THE SILK AND THE ROAD

Happy Diners

Our dinner last night was at Cafe Comptoir Abel which is barely a block down our street. It is considered the oldest and most authentic bouchon (local restaurant) in Lyon. Naturally we had to go. We had a great time and the food was good. Small, dark and cramped. Karin, who is being super-good about her diet, had only a pâtes au foie gras appetizer while Bob and Stew went in for full dinners: chicken for him with morel mushrooms and some kind of fish for me (Quenelle de brochet en gratin maison). And a couple of “pot” (carafes) of table wine. Everything was good, but not outstanding. The place was packed with lots of locals, it being a Friday night.

Our travel philosophy for this trip is to pick out one or maybe two destinations each day and then just wander around the areas they're in to get a feel for the city.

Maison des Canuts

Today, we had an early-for-us appointment high up on a hill where, at 11::00 am, we were part of a 5-person “tour” of Lyon's silk industry. In the 19^th century, it employed 50,000 or so people and 30,000 or so had looms. We were told about the evolution of the silk industry from its origins two or three thousand years or so BC in China, which kept the process a highly guarded secret. Eventually, though, some missionaries managed to

break the code, and the industry shifted to France, Lyon being the center of it. As part of the tour, the leader gave us a demonstration of how a hand loom worked, and she showed us three one-meter samples of what it could produce after a long, laborious process. She said the cost of the samples ranged from $2,000 - $9,000 per meter! Needless to say, they were spectacular, and we had all we could do to stop Karin from picking up a few meters. 

"Our" patisserie

Then we wandered down the hill back to the flat. It was a long walk, and only Bob's amazing map-reading kept us on course. But the trip was all down hill, so it wasn't too bad. We stopped by the store to pick up a few items to have for a dinner in, having a need to eat some of the pounds of cheese I bought yesterday. And, yes, we had to stop at our local patisserie, Eric Tixier. 

Again, nap time, but hey! It's a vacation, and none of us are exactly spring chickens.

At some point—now being as good a time as ever—we should add a word or two about our flat. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms (but only one toilet—the most popular room in the place). The kitchen is all ultra-modern (IKEA!) with cabinets you have to push on to have them pop open. The livingroom has two couches and a chair, all quite comfortable, grouped around a coffee table, and all in the same open area with the kitchen island and dining area. Two large windows keep this area bright and cheerful, while the two bedrooms we use are at the back, facing a quiet courtyard. If you would like to see pictures, here is the web site:  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8606478

One item of particular interest is the trash bin. In keeping with the modern design, it senses when you approach it, and the lid pops open, whether you want to use the bin or not. Then, a moment later, it closes itself. This is all well and good except when your mind is on some other matter, such as what we're going to do tomorrow, and all of a sudden, up pops the lid, startling us back to the present moment.