"Look Down"...Marseille

Nat & Laetitia invited to show us around Marseille until we had to catch our train later that afternoon. Madame Lavie packed us some sandwiches and we were off. A short 30 minute car ride away. It was a hot day but with the coastal breeze it felt great.

Ferry's used to go out to the Chateau d'if (yep the one from the Count of Monte Cristo); we only got to view it from the coast. You also may already know but Marseille is where the story of Les Mis begins with Valjean (hence the title "look down")...yep we walked through the old port.

Notre Dame de la Garde Marseille has the best view of the entire city. As you can tell.

(Nativity scene within the cathedral)

Cathédrale de la Major is neat with it's stripes.

Since we only had a few hours we had to go from one place to the next rather quickly. It was nice to drive along the coast with the windows down. Marseille wasn't originally in our plans so it was a nice surprise to visit it with some locals.

p.s. I hated seeing the graffiti all over these cathedrals. 

This happened in not just Marseille but almost every other city we visited. Booo.

Vitrolles

Vitrolles. A little suburb of Aix en Provence near the Mediterranean coast.

We stayed with the Lavie family. Nicest people ever. So kind of them to let us stay. The first thing I noticed in their living room was a framed picture of Tanner and his companion from 3ish years ago. Such a sweet thing to see the impact and friendship he had made in this little family's lives.

Not even 5 minutes after we arrived, did Madame Lavie and Lorick start making a plan to throw a dinner party and invite the ward members over to see Tanner again.
And so I got a little taste of the French life.
I made the mistake of asking what time this dinner started; apparently French people go by it starts whenever everyone shows up. The first people to show up arrived around 6ish and we started dinner around 9 (if that gives you an idea). The (oh so awkward) Elders serving in this area were also invited over.

Tanner & Katy (& creepy missionary in the background).

One of the first things she said to me, as she pulled out a little notebook, "when is your birthday, I want to remember it." That has got to be the sweetest gesture from someone I just met. 

Plus she spoke a little English so it was nice to sit by her during dinner.

Tanner & Christopher.

(our dinner group)

This is us with Sonia & Christophe.

Later that night Nat & Laetitia joined us for a round of the French version of Uno.

I'll be honest despite everyone being so incredibly kind, I found it to be extremely difficult due to the language barrier. Some of them could speak a teensy bit of English but not enough to carry a conversation. Tanner did his best to translate but with such a large group it was impossible to keep up. So stressful to be in a room with that many people and all I could do was smile and nod. I so badly wanted to connect with these people that had such an influence in Tanner's own life..and yet I physically couldn't.

Later that night as we got ready for bed we talked about this and how similar it was to him being on a mission. For at least the first half of his mission he felt what I did that night. Gave me a greater appreciation for all those missionaries out there (or anyone out there learning a new language). I'm so grateful to have experienced this but man was it hard in that moment.

p.s. This is Snoopy, he didn't know I didn't speak French so we became good friends. 

This is how he woke us up the next morning.

Lyon: Part Deux

For our last night in Lyon we had to switch apartments due to availability. The apartment was in another part of the city. This time the entire apartment was for us.

Best part, it had a washing machine. We spent some time getting two loads washed and hung up to dry on the balcony. While we were waiting for our laundry to finish, I played tetris on the gameboy in the apartment. Tanner was making me laugh so hard I started to cry but I was so focused on winning this round I couldn't take my eyes off it. That only made me laugh & cry harder. That little stink face decided he couldn't let this go undocumented (hence the picture below).

I don't know, I was just in the zone I guess.

For lunch Tanner took us out to eat at one of the oldest restaurants in Lyon.
Brasserie Georges.
Another classic Lyonnaise restaurant. This time we "split" the four course meal.

Course 1: Salmon & herring with potatoes and onions
(saumons et les harengs aux pommes de terre)

Course 2: Garlic mashed potatoes served with a chitterling sausage and whole grain mustard sauce
(andouillette "maison ravier", sauce moutarde et puree de pommes de terre ou)

Course 3:  A large bowl of cheese with chives & shallots.
Now I need to go into more details for this. They just placed a bowl with a spoon for us to eat this. It was as thick as chip dip and tasted like sour cream. Tried our best to slurp this down.
(le fromage de tradition)

Course 4: Crispy chocolate and praline cake, glazed in ganache
(feuillantin au choclate "pur caraibes")

(dessert makes everything better)

Missed the market that was held in the croix-rousse area. On Rue de Cannut, a mural the size of a building is painted there. The most life-like painting depicting what Lyon is all about.

The buildings and streets here are so French. I love it. To live on Rue Saint Jean would be a dream.

Cathédral Saint Jean Baptiste de Lyon

We ended our stay strolling Rue Saint Jean and shared a nutella crépe.

I really miss Lyon.

Only Lyon

Finally two of Tanner's worlds met.

His mission + his wife.

(little Elder S!)

Pretty special to be there because just 2 days earlier, we celebrated his 2 year anniversary of returning home. As soon as we got off at the train station I have never seen him walk so fast.
He was sooo excited to be back in Lyon. 

Straightway we met up with our room host in Vieux Lyon. First time using Airbnb, a website where people will rent out their flat. We hit the jackpot when T found a private room in the section where silk weavers settled. The flat led you into a secret passage way through tunnels and spiral staircases. We were warmly greeted by this sweet French lady, Fari, and a plate of macaroons. No hotel could provide us that kind of authentic experience.

Right outside was a crepe stand we frequented. Jambon et fromage on the daily.

First thing we had to do was find our love lock. Let's go back to approximately 3 years prior to that day when little Elder Smedley locked his love for his then best friend (little did he know his future wife...or did he know?). He had hoped to bring me back one day but who knew at that time what the future had in store for us. We looked at every single lock on that bridge (and then over again).
Crossed my fingers hoping we could find it. 

(this was taken when he first put the lock on in 2011)

(he put it next to the heart so we could find it easier when we returned one day)

With no luck, we couldn't find it. The writing must have worn off making it impossible to know which one was ours. I know he really wanted to find it (we went back multiple times to look through them hoping). More importantly than finding that lock was that we were there in France...together. Watching him look through the locks as I sat back and took it all in, I fell in love with him again. If you would have asked me 3 years ago if we were gonna get married, I would have said "I have no clue" (even though deep down I knew I would).

Our love lock is on that bridge. Whether we saw it or not.

This city has such charm. Who needs Paris when you got Lyon?

(I mean seriously, look it at. Love Fourvière and the mini eiff overlooking the city)

We caught a bus to Écully for church. As soon as we got to the little ward house Tanner went crazy saying hello to all the ward members he knew. The plan was to attend sacrament only but with a whirlwind of French, all of a sudden I was being pulled into Relief Society by one of the members. I had a slight panic attack since my "translator" wouldn't be nearby. I made it through just fine. Our timing was perfect because President and Sister Roney (who served the last 6ish months of Tanner's mission) happened to be attending this ward AND were speaking in sacrament meeting! Really great people.

Not many of the members spoke English but I loved being able to meet them and see Tanner light up as they reconnected. Thankfully he gave me a heads up about bizous. For those that might not know, when a French person greets you (or when they say goodbye) they go from cheek to cheek making a little kissing noise. Surprisingly it wasn't as unusual as I thought it might be. Those people sure do know how to make a person feel welcome. Almost wish we as American's did that.

We walked (more like hiked) up to Notre Dame de Fourvière. Guys this cathedral...is spectacular. The way it sits overlooking the city. Gah! The two chapels inside are gorgeous. Lots of green marble with golds and browns.

What better than a fresh made waffle cone filled with hand made sorbet on a warm sunny afternoon?

Hopped on the metro over to the parc de la tete d'or (Park of the Golden Head). Inside was a free zoo. There was a little canal running through were Tanner noticed little lobsters. One of them watched Tanner and would pull out its little claws every time he moved.
Really random place for lobsters to be.

Next to the hill of Fourviere, is an ancient roman theatre. I googled when it was built...get this around 15 BC! For being made that long ago, they are still in pretty good shape.

Staying in an actual apartment as opposed to a hotel, we had the privilege of a fridge and kitchen. We picked up some groceries from Carrefour (similar to the Walmart of France) that is located in the mall which sits on top of the train station. Packed a picnic (saucisson, a baguette, and cheese) to eat in the courtyard of the Musee des Beaux-Arts de Lyon. Since we are both under 26 it was for free! Paintings and sculptures and artifacts. Halfway through though a big sleepiness hit me. I felt as if I was gonna fall asleep standing up.

To wake me up we split a little treat-um. A mille-feuille, some of you know it as a napoleon (flaky puff pastry with layers of pastry cream & ganache). Are you drooling yet? I believe this is where I say nom nom.

(dang it, didn't take a picture of it...now you will never know what it looks like)
(or you could just google it if you wanted)

We strolled Bellecour and the shops around. We met up with Berenjere (a member/friend) for "drinks" (strawberry & apricot juice) until our dinner reservations. She only knew a couple words in English but Tanner was able to keep me included in the conversation. Since he speaks French slower and she is very animated I was able to get the jist of everything.

Our dinner reservations were at a place called Chez Grand-Mere (grandmother's house). Apparently this is one of the best and most authentic Lyonnaise restaurants. If you want really good food, go to Lyon (say no to Paris!). There is a reason it is considered the food capital of the world.

Sidestory- we met one of Berenjere's friends (a male). He shook Tanner's hand first and so I assumed he'd do the same for me. I stuck out my hand awkwardly without thinking but he just laughed and bizous me anyways. Later it was explained when two men are meeting for the first time a handshake is acceptable however, when a man and woman are meeting for the first time, biszous is what you still do. Man did I feel dumb.

Course 1: Saucisson brioche
Course 2: Confit de canard façon meurette
Course 3: Flottants

Anyways back to the restaurant. Left the ordering up to Berenjere and Tanner. First course was saucisson baked in brioche. Yum! Best way I can describe it (and this doesn't do it justice by any means) is that it's similar to a fancy version of a corn dog (with out a stick). Sampled a little bit of saint-mercellin cheese seared in honey breadcrumbs. Also, I finally tried some of Tanner's foie gras (duck liver that has been specially fattened). My palate was not ready for that.

(Berenjere is crazy hilarious)

Second course was a dish of mashed potatoes with shredded duck and strips of duck bacon. This my friends, was incredibly delicious. Hands down my favorite meal in Europe (closely followed by roschti and kebabs).

For dessert they ordered me îsle flottante (floating island). Whipped egg whites quickly poached and served "floating" on creme anglaise, drizzled with caramel. Light and delicious.

Going out with French people for dinner? Give yourself at least 5 hours. No joke. Just how they do things. We didn't finish dinner until almost 11 pm.

p.s. we had a little stop in Geneva, Switzerland on our way over. Wish we could have stayed to see more.