Day 19 Part 2: I arrive in Lyon and have a Buddhist moment

Friday, 7 July 2017

When we arrived in Lyon I had to rely on Kayla to figure out how to get to the hostel, since she had booked the place for us. I quickly realized I did not like relying on other people to make sure I got to the right place. Usually I’m more than happy to be a follower, but maybe it’s because she’s so much younger than myself. I shouldn’t have been worried anyways, because despite having to take 3 different Metro’s we found the hostel without any problems. Once again, can I say how much I love the Metros in France? They are so easy to navigate, and they come so frequently it seems like you never have to wait.

After we checked in we decided to take a walk to familiarize ourselves with the area. We quickly realized we were in vieux (old) Lyon which was a major score because it is so much prettier than the newer part. Old Lyon still has cobblestone streets, and we were right in the center of it. The hostel is on a steep hill, and overlooks the rest of the city. We had an amazing view from our room, as well as from the courtyard outside the hostel. It was only by chance Kayla chose this place, and so we couldn’t have been luckier. It was another 100 degree day so on our walk we stopped to get ice cream. There was a golden lion outside the ice cream shop inside a courtyard where we sat and licked our cones as fast as we could before the heat melted them. Katrina and Kayla both nanny for a living. Kayla works at a French immersion school, and she also nannies for a French family who lives in Utah. I learned that when you nanny in France, it’s called an Au Pair. I had no idea, but apparently it’s a thing tons of American girls do so they can live in France and learn the language. They were telling me some families will even pay for their Au Pair to attend language classes.

I feel like I can’t explain how relaxing it was to sit in a courtyard in an ancient part of town, licking ice cream cones, talking, and watching little children run around and climb on the lion. It was as if life had finally slowed down for me. Usually my to do list is so long I can’t even get through it in one day, and that night I wasn’t thinking about anything that needed to get done. In fact there wasn’t anything on my list. It was as if I could be fully present, fully experiencing the Buddhist mindfulness that is spoken of in Living Buddah, Living Christ. Perhaps it is a wishy washy thing to believe that I might be able to retain some feeling of that contentment when I go home, but I hope it is possible. It was the first time in a long while I’ve felt this way. The last time I felt this way I was 18 visiting my Uncle’s house in Michigan. I felt that life was good, and life was to be enjoyed, and what a marvelous thing that we are on Earth, and there is so much pleasure to be had, just from living and eating and walking and talking and seeing.