Today is a travel day to Lyon so we are up by 7 to have breakfast and pack up. We have been in this apartment for one week and we have settled in so packing takes a bit of time. We are now very comfortable finding our way around the city using the Metro system and know which train station we need to get to so feel quiet relaxed.
We ensure we have plenty of time at the railway station (about 45 minutes) to ensure we can deal with any last minute changes that might occur. We are not the only ones since we sit down on a bench next to a couple who have just arrived from the USA and also going to Lyons to start a car trip for 2 weeks over to Italy. We compared notes of travels and find we have enjoyed many of the same places so again the time went quickly.
We got to Lyons and had no trouble finding the hotel we had booked which is about a 5 minute walk from the railway station. When we got to the hotel we were told that we could not check in until 5 pm (yep you heard me 5 pm) and it was written on my reservation documents but I had read it as 1500 (24h notations is common in Europe) and thought 3 pm but regardless I knew we were early. We were able to store our luggage and then headed out for a tour of the city on foot. What happened, due to circumstances, is that my camera was in my backpack and therefore I did not have anything to take pictures with and I really missed it. What a beautiful city this is and tomorrow I will have to go back to some of the areas and take the pictures.
The circumstances I mentioned was the attitude we encountered when we got to the reception desk at the hotel. The young man look confused when I said hello and said something in French (we think he said he did not understand English) so Wes stepped up and told him in French that we had a reservation. Then he seemed to understand us and told us – in English – that we could not check in until 5 pm. Not a problem for us and we asked if we could store the bags. (again all in English) He said sure and grabbed some keys and rushed off so we followed. He opened a door and indicated that he was in a hurry and to put our backpacks. As I put mine in, Wes opened his to grab his daypack so he had what he needed but my camera case stayed in mine. I felt that the ‘Good Host’ manners of the guy was lacking but in fairness the reception area is undergoing renovations and he is working on a small table in the middle of the room so likely was feeling a bit stressed. When we returned at 4 pm prepared to sit and wait on the coach he said the room was ready and seemed quit pleasant. At any rate we got into the room to discover that we actually had booked (and I do not remember doing it) a room with a kitchenette so we can again set up housekeeping for the 3 days we are here.
Because I did not have my camera there really are not pictures to share on this blog so it will be a short one. This balances it out with yesterday when there was way more to say and I could only share a bit of the pictures and research I discovered. Tomorrow will be different.
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