known and I knew it was big from the space it occupied on the map, but I had no idea it was also a free zoo. Lions, tigers, bears (oh my;-), deer, monkeys, ducks, flamingos, gazelles--you name it.

After crêpes and games night at Nico's, we retired for the evening. I got up early and went for a run again on Monday morning, and I stopped by at my old office where I worked last year to say hi to my boss and Michele, who was occupying one of the same desks where I worked last year.

I didn't want to miss my train, so my visit at la Maison de l'Europe was brief. I showed Michele a boulangerie where I often ate last year and we got sandwiches. I had to pack mine and take it with me on the train for lack of time, but I also showed her where the institute building is (right around the corner from the office). I hope she has as much fun there as I did.

I caught my train, and after making a connection in Marseilles, I finally made it to Cannes, the city of France's famous film festival. As I reminisced on the train on my short but delightful visit to my old home of 2+ months last year, I couldn't help but feel overcome with the joy of seeing dear friends and renewing old ties. I can't help but feel that there's something more to our relationships on earth than terrestrial association. The Lord really has a hand in our lives, as I saw last year when I made these great friends, and as I felt this year when I saw them again.