Sunday in Lyon

Bon Jour Mes Amies,

I had a low key Sunday, or as we French say, Dimanche but got in plenty of walking, which I needed to do after yesterday.  After my leisurely breakfast of Pain Polaine liberally spread with hummus, I went out and first replenished my supply of euros from the BNP Paribus atm.  This particular bank is one of my bank's foreign partners.  I had an unpleasant time this summer watching the dollar/euro exchange rate deteriorate, so I am happy not to be paying additional transaction fees.  Moreover, the animation on the atm is super cute, which helps with the exchange rate pain.
Then I attended the local flea market set up in the place in front of the Mairie of the sixth? arondissement.  If you say Mairie then you get mayorie, which helps to explain city government.  I also mailed some post cards.  Then I set out for the park Tete d'Or, which is a brisk twenty minute straight shot from my home.
When I am abroad, I observe and follow the local rules of road crossing.  When last in Paris I was a hardened and shameless jay walker, and the deal is very similar in Lyon, except we pedestrians congregate at the crosswalks.  Even if it says "no walk" if there are no vehicles coming we feel free to cross.  Some brave souls cross anyway, but they are better at judging on coming traffic than I am.
Parc Tete d'Or is big--I mean really big, and I saw a lot of it I had not before, and I still did not cover the whole thing.  I found the velodrome for example, and some other recreational areas. The place strongly reminds me of Kew because there are extensive botanical gardens with green houses and planted beds of different habitats.  I wondered how the managed to maintain the Southwestern desert (complete with cacti) in this damp climate.
Since it was Sunday I shared the paths with many joggers and some bikers.
I was rude to some geese. They honked loudly and clearly recognized the woman who had come to feed them because they flocked towards her.  "Foie gras," I whispered as they crossed my path flapping and honking.
I came upon the station and tracks of a petite train.  Now this is something I am incapable of resisting, but alas today it was not running!  I walked along the tracks and listened, but instead of a real train there was a kind of Disneyland tram going along the regular roads.  Meh.
I went back to the park because I craved green.  The lush and varied green of the Rhone-Alps region of France feeds a deep hunger in my soul for green vegetation, something not widely available at home.
I Always carry a packet of tissues with me.  Always.  Because at the park I availed myself of the free and clean automated toilets, but the automation does not include refilling the toilet paper containers.  This is a common situation. Be prepared.
I came back via Les Halles de Paul Bocuse, which was in full spate on a Sunday afternoon.  It was packed with a combo of locals and tourists, and was crowded and crazy.  A lot of folks were there for oysters since it's the beginning of the season, and the shuckers were working non-stop.
I chose to get some fancy and expensive mezze.
Reverting to the Mediterranean Diet, Pil?
Well, I have missed some aspects of it. My digestion is too fragile for most foreign fruits and vegetables, so I've been indulging in saturated fat. But today I feasted on some nice dolma filled with rice followed by some really good falafel!  They can be dry.  This wasn't.  I followed up with a sort of  deep fried tacquito looking thing called brik.  Mine had spicy vegetables.  Mmm.  Crisp.  Tasty.
But let's move on to the main course. I have for a while been intrigued by a North African dish called Pastilla, but it looked far too complicated for me to try to make at home. It involves pastry . . . so.  But I got one filled with chicken.  To  accompany it I have some rather watery rose, but I am not in a position to complain too much since it's AOC, and I did not pay much for it.
The deal with Pastilla is that like many North African dishes it combines sweet with meat.  This is good!  It's not something I'd eat very often, but I sure am enjoying it now.  The pastry is like filo dough.  Apart from the chicken I can't tell what the filling is.  Couscous maybe.  Anyway it's awfully good.
A demain