[flanoverseas]

someone asked for things to do in Lyon, so I thought I'd write down a few tips. I'm not familiar with Lyon, but I have seen it in a movie. These are just general things about France where people will treat you very nicely if you start it-like anywhere...

Eating Out
People don't work for tips here so it often happens that you won't get swift service. My friend and I refer to it as 'the queue'. What happens is you get to the restaurant, and you might have to wait 10-20 minutes before anyone even takes your drink order. This is NORMAL. Once you get in 'the queue' everything should progress normally. Or not. During the week M-Th, don't plan on eating much later than 930 and 10/10:30 on the weekends. EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays. Including a lot of restaurants. Creperies are rip-offs. I've never understood why people pay 6-8 euros for a crepe.

For lunch, try a kebab somewhere, they are all over the place.

Most restaurants have things called a Menu which consists of an appetizer, entree and desert and is well worth it. It's almost always less than 20 euros and if it is between 12-15, it's probably pretty good. La salade au chevre chaud is on most menus and you should get it at least once. If you want a good steak, you will have to pay for it. Any steak on the less than 20 euro menu is probably real grisslely and thin. "a point" [ah pwa] is MR and "bien cuit" [bee-eh-kwee] is well done. "saignant" [senyan] = bloody and it will be bleeding. Rabbit is usually good to get.

For an aperitif, you will look cool if you order "un Patis" [pass-teesse] and even cooler if you order another one. Ask for 'une mauresque' [oone moe-resk] which is a pastis with orgeat sirup - it doesn't diminish the cool value of ordering it too much, and sweetens it enough for consumption. For after dinner, there is usually cognac or armagnac, and in Lyon which is close to Savoie, you can order a Mahr de Savoie which probably doubles as paint thinner and is great mixed in your coffee(like grappa, if you know that stuff).

Wine
Bordeaux is the one everyone's heard of, and it is also the most expensive. Not necessarily the best.

Check out: Saint Chinian, Faugeres*, PicPoul, Cotes du Rhone (some say you can never go wrong with that). If you spend $10.00 on a wine in a supermarket, you got a real GOOD wine. If you spend 20 in a restaurant, it will be good.

Cafés, Bars and Clubs
Cafés are everywhere, with outdoor seating everywhere, and you can get a coffee for about $1.50 and sit there as long as you want. A glass of wine costs less than a coffee, and you can usually order 1/4, 1/2 or a liter (un quart[car], un demi[like deME moore], un litre].

Bars close at 1:00 a.m. where I am but I don't know what it's like in Lyon. St. Etienne, I would imagine is 1:00 a.m. The good news is, one of the biggest parties in France is June 21st - la fete de musique - or the party of music. There is music on every corner, and it is the day where all the bars start to close at 2:00 a.m. There are Irish bars everywhere.

Booze is real expensive, don't plan on all those fruity shooters and blue drinks so popular in the states. Basically you drink beer or wine. There's a few girly drinks: un moncao which is grenadine in beer and GET (prounounced JET) which chicks like but is nasty. Girls don't drink pastis.

Nightclubs are way french. They stay open real late and they do a very interesting thing: You can buy an entire bottle of liquor and serve yourself. It is expensive.

Other things to do
Paris is Paris and there is tons to do there.

If you are in Lyon or St Etienne, you are not far at all from the alpes and it would certainly be worth it to rent a car and drive that way. Your only 3 hours from Geneva where they legally sell weed if that's your thing. You have to get someone from Switzerland to buy it for you, but...

You are also around two hours from Montpellier where there are around 60 miles of beaches. Montpellier is a town of around 80,000 students and 320,000 other. There are tons of towns to see right around Montpellier: Nîmes (home of denim -de nimes-, Carcasson,- a medevil city/fort, Aigues Mortes-I forget but it's cool, Sete (the Venice of France), Arles (home to Vincent VinGogh), Roquefort, Gard (miniature grand canyon)

You need a car to do all this, but how often are you going to be in France? Well, you don't necessarily need a car, but it sure as hell will make getting to the beaches easier. Drawback is the $4.50/gallon and tolls. Speed limit is 130 kmph on the big highways, and is generally not enforced. You might not see a policeman on the road while you are here. But, wear your seatbelt. France has the highest highway mortality rate. Check out www.mappy.com to check driving distances.

post any questions if you want...
Mark

[flanoverseas]

oh yeah, if you do something stupid, just say this in French:
^
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp"Excusez moi, je suis anglais."

An American sounds exactly the same as an Englsih person in French so you might as well blame it on them.

[rymannryan]

Originally posted by flanoverseas
oh yeah, if you do something stupid, just say this in French:
^
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp"Excusez moi, je suis anglais."

An American sounds exactly the same as an Englsih person in French so you might as well blame it on them.

[Thomas Flannigan]

Excellent post, Flanoverseas. People who can't or don't want to rent a car can take advantage of the excellent train system.
I stayed in the yoooooouth hostle in Carcassonne and it is a hoot. You walk out in the morning and think you are in the 16th century. The ramparts on the wall encircling the medieval city are a great place to bring beer and watch the sunset.
I don't really care for Geneva, but the French mountain towns of Annecy and Grenoble are closer and very pretty.

[flanoverseas]

Thanks, TF...you're travelling tips made me want to add a couple of things...

If you do want to go the saving money route (I don't know how that works ), take Thomas' advice and buy a 10 pack of 25cl beers or a bottle of wine, a block of cheese, some paté, and a 75 cent baguette (or a banette which is sour dough) and sit in an 'espace verte'...no problems with open containers here.

If you want you can even take sandwiches to the cafés-probably the best bet to not take them to cafés that serve food...

And to repeat another thing TF said, try to speak a little French, no matter how bad. Most people will appreciate it enourmously, and others will be estatic to be able to practice their English with you.

[dark knight]

I'm really mad at myself that I talked myself out of going to these games.

I just had rabbit (twice) for the first time this year and I really like it. I'm surprised it isn't more common over here.

[dfb547490]

Remember to bring lots of personal hygeine gear, as you won't be able to buy it over there.

[IASocFan]

Also remember: 110 voltage doesn't work. We left all electrical applicances. Our French apartment had a hair dryer. It will probably be cooler that most of the US.

[Thomas Flannigan]

Great work, Flanoverseas. What do you think are the best day trips, or one night excursions, out of Lyon? I think you live near Avignon, a town that I have only passed through on the train.

[ttrevett]

Excellent suggestions Flanoverseas. I just really really wish I was going to this! This would have been the perfect opportunity to see France and the MNT play some really great games. Please someone tell me not to waste these opportunities again!!!!

Someday all the French I took in high school and college will help me! Currently my job deals with 50% spanish speakers, NO HELP!!!!!