Basics

It's midnight thirty. My alarm is set for 6:15. (Not 18:15). I will wake up, race to the train, reach the large farmer's market, buy food, see people, race back, drop things off . . . Will I make it into my office by 10am?

There are basic things I think I've overlooked about Lyon. What do people do here in the mornings? At night? I need to find out.

I only just realized from the web that this market has over a hundred stalls, and that it runs all year. When I went to the market near by my place, there was just one stall, a fruit and vegetable seller. He was really friendly, and spoke with a dialect I didn't quite catch. But we still talked about the rainy weather, and how c'est la vie, that it should be rainy.

Ski season is about to start, and I've still been hiking only once. I saw the right place to buy ski clothes, and I think I might buy some skis. It's in Grenoble. Hopefully, I'll go back there soon, because ski season starts on Dec 5.

But even that: more travel, more escaping. I'm doomed to be a perpetual tourist, unless I act fast. And yes, this keeps me up at night.

Lyon had better start becoming home. Lunch and coffee are already home. I was basically gone last week, and today was wonderful. They talked about the Bond movie, and I really wanted to join in, but my French won't be back 'till later this week. It's still traveling, I think.

There are all sorts of pictures up of Chicago people in Grant park. I miss the people, and I'm jealous. But The Economist gives Obama 4:1 odds of making France the first country he visits. France really means Paris. More travel. But that would be pretty sweet.

Midnight Ramblings. For most people reading this, it's more like an Afternoon Incoherence. See, I won't really talk about what I've been up to, for another week or so. Maybe when I finally find the best place in Lyon.

Or, until I become a regular at a cafe or a brasserie. A brasserie is a place that serves espresso in the mornings, often with croissants, if you ask (freshly made ones, too), beer or coffee in the afternoons, and dinner and beer in the evenings. They're good to work in. They're busy, but you can stay as long as you like.

It really is bedtime, now. And it hasn't gotten cold, yet, so I better take advantage of it. My radiators are a little weak. It's not as bad as when, in Chicago, the radiators didn't work entirely, and my roommate and I had to rely on the heat from the rest of the building. The radiators aren't ice cold. They're just luke warm.

Cold air promotes thinking, so maybe the building is designed like this to promote good dreams . . . I should try to take advantage of that, too. Maybe I'll get some inspiration for how to stay put.