I apologize for writing these out of order, but I need to write the most recent first, before I forget it. The last 2 days have been a bit trying, but I’m still happy. The dragonboat festival ended on Sunday – more about that later- and yesterday we had a train reservation to Lyon from Aix Les Bains at 12:48 pm. In the morning we went and got our breakfast from our three favorite shops and then ate in the park, where Mary spent a lot of time last week. It was very pleasant. I really didn’t get to explore much of Aix-les-Bains, and I definitely want to go back there again. Mary also fell in love with the town, after a rough start.

Edit from Mary: no rough start from Aix-Les-Bains itself – it was love from the get go! It was the dragon boat tournament that was rough at times.

After breakfast, we went back to the hotel and packed. I had the great idea that I wouldn’t pack as carefully as I did to get here. I would just put stuff in the suitcase. That went as well as you might expect. I couldn’t close the suitcase, had to take my toiletry bag out, and had to wear my Uniqlo hoodie around my waist, even though it was hot out. Mary gave me a bag to carry my toiletry bag in, and I tried to carry it using the same hand I was pulling my backpack with, but it kept flipping to one side or the other, and the paper handles were definitely going to break before I walked even a few steps. Mary said, “OK. Just give it to me,” and carried it for me the whole way to Lyon. At one point she said that I talked her into carrying it. I protested, saying I never asked her to carry it. She said, “Well you did by being so completely incompetent trying to carry it and your other stuff.” I replied, “That’s not talking you into it. The incompetency is just me.”

Anyway, competent me was sure she had booked a direct train to Lyon from Aix, but when we got there it said we had to change trains in a town called Culoz. I figured out last night that I had booked a direct train but it had gotten changed. Our train to Culoz was very delayed. A young French woman (possibly girl) had made the mistake of sitting down next to me, and I asked her if she was also going to Lyon, and if we would miss our connection. She said yes, and I asked her how we would know what train to get on, and she said they would make an announcement. I told her we would follow her and she smiled, but kinda not a real smile.

When our train finally came and then we got off in Culoz, we were just outside on a platform. There was no big train station, and It didn’t seem like it would be hard to figure out the next train. My new “amie” waited for us to get off the train and told me that we would have to ask someone what train we would catch and on which platform. All this was in broken English and broken French. Mary planted me with our bags and went off in search of a bathroom, then came back and reported there wasn’t one. I then went to try to figure out where we needed to be to catch the right train. I was on the first platform, looking at the arrivals and departures board, but not knowing which was which, when some Canadian dragon boaters we had met at the Aix-les-Bans station, shouted from the middle platform, “We’re supposed to be here.”

I looked over at my French friend, who was also perusing the board, and she said, “We don’t know yet where we’re supposed to be. We have to wait,” and then wandered away. The Canadians seemed very sure of themselves and the French girl seemed a bit discombobulated. Now there was a French man looking at the board and I asked him which was arrivals and which was departures. I asked him twice just to make sure, because it did show that our train was on the middle platform and should be leaving in a few minutes.

I can tell you we spent about an hour and a half standing outside in the sun, hungry and needing to pee and I spent a lot of time going up the stairs and down the stairs from one platform to another. At some point my “amie” showed me her phone app, which said that the train would be an hour late.” She also said something about her father and it was going to get her to Lyon too late. At this point I began to think she was younger than the 21 or so I had estimated.

I went into the tiny station and asked where the nearest bathroom was. He said it was a 10 minute walk, at the city center. I figured I had time to walk there, find a bathroom, and find some food. Mary wanted to stay with the bags, so I approached the Canadians and told them my plan. I said I would get them whatever they wanted, unless some of them wanted to walk with me. (There were four of them.) Two of them decided they would, so we walked over to the elevator to get to the walkway above the tracks. When we got there my “amie” was there and she told me something I didn’t understand, so then she typed into my Google Translate that her app said the train was an hour late, but the board said it should be coming in a few minutes, and she didn’t know which was accurate.

The Canadians had moved on so I ran to catch them to keep them from going to the store, but they said they were sure the train was going to be late and pointed out that if you looked long enough at the board it would say that the train was delayed. I went back to tell my “amie,” because I was beginning to think that i knew more than her, and also because I could see she was distressed about getting to Lyon too late. I typed into Google Translate that the board said it was delayed. She didn’t believe me, so I showed her and then her whole face fell. I said, ‘Je suis desolee” and went back to Mary who said she didn’t love the idea of me walking but she wouldn’t stop me.

I began to walk very quickly towards the center of town and then looked at my watch, saw it was 2:30 and everything would be closed. So I headed back, did a little reconnaissance, found an abandoned train where I didn’t think I could be seen, and squatted and peed. When I told Mary about my success, she declined to try it out herself.

I went back into the station to buy the only bottle of water in the vending machine. My “amie” was there counting her coins and, in my limited French, I tried to offer to buy her something, but she said no. At this point I decided I should really leave her alone. By now i thought she was probably about 15 years old, had been taught not to talk to strangers and had this weird American following her around.

The Canadians who had gone to the town center returned and told me they found a bathroom and 2 croissants, but basically it was a bust. I said, “You’re welcome for me coming up with this wonderful idea and then not doing it myself.” (Actually I apologized for leading them astray.)

Finally, the train came. It was very crowded and we had to lug our luggage through a few cars, but eventually we found seats near each other. In Lyon, we got a taxi to our hotel, the Warwick Reine Astrid Lyon. This hotel is a step down from the Grand Hotel du Parc, but it is the biggest room we have had so far in France, and has a full kitchen, which I love because we have not been able to refrigerate anything the whole time in Aix-les-Bains. We were exhausted and hungry. We found a crappy grocery store and I bought a crappy baguette and a package of tiny little cheese squares with herbs on top. They were very yummy. They had some fancy ice cream bars in the lobby of the hotel, so we each had one of those for dessert. I keep thinking coco is chocolate and then realizing it is coconut and getting very excited . My coconut bar was tres delicieux.

This morning I had two goals: Get rid of the life vest I have been schlepping all over France, and go to the Diptyque store and buy the amazing lotion that they had at the Hotel Balzac. AI and Apple Maps told me where a Mailboxes Etc. store is. AI said the store would pack the vest up for me and mail it, and also told me how to not have to pay ridiculous American tariffs – by stating that it was my personal item that I brought here from the U.S. I mapped out the bus route to get there, and was very proud of myself and happy riding the bus and knowing when I was going to get off. I got off at the right stop and there was no Mailboxes Etc. I wandered around quite a while and found the street address, but it was not a Mailboxes Etc. It didn’t even look like a public building. Finally I went into a pharmacy to ask, and the clerk told me the store wasn’t there anymore. Not to be deterred, I found a second Mailboxes Etc. and took the bus there. It took me a while of wandering around after I got off the bus but eventually I found it. The man in the store spoke almost no English and I speak very limited French, but we managed to communicate clearly and he boxed it up and gave me a receipt and a UPS tracking number, and an email address to use if I have questions. All for the sum of 110 euros, which I was happy to pay to get rid of that thing.

By now, my iPhone battery was down to 20%. It decided to degenerate badly as soon as it realized it was in a foreign country. I didn’t think I could get to the Diptyque store via public transportation and maps and then back to the hotel without running out of battery. I also had a full bladder but no Euros and had neglected to bring my ATM card. Magically the next building I walked past was a gorgeous municipal building, perhaps the town hall for the particular arondissement I was in. I walked inside, saw a sign for toilettes pointing upwards, walked up a grand staircase with a statue of a woman on the landing and found unattended (meaning I didn’t have to pay or tip) toilettes. Next I found a boulangerie and bought a quiche, which I ate outside on a park bench, and then I ordered an Uber to take me to Diptyque.

Now I really love this Diptyque lotion. It goes on so smoothly and has a wonderful smell, and Mary enjoys the smell on me, which is unusual, because sometimes perfumed things are too strong for her. I was very excited about getting this Diptyque lotion. The Uber driver dropped me off not exactly at the Diptyque store, so I spent about ten minutes wandering around searching for it, but finally I found it and stopped inside. I showed the employee a picture of the lotion from Hotel Balzac, and he said, ‘Oh, you are too late. Yesterday was the last day.” It took a while for me to fully understand, but basically they stopped carrying that lotion on August 31st and no Diptyque store in the world is allowed to sell that lotion after yesterday. I asked if they would bring it back and he said no. He showed me a thicker cream that was not the same – it felt greasy, not light. I asked him if they had any light lotions and he said no. Now I had 3% battery and no choice but to take an Uber back to the hotel sans lotion. My phone is now charging (as is my iPad. Both were pugged in all night to non-working USB ports.) I’m tempted to spend all day tomorrow searching for an Apple Store and trying to get a new battery, but it will be our final full day in Lyon.

I really don’t mind doing errands, because I get to mingle with French people and practice my French. I just wish I hadn’t had to spend so much money on Ubers to get to a store one day too late to get my new favorite lotion.

I will continue this later and tell you about the races in Aix-les-Bains, but I think now Mary and I might attempt a visit to Les Halles de Lyon du Paul Bocuse.