Day7 - Adios HP Villefontaine !!

A week long grazing on the green pastures in the cafeteria I think I can see white/black/brown patches on me like the French cows !!! I haven't used the phone to talk to anyone ever since I've  been in France. And anyone that I talk to first is probably going to hear some cattle instead of the usual "conversation opener - Hello". 

A great disappointment came in as a reply to the email I'd sent to the hotel helpdesk enquiring about the bicycling to Lyon (~50km). The guests aren't allowed to ride more than 10 kms from the hotel !!! Firstly who would ? Only some crazy bloke like I might even think of attempting to do so. I've seen cars on the highway that has only the driver in it and no one else. Underutilized resources and we talk all non-sense about global warming, ozone blah blah..!!! But as the saying goes, if something doesn't go your way then there's probably something better waiting for you. Bid adieu to the trainer and the team as the entire team would return to their countries by the flights leaving tonight. Looked like I was the lone explorer immigrant over the weekend from the hotel. The trainer at HP was of a great help as I obtained the metro map plan of Lyon and the city tourist POI guide. So tomorrow morning its going to be a 2 km walk to La Verpillière to catch a train to Lyon. 
Some new stuff learnt today at the supermaket :-) :: 

1. Oignons  -- Onions 
2. Champignons -- Mushrooms
3. Concombre -- Cucumber 

Just an attempt at self portrait in the hotel room.. 

 
For lunch :: Cantonese rice, gherkins, broccoli, french fries, fruit salad and Apple Juice !!

A lovely coffee machine at office with superb options !! 

A serene sit out area with the right temperature like that of a greenhouse. ( outside office it is 6 Degrees C) :-)

Adieu HP Villefontaine

A 2.5km walk from hotel to the Supermarket named Casino adjacent to Cinema de Fellini...

A subway/underpass for bicycle/pedestrians. Sweeeet..!!!! 

Day6 - Broccoli and Sirocco..!!

Yet another lovely morning at Isle'd Abeau. My mind still is battling wildly as I can't decide the itinerary for the following Saturday. Some new things I've managed to observe/learn during this Euro trip ::

1. The usage of fork and knife. Mostly eat with the fork.

2. Hardly any use of the spoon.

3. Eat as silently as possible, without the noise from the porcelain plate and without water !!

4. Pedestrians have the right of way, followed by bicyclists when crossing streets. 

5. A coffee here is most likely going to get you a decaf or an espresso.

6. Almost any person you come face to face there's almost always a head nod with "Bon Jour".

Last night during a stroll, Dave and Dennis went ahead by a few metres I waited till the car would go by but the driver gestured that I could cross the road. A smile and a wave at this discipline. It certainly is something worth a mention as I can't see this happening back home !!! 

A breakfast routine follow this morning with a couple of pancakes, a tiny bottle of honey and a few slices of cheese. I headed out for a stroll and stood gazing at the horizon with the sun rising on the French motorway D1006. I can't help but mention again about the traffic and the disciplined driving. 

Timezone differences apart, the daily life seems to be on a 'pre-pone' mode. The breakfast time's between 6-8am and lunch at 12:30pm. Things seem to come by a lot earlier than normal. The menu for lunch looks like -- fried rice which resembled peas pulao, fanta, a rice+milk concoction with fruits for dessert and some boiled broccoli and carrots with some sprouts. The menu for non-veg looked quite enticing (just because I could see they were made of spice and some yummy looking gravy). Quite heavy that I skip dinner tonight.

The break of dawn on D1006.

Being a cyclist myself couldn't help but capture this ride.

Alfa Romeo makes some of the Beautiful cars and here's an example of one. Still waiting to capture a Brera.

Oh yeah here's the VW Sirocco :-). A beauty from the VW stables.

Day4 - Trip report !!

The Second day to work -- Had set the clock to wake me up at 6 and it did its duty unlike I. Ended up extending the sleep  for 2 more hours till I realized that I hardly had time to even look at the restaurant for breakfast. Finished morning chores in 15 mins which reminded me of the song "Jame Raho" from the movie Taare Zameen Par. Reached office on time. New campus, new country, change in cuisine and bone chilling temperature. Work at new office, the welcome change in climate and food kept the mind bysy. By noon I already was fancying my chances of a visit to decathlon which is about 10 kms from Isle'd Abeau in a small town of Bourgoin Jallieu. A new friend added to the arsenal from Liverpool UK (David Malone). A very nice and well spoken gentleman. We thought of visiting decathlon together as David was driving a rental car and he would look for fishing related stuff and I'd opt for cycling accessories.

The visit had to be postponed for the next day as we saw a long line of cars towards the horizon on the highway D1008. So we bid farewell. David stayed at the Hotel Mercure in Bron as the rooms in Mercure at Isle'd Abeau were full.  So it was back to Dennis Hilverts from Netherlands to decide which way to head for dinner. We decided to take a taxi to a supermarket nearby which google indicated as a hotspot for restaurants. A visit only revealed a couple of kabab joints and a pizza corner. As there was a supermarket I ended up buying a good load of chocolates and some snacks to go with the MTR ready to eat packs that I'd brought along to keep me tummy happy whenever there was an emergency :-). 

No Euro-food tonight but time to relish the Masala Rice from MTR. Here's the combo :-)

 

   Dennis just outside the Supermarket as we await the taxi back to the hotel Mercure.

Dennis managed to call the reception to request a cab and here's what arrived, a Peugeot 607 and it was a comfortable cab but the fare almost doubles after 7 in the evening.

20 Euro's for about 4kms..!! No more taxi's for the rest of the stay here. Better to take the bicycle out  :-)

I eagerly await the dawn of 25th to enjoy the incidents, adventures and meeting new people that make life beautiful and meaningful !!!

Day 2 - Cycling in Villefontaine !!

No alarms, No early morning waking up for shift at 5:30 unlike in Bangalore, it was a welcome change. The studio apartment booked for my stay is a luxury. For a vegan Europe ain't really the place to try anything new. My options at Hotel Mercure are limited. Pasta or rice and french fries (the best I've had) or it is bread and cheese and maybe some dessert to add finishing touches. I miss the curd rice or butter milk back home.  I'm digesting the fact that I'm actually in France :-). 


Woke up quite late by about 8:30am and found that the hot water for shower wasn't working. A quick call to the reception and a lady ever so cheefully greeted "Bon Jour Monsieur" and in 5 mins it was fixed. The cold water bath was eminent back home but out here... I thought why not.
The water flowing from the tap for the first minute was probably the one stuck in the pipe which might be underground so it wasn't all that cold.. The moment the that reserve was depleted a bout of 2 degree cold water hit my hand and I was Blehd!!!! I was brushing my teeth and ended up biting the bristles to hold back screaming. :-P.  There goes the cold water bath out the window or the "French Window" (Which is almost a door out here). Went back to the reception, met Hermaine (receptionist) who has been pragmatic to all the questions I threw at her. Time for breakfast. It was a buffet system and as I said earlier, don't get your hopes high. When you think of all the colourful, sumptuous cuisines the mind can ever throw at you, a little voice somewhere in your head shrieks, all you can do is run to the end of your chain and bark..!!! I was left with bread, pancakes (ate 2 as they resembled dosa). Fruits, ( Yellow and pink oranges of which pink one was bitter). Finished with some fine black coffee. Looks like there no cows here in Lyon. (pun intended). Probably why there are so many green pastures. Enquired Hermaine about cycling options as I saw some city bicycles parked outside. (Sadly no roadbike). Good news - Cycling and other sports at Mercure are not charged as I stay at Studio apartment. But a security deposit of 200Euro will be entered in the bill and cancelled when I return the key. Voila, I finished breakfast soon and wanted to take the rockrider 5.0 but it was nearly flat and the only other choices I had was city bikes. So I picked one among them which had the most air in the tires. (still under-pressured) and set off on an exploratory ride. Ride kicks off with Hermanie taking a snap at the bike parking.

 As I enter deep into Villefontaine, the modern French Architecture unfolds. Time and again I stop for more snaps as every direction my eyes foray, there's something clickable.

 The road with the overbridge, leading back to the hotel.

 Down this road was the first car showroom but clicked it as it is a Citroen and one of the major brands in Europe. Soon a Renault Pro+ showroom followed where I saw the Twingo one of mass production 'mini'. Also got to see the Dacia Sandero (the fav of James may in Top Gear), The Mini supersport, Logan (Which is verito in India due to the breakup Mahindra-Renault flagship. But I think the topper is the Peugeot hatchback series as every third car I see is a Peugeot.

An old castle which I didn't bother entering as my intention was to reach the summit of a small hill about 10 kms from the hotel. 

 The right turn towards the hill (Saint-Quentin) I mentioned about earlier. Trust me on this, the name when pronounced by a French person sounds nothing like you've tried in your head.

 Lovely roads and more beautiful houses where any person in sight nods "Bon Jour" which I happily reciprocate.

Though I did understand the sign, I thought this was a speed breaker at this town called Ralentisseurs ;-) . Hermaine shed some light on the meaning of the word and both of us had a hearty laugh.

 After adjusting the seat height it was more comfortable ride. I suspect that this batch of saddle was designed considering the condition of city roads in India but somehow there was a goof up in the container yard :-P. Because the seat is very plush and comfy and on the uphills there was a mild enjoyable bounce when pounding in the teeny-weeny gear ratio. 1-6 Shimano gears with revoshift. Met two other cyclist couple who were from Lyon and were on a pleasure ride. I think Cyclists in France are so confident that they don't carry any spares. Of the 3 cyclists that I met none had an air pump !!!

On top of the hill (Quentin Falavier) that I targeted. Some beautiful villa's lined on either side of the road. Halfway into the town lined with villas a black beemer(BMW 5 series) pulled into the middle of the road from an interior passage and revved hard on the first gear which sounded like a Borla exhaust...!!! I got goosebumps listening to the note :-)

 The HP Office at Isle'd Abeau, Villefontaine, Lyon.

A treat for lunch. Pasta in Pastaland!!! 

An Apple tart to up the sugar level for a 'weary' cyclist.

   
The cycling route ::  Click here

France- A-travel-back-in-time....!!!

This was quite an stir on my brain. Travelling at ~800kphAltitude of 32000ft dark skies, flying over countries, states and territories that I;d only have imagined this was an offer too good to be true. Anyway, the company i work for has arranged a weeklong training in Lyon and today... err.. yesterday.. err.. Damn.. what day is it I wonder.


The usual bout of excitement follow as I finished the last minute formalities by 18th. All prepped, packaged and ready to fly on 21st early morning from Bangalore.  There isn't a direct flight but a connecting flight from Paris to Lyon. Hired a cab till Bangalore International airport and my brother agreed to give me company. Reached 4 hours early which gave enought time for the check in and keep all the documents in place to go through immigration without hassles. Gate no 15 and after 2 hours the wait seemed looong..!!! The last 45 mins were the ones that made me dizzy. Lot of folks travelling to Paris. The boarding process started 10 mins early starting with elite, business class and then the boarding by row numbers and mine turned out to be in the first batch :-) Yippeee...!!! 
Once on the flight the wait for the take off began which was another 45 mins away. That to me is the best part in travel by flight. The sheer power of the engines to launch the heavy bird to the skies.   Some pics follow ::

 

Once I checked in to Hotel Mecure at 12:30pm, settled down for a while and did the usual, FB status update :-). After about an hour headed to the restaurant for lunch and had the only vegetarian item on the menu. Rice with salad and a couple of variety of cheese. Started with soup (Actually crayfish soup minus crayfish) and some delicious  and a strange variety of bread (similar to crossiant but harder and much more like soya). Also went out for a stroll to check out where the company premises were and to my surprise right in the backyard beyond the highway. Time to call it a day as I need to get some much needed sleep. Lets see how it pans out for the rest of the week. :-) Hope to log some miles on the bicycle too.