Biking around Lyon - Summer 2007

One of the biggest changes for me, with the end of classes, is not renewing my bus pass which allowed me unlimited access to the metro, tram, and bus in Lyon. Having the unlimited service, I was able to jump on and off of buses, even for short trips, and shopping was so much more convenient then.

Now, I limit myself to individual tickets and that means I have to plot out each trip in advance to see if each ride justifies the use of a ticket. Since often these short trips don't merit a ticket I end up walking ... or taking the VeloV rent-a-cycles. While I used to take these bikes only for short distances, now I take them for long distances, from right by my house all the way to Part Dieu shopping center, about 4km away. (Still not very far in absolute terms ....)

In case you're worried about me navigating city traffic, rest a little easy: my colleagues at school showed me a dedicated bike path that leads from the center of town all the way down to the shopping center where I usually shop. And it was there that I went shopping yesterday, dropping off the bike right outside the shopping center.

(True, I also came here to check out the bargains, but left empty-handed in that department. There just isn't a whole lot that I need here, and the prices -- as I've maintained before -- are astronomical compared to Japan or the US.)

But I did splurge on wine and pork chops. Funny that aside from the lamb chops that I've bought, this is actually the first time I've bought real meat (not procesed meat like hamburger or bacon) all year. And it was really good.

I bought a cut of pork which they call "echine sans os" which translates to "chine" (?) or probably the meat on the back of the pig. Sans os = without bones, so it's really easy to cook and it's nicely marbled. I sprinkled on some salt-pepper from Japan and added some shakes of Lawry's garlic salt ... and panfried it in olive oil. Funny how something so simple can taste so good. At 5 pieces for 4,50 EUR it's certainly not cheap meat ($1.20 a slice), but were I to eat the same piece of meat in a restaurant, I'm sure they'd charge upwards of 8,50 EUR for the plate alone (maybe decorated with some salad and potatoes).

The other photos are of a French style thin-crust tart made with fresh (not canned!) pears. I've cut it in 4 pieces so as not to gobble it down in one go. At 4,50 EUR for the whole thing, it's not inexpensive, but again, much cheaper than choosing to eat the same thing out in the cafes that have set up all over Lyon. (That's another issue: I'm sure some of these businesses make up for their lean winters with 80% of their business during the spring and summer months!)

Finally, there is a bottle of Bordeaux wine that was Carrefour's recommendation in their weekly grocery catalog. At 3,50 EUR it's not one of the more expensive vintages, but for a ready-to-drink wine, it's excellent. And of course with the meat, it goes well. Mind you, I've only drunk part of it and will take several days to finish it off!