Shite and delight in Lyon

Je suis en France! After a very restless night, we left home early and drove to Edinburgh Airport, where tearful goodbyes were exchanged and over-priced duty free was purchased. On the plane I was sat beside two French ladies, to whom I mentioned my upcoming job. Once it became clear that I was a foreigner about to begin a new life in their country, the entire Francophone section of the cabin became intensely interested in the discussion - eavesdropping with decreasing subtlety until someone loudly commented that "Montluçon is a piece of shit." Excellent news.

I arrived in Lyon in the late afternoon. Compared to Aberdonian temperatures the weather was superb, which made me immediately regret my decision to wear a cardigan. After navigating the airport, the tram system and Part-Dieu station with a 20kg suitcase and an additional (albeit smaller) bag, I arrived at my accommodation for the night significantly sweatier than I had hoped.

My host for the evening was my former classmate and fellow slacker Sukey, who is living in a studio flat in the 7th arrondissement during her Erasmus exchange in Lyon. The building is dazzlingly new, to the extent that Sukey's front door sports a list of utilities still to be installed. After a quick shower, we headed outside and grabbed a couple of "Vélo'v" bikes, which are similar to those in Paris and offer thirty minute bursts of pedal-powered liberty.

We wended our way through the city - a stunning blend of grand squares, cobbled streets and bombastic architecture, all straddling two rivers - in search of dinner. We decided upon one of the old town "bouchons," which are cosy bistros that serve simple local fare. So far, so picture-postcard... but in my culinary naïveté I ordered a local sausage made entirely from chitterlings. I am pained to report that it had not only the appearance but also the odour and taste of faeces. My understandable reaction provoked much hilarity among the more regular diners, who were at a loss to understand my repulsion (although were thankfully unoffended).

You could be forgiven for thinking I'd had a bad first day, but I've actually had a quite enjoyable one - the starter and dessert were delicious, the sausage was quite the talking point, and riding through Lyon with an old friend of a late summer's evening was nothing short of sublime. I'm quite taken with the city and will be sad to leave tomorrow... although I'm more than a little relieved that the chitterling sausage is a strictly local delicacy.