The End of Vacation

I am finally back in Cosne-Sur-Loire, after what seems like a very long time, even though it was only a week and a half.  I am certainly not complaining about having vacation, but I was getting tired of living out of a suitcase (Omar, however, does not seem to have a problem with it)

I took that picture when I was in the final throes of repacking my suitcase, yet again, at Aurélie's place in Nevers.  Every stop I made on the trip, this task became harder, because I kept adding to the things I had to fit inside my suitcase--a bottle of wine from Kellen's vineyard, a new skirt from Promod, a comic book....  Graphic novels, or bandes dessinés are HUGE here, which warms the cockles of my geeky heart.  I certainly picked up enough souvenirs of les vacances de Toussaint, enough that now I have to practice a little more frugality, at least until the end of November.  Being a tourist is certainly not the best way to save money!

Tourism can certainly be fun, though, although I always have to force down my fear of appearing to be the ugly American with a camera in order to get the pictures I know I will appreciate afterward.  The past Monday was an especially good day for photos.  It was my last full day in Lyon, and I was staying once again with Clara.  I had come into the city the night before to attend her Halloween party (a cultural ambassadorship of sorts, with delicious home-cooked food), and because November 1st was a school holiday for her we were able to spend the day together.  Unfortunately, everybody else was on holiday too, so there was a distinct lack of open shops, museums, and restaurants.  We were, by good fortune and after much searching, able to find a good lunch at a delightful little place that Clara remembered and recommended.  It was pleasant for it's decor as much as for it's food--eating there was like sitting inside of a vintage hatbox; it was all pink and cream and little wicker chairs, and it reminded me a bit of Kitchenette in NYC.

After lunch, tried to go to the park, an effort which included rides on several buses and a tram, and an embarrassing amount of walking around with no idea where we were.  We finally did get there, though, and it was well worth our perseverance.  The time of year was just right for the leaves to be breaking into golds and oranges, although they had not yet begun to fall from the trees, and so we had many gorgeous views of autumn foliage.  The place was also full of people; partly, I imagine, because everything else was closed and everybody's children were out of school, but also because it seemed to be a very community-friendly site.  There were lots of things that would have made me clamor to go to the park and have adventures, if I was under ten: a zoo, a little paddle boat pool, a pond with ducks to feed...Of course, you didn't have to be under ten to enjoy it: Clara and I paid two euros each to ride a little train that went at the thrilling speed of a middle-aged jogger and took us all the way around a little island in the middle of the park's lake.  Very nostalgic and satisfying.