Monday was my birthday! I don’t feel 44, but apparently that’s what it says on my driver’s license.
Monday was also a strike day, with most of the public transit shut down. We’re fortunate that we live in a part of the city with multiple transit options, so Kristian and Lilian were able to take an alternative route. I personally was fortunate to claim birthday privilege and get to sleep in a bit while Kristian brought Lilian to school (with the trams shut down, it took them twice as long to get there).
I met up with a friend for breakfast at their place. Honestly, being able to say “I met up with a friend” just might be the best birthday present of them all. It’s hard to make friends in a new place. To be invited over to celebrate my birthday meant a lot to me! Also, I’m told this is the best “pâte à tartiner,” which is why I took a photo. I need to know what to buy once we’ve finished off our current jar.
(Pâte à tartiner is to Nutella what ibuprofen is to Advil).
One of Kristian’s presents to me was a bike helmet. It boggles my mind how so few people here wear them! I’ve been wanting to try out the local e-scooter share, and a strike day seemed like the perfect day for it. I rented one by our apartment and then scooted along the protected bike path that goes along the Rhône River. Kristian asked me how it went and I said “equal parts fun and terrifying.”
Pros: fast
Cons: fast
The rental scooters have a speedometer on them, which is how I know that my speed topped out at just under 21kmh (which is about 13mph in Freedom Units™?). How on earth people ride these things without helmets is truly beyond me.
It’s super fun to go that fast. Plus, the view along the river is amazing. No pictures, because my phone was locked into the handlebars of my scooter. Also, taking a picture from a scooter would be completely insane. I should see if I can borrow a go-pro one of these days. A time-lapse of the trip might be pretty cool.
Whizzing along next to a major river is pretty amazing, but you also feel every single bump and crack in the pavement. Things are well maintained here, but we are in the land of cobblestones. Plus, you have to navigate around other scooters, bikers, joggers… I’m now 100x more impressed with the folks who ride scooters in the streets here. Clearly, they are made of sterner stuff than me.
In addition to my new helmet, Kristian and Lilian bought be some fancy chocolates while we were in Aix-Les-Bains. We also had some food and libations to celebrate my birthday. I had an apero spritz the size of my head. I’m guessing it marked me as an American because it was a) enormous and 2) full of ice. But who cares, it was my birthday. I think I got through half of it.
I also had this amazing salad, chock full of burrata.
I don’t have any photos from our fancy dinner, but we went to a restaurant at the end of our street called “Le Nord.” It was founded by Paul Bocuse and serves its own take on traditional Lyonnaise dishes. It was fantastic! I especially appreciated how patient and kind the waitress was with Lilian. She gave us all some great suggestions (the wine that she recommended was perfect), but she was especially helpful with translating and explaining to my little English speaker.
We’re still waiting to hear back about the apartment we applied for. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!
