I left the Nice apartment at 7.30am for Nice-Ville station. I had to get a train back to Marseille before getting another train to Lyon.
On the Marseille train, a couple behind me showed their tickets to the two inspectors. It looked like the older one was training the younger. After checking the tickets, the younger inspector said that the tickets were for second class and they were in first class!
That meant I was in first class too. I was in the wrong carriage! When they came to me, I told them immediately that I was in the wrong class too and got up to leave. The older inspector looked at me and said, “It’s OK”!
Before I learnt I was in the wrong class carriage, I was wondering why it was nicer than other trains I’d been on! For example, the single seats had a table. Each seat had two sockets and two USB ports. A light was available on the back of the seat.
The journey was about 2½ hours. When I got off at Marseille Saint-Charles station, it brought back memories of being there not too long ago.
The train to Lyon was about 90 minutes from Marseille. This passed quickly.
My initial impression of Lyon Part Dieu station was that it was busy, large, and full of amenities. Since I was a bit early to check-in to my apartment, I looked around the station.
Someone, who looked like a student, was playing the piano in the station. He was very good and drew a crowd. When he finished, an older man went up to him. I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Perhaps, they were deciding what to play. The outcome was that now both the younger and older man were playing the piano together! The older man used both hands and the younger just one.
After checking into my apartment, I went for a walk. Nice was hot but Lyon was hotter! First I went to take a photo of a former home of someone I knew.
After that, I came across, not for the first time in France, some frescoes near the river that were realistic depictions of a busy building with shops on the ground floor.
Since I had plenty of time and it was beginning to cool slightly, I continued to the old town. It was full of the narrow lively streets with people drinking and eating outside. Curiously, I came across a James Joyce pub before getting the metro back.
