I've been in the Netherlands now for about 4 months - during probably the rainiest summer in memory. As a chapter chair for the Buenaventura section of IEEE EMBS, I was invited to participate in a chapter chair session at the 29th anual International Conference in sunny Lyon, so off I went.
The train trip, while uneventful, was long. Local (Breda to Roosendaal) to international (Roosendaal to Brussel) to TGV (Brussel to Lyon), this covered every type of train service. I arrived late in the afternoon at Gare de Lyon Part-Dieux, the TGV station (and central station, despite its name, for the region), and then cabbed my way to the Cite International conference center. Lyon is a beautiful city, with tall hills overlooking the confluence of the Rhone and Soanne Rivers. The Romans found the river junction so appealing, and so close to the Mediterranean, they placed their southern Gaul capital there in 43 BC. It's been built up a little since then, but even now, there are hundreds of acres of Roman ruins readily accessible by subway and funicular.
My presentation went well (discussing our chapter's oureach to middle school students). My colleague and mentor, 
Nathalie Gosset, invited me to dinner afterwards with the EMBS Administrative Committee at a vineyard / chateau about an hour north of Lyon. There, the staff warmly welcomed us to their cellars, where we sampled their Beaujolais wine and rustic appetizers (I'm no fan of 
Nouvelle Beujolais; this was a 2001 vintage that was much better, though still light and fruity). We then repaired to the chateau's dining hall above, where we had a wonderful dinner, and observed and participated in the initiation of some of the AdCom members into the chateau's Sommelier association.
We expected Pat Jacobs and her husband Bob to join us the next day, but they arrived much later than we had expected. Pat had found the Hotel Grand Mercure Chateau Perrache while preparing for their vacation, and I'd made reservations there as well, for the previous night through the end of my stay. This is a magnificent and decrepit pile; a Art Neuveau construct of ironwork, stained glass, and fine wods, across the street from the Perrache train station south of the Old City in Lyon, just north of the confluence of the rivers on the penninsula between them. The photos on the web look terrific; my room, however, was pretty small, was quite worn, smelled of cigarettes, and faced the interior courtyard rather than the exterior.
Brasserie Georges, a wonderful, traditional Lyonnaise restaurant, is just down the street from the hotel and from the train station. Nathalie and I adjourned there for an 8:00 dinner, and just as we were finishing Pat and Bob joined us. We stayed while they ate, and continued to enjoy the good-humored hospitality of the wait staff, especially "Captain Nemo," our waiter, who kept trying to bring me Steak Tartare instead of my actual order, offered to sell me our neighbors' credit cards for 2€ each, offered to pay for our neighbors' dinners with our credit card, and put on a spectaclular display of breaking a tray full of china. Brasserie Georges has a terrific ambiance - pleasantly lit, high ceilings with god acoustics, very nicely decorated with friezes on the walls and ceilings. "Captain Nemo" was quite fluent in English, but kept pleasantly teasing us in French. The hearty food was excellent, including Sauerkraut ("chourkrout"), pork and pistachio sausage, tasty Biere Georges, and mashed potatoes with parsely. For dessert we had "Vacherin;" raspberry ice cream, a meringe tower, and nougat, and "Floating Island," with a castle (meringe), mountain (ice cream and steamed egg) in a lake of creamy fruit sauce.
The conference awards ceremony occurred the next day, and was followed by a shorter bus trip to Paul Bocuse's reception restaurant at L'Abbaye de Collonges, a few miles west of Cite International on the Soanne River. Paul Bocuse is the first French chef to become a public personality, and has been amply rewarded for his efforts. This restaurant is on the site of an ancient abby; the entry is a standing reception area in which we had champagne and caviar appetizers. The main dining hall of the abbey is now a large venue; our party of about 250 fit very comfortably in it. At one end is a giant fairground organ / calliope; at the other is a staircase from the balcony and kitchen. As each dish was ready to serve, the lights would dim, the organ would strike up a rousing tune (Procession from Aida, Toreador March from Carmen, and The Beautiful Blue Danube, for our courses), and the waiters would quickly process down the stairs, through the seated diners, and to the tables with sparkling dishes. Animated figures on the calliope, led by a figure of Paul Bocuse in apron and chef's toque, played miniature instruments while the organ sounded out. The first dish was loaf of salmon wrapped in filo, a mousse, and a delightful sauce. The second course was a foie gras in another great sauce, followed by a stuffed chicken cutlet wrapped in a very fine dough. After wine, dessert, and coffee, we made our way back to the Congress Center and back to our hotel, arriving around 1:30 in the morning.
I put in a brief appearance the next day at the conference, but spent the few remaining hours prior to the return train in the Roman ruins and museum, travelling by subway and funicular. The ruins cover a hillside and hilltop above the Soanne river, west of the current city. At its peak, there were two large, enclosed ampitheaters, a colliseum, and hundreds of palaces, villas, and lesser buildings. The standing ruins and much of the stone from the defunct buildings are incorporated into existing architecture, including the funicular tunnels and cathedral. After Latin in high school, and reading Robert Graves' "I, Claudius," I've found Claudius' history to be fascinating; he was born in Lyon, and after granting the Gauls rights in the Senate, the citizens of Lyon memorialized the 
occasion by inscribing this bronze tablet, fragments of which were found by a farmer in the 1600s. This forms the centerpiece of the Gallo-Roman Museum in Lyon, in which I spent much of Saturday.
A few years ago, my daughter had the opportunity to visit France. The Portage Public Schools participate in the Association of French-American Classes program where 4th and 5th graders visit Paris for three weeks, and then a child from the families they stay with come to the U.S. for three weeks and stay with the families here. The kids prepare by studying French language and culture for 26 weeks, and prepare a musical program.
Our daughter was very homesick for a period during her stay to France, but had a wonderful visit altogether with a delightful family who live in downtown Paris.
We also very much enjoyed having their son visit us afterwards (hi, Jean-Karim!). While he was here, we did an overnighter at Cedar Point and bird-watched at nearby Crane Creek, and then the next weekend stayed in downtown Chicago, visiting the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium, seeing a Cubs game, walking on the Magnificent Mile, and going to Chinatown. Closer to home, I chaperoned the French kids while canoeing on Portage Creek and doing some other field trips and evening dinner outings. I also helped by accompanying the kids to and from the Detroit airport (I should get hazardous duty pay for experiencing 800 miles of Michigan highways in a schoolbus with no shock absorbers!)
Since this exchange, we've kept in frequent touch with our exchange family, and when travel has taken us to Europe, we've taken opportunities to visit them. Unfortunately, we've not been able to coordinate visits to the U.S. (we missed each other in Arizona by 10 days earlier this year).
Carol had a trip to London a few years ago, and I volunteered to carry her bags :-) While she was busy with her meetings, I took the Chunnel Train from London Waterloo to Paris Gare du Nord train station. I was met by the whole family, who proceeded to show me around Paris and become better acquainted. It was great to see our exchange student again, and meet his family. Despite my apalling lack of French language skills, they made me feel very comfortable and welcome.
After spending the previous three days in dreary, rainy London, it was really refreshing to visit sunny Paris. Perhaps it was because I was in the company of our exchange family, but I felt much more "at home" in Paris than in London. It may also be because the architecture and cityscape of Paris was very remiscent of Chicago, where I grew up. Large open vistas, straight wide boulevards, diagonals radiating from multi-point intersections, and monumental architecture all resonated for me. On the other hand, there is no real American equivalent to Mont Martre, Mouin Rouge, etc., unless you count their pale imitations in parts of San Francisco.
Carol recently travelled to Paris, Milan, and Stockholm for her job, and had the opportunity to meet our exchange family as well while in Paris. As they had done with me, they showered Carol with their warmth and hospitality, showing her the city, opening their home, etc., for two days.
We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful exchange family!
Last Updated August 26, 2007