This is a continuation of my last post.
I arrived at Lyon Part Dieu, the main train station in Lyon, at about midday. The first thing I did was to go to the billeterie, or ticket office, to get myself a train to Nice. Fortunately, I was able to get a seat on a train at about 4.00 pm, which meant that there would be no uncertainty about finding a place to sleep that night - my friend in Nice, Syu, had arranged for me to stay with some of her guy friends. It also meant that I had four or five hours to kill before my train was due to depart.
There was a mall right opposite the station, so I got myself a SIM card (with unlimited calls and messages and 2 GB of mobile data for 39.99 euros) and a fish sandwich for lunch. After that, I took the public transport to the Lyon Grand Mosque for prayers. I had to get on a bus and then a tram before a short walk finally got me to my destination.
Just like the mosque I went to in Paris, the one in Lyon was somewhat smallish compared to the ones I'm used to going back home in Malaysia, or at least the way it was designed made it seem that way. I noted the presence of a couple of cop-like figures with large guns standing guard in the mosque courtyard. I wonder what they must have made of my giant travel bag. They didn't call me over and ask me to open it up, so I guess they didn't make too much of it.
After I'd finished praying, I left the mosque and headed back to the tram stop where I'd gotten off at. However, I'd only just exited the mosque grounds when I heard someone calling me from behind. As it turned out, just like in Paris, it was yet another Muslim Frenchman offering to drive me and my bags back to the train station. Again, as he had come out of the mosque with me, I decided to trust him. And again, I made the right call.
Fabian, as was his name, was a French citizen of African origin who reverted to Islam three years ago along with his wife and kids. He ended up driving me all around Lyon, including to the highest point in the city to give me a fantastic view of all of Lyon, before finally dropping me off at Lyon Part Dieu. His English was somewhat limited, but we were able to go through a good number of different topics ranging from French football (he was surprised to find that I knew enough about it to hold my own in that discussion) to the state of Islam in France.
The kindness of strangers is not something a traveler should ever be reliant on, but I am thankful that Allah sent Fabian and 'Abid my way. These two men helped to ease my journey and enriched my first two days in France. May Allah bless them and their families in their future endeavors.
It was quite a long train ride (it was about five hours or so) to Nice, which got even longer due to several delays. It was maybe 8.30 pm when I reached my destination, where I was met by Syu and one of her guy friends. That was the only time I actually met Syu during my stay in Nice - the timing was a bit bad as she had some important internship stuff to attend to. It would have been nice to sit down with her and catch up, but I guess it wasn't meant to be,
Her friends whom I stayed with more than made up for that by being fairly good hosts. There were about a dozen guys in total, split between two houses, and all of them had iftar together every night eating Malaysian food. They were friendly enough with me and did their best to make sure I was comfortable.
Like Syu, they were mostly up to their necks with internship work, so I didn't really have anyone to take me around to see the sights in Nice. I didn't mind that, actually, as I saw a certain appeal to discovering the place on my own. I had a place to stay in this time, so I wouldn't be weighed down by my luggage.
On the day after I arrived in Nice, I made my way down to the beach. Some of the local public transport, namely the buses and trams, wasn't working as there was a strike going on (to protest against a proposed labor law, as I later found out), but the beach wasn't too far anyway on foot.
The blue of the ocean was magnificent, emphasized even further by the bright sun on the day. The beach itself was a bit rocky as opposed to the sand I'm more used to and was littered with sunbathing tourists (eurgh). There were also Euro 2016 booths and games set up along the coast, with people in Northern Ireland shirts all over the place as they'd had a game against Poland the day before.
I didn't want to wander too far or too much, so after I'd had my fill of the beach and gone through some parts of the town I returned to my hosts' apartment. The guys later told me I should have taken the time to make it to this high point that overlooked all of Nice, but I felt I'd done enough. I was satisfied with what I got from the day; sure, it would have been nice to have done and seen more, but I was happy enough with I had.
The next day I took a train to Monaco. It was a windy day with a slight drizzle, but I'd already gone too far to turn back. I saw a bit of the city - the way it was designed makes me feel a bit claustrophobic, now that I think about it - before making the long climb to the Prince's Palace. The view from up there was brilliant, and it made my efforts to reach the peak worth it. I didn't actually go inside the Palace itself as I think that would have cost money, but I did take in the sights around it.
I also checked out the souvenir shop, where I found that an AS Monaco jersey costs 85 euros. I'd found out the day before that an OGC Nice jersey costs 80 euros. If that was the going price for an original football jersey from France, I'd just have to make do with a Petaling Street knockoff from back home. RM50 can get you some quite reasonable quality.
I left Nice the next morning for Toulouse, where I'm presently staying with my Rembau friend Rahimi (or Remy, as is his French nickname) until Thursday, when I'll be setting of for St Nazaire in the northwest of France to see Borhan, another friend from Rembau.
I really liked staying in Nice, both because of the people I was staying with and the overall cheerful vibe that the town gave off. It would be nice to visit there again in the future, and I honestly hope to do so. I'll also make it a point to visit more of the French Riviera next time.
The kindness of strangers is not something a traveler should ever be reliant on, but I am thankful that Allah sent Fabian and 'Abid my way. These two men helped to ease my journey and enriched my first two days in France. May Allah bless them and their families in their future endeavors.
It was quite a long train ride (it was about five hours or so) to Nice, which got even longer due to several delays. It was maybe 8.30 pm when I reached my destination, where I was met by Syu and one of her guy friends. That was the only time I actually met Syu during my stay in Nice - the timing was a bit bad as she had some important internship stuff to attend to. It would have been nice to sit down with her and catch up, but I guess it wasn't meant to be,
Her friends whom I stayed with more than made up for that by being fairly good hosts. There were about a dozen guys in total, split between two houses, and all of them had iftar together every night eating Malaysian food. They were friendly enough with me and did their best to make sure I was comfortable.
Like Syu, they were mostly up to their necks with internship work, so I didn't really have anyone to take me around to see the sights in Nice. I didn't mind that, actually, as I saw a certain appeal to discovering the place on my own. I had a place to stay in this time, so I wouldn't be weighed down by my luggage.
On the day after I arrived in Nice, I made my way down to the beach. Some of the local public transport, namely the buses and trams, wasn't working as there was a strike going on (to protest against a proposed labor law, as I later found out), but the beach wasn't too far anyway on foot.
The blue of the ocean was magnificent, emphasized even further by the bright sun on the day. The beach itself was a bit rocky as opposed to the sand I'm more used to and was littered with sunbathing tourists (eurgh). There were also Euro 2016 booths and games set up along the coast, with people in Northern Ireland shirts all over the place as they'd had a game against Poland the day before.
I didn't want to wander too far or too much, so after I'd had my fill of the beach and gone through some parts of the town I returned to my hosts' apartment. The guys later told me I should have taken the time to make it to this high point that overlooked all of Nice, but I felt I'd done enough. I was satisfied with what I got from the day; sure, it would have been nice to have done and seen more, but I was happy enough with I had.
The next day I took a train to Monaco. It was a windy day with a slight drizzle, but I'd already gone too far to turn back. I saw a bit of the city - the way it was designed makes me feel a bit claustrophobic, now that I think about it - before making the long climb to the Prince's Palace. The view from up there was brilliant, and it made my efforts to reach the peak worth it. I didn't actually go inside the Palace itself as I think that would have cost money, but I did take in the sights around it.
I also checked out the souvenir shop, where I found that an AS Monaco jersey costs 85 euros. I'd found out the day before that an OGC Nice jersey costs 80 euros. If that was the going price for an original football jersey from France, I'd just have to make do with a Petaling Street knockoff from back home. RM50 can get you some quite reasonable quality.
I left Nice the next morning for Toulouse, where I'm presently staying with my Rembau friend Rahimi (or Remy, as is his French nickname) until Thursday, when I'll be setting of for St Nazaire in the northwest of France to see Borhan, another friend from Rembau.
I really liked staying in Nice, both because of the people I was staying with and the overall cheerful vibe that the town gave off. It would be nice to visit there again in the future, and I honestly hope to do so. I'll also make it a point to visit more of the French Riviera next time.
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