The Lyon story...

(this blog is dedicated to Lorraine, Andy, Conrado and Maria, a.k.a. the Famous Five or the Freedom Five… and of course to HER, who reminded me that in life, sometimes, you meet the right people, at the right place but at the wrong moment).

 

Hadn’t been to France for many years and the fact that I hadn’t practice my French for some time, made it difficult for me in the beginning. But the people of Lyon and St Cyr made me feel comfortable.

 

 

The place where we stayed was great, but there was a tiny problem; it looked and mostly important felt like a prison. The need of “escape” was the main reason for the creation of our little “gang”. And believe me, we didn’t plan it!!! As soon as training in day 1 ended, Lorraine was the first one that went past the “prison’s” main exit door. Andy saw her and followed her, so Conrado, Maria and me did. “We ‘re out of here” we all said using the exact same words.

 

We found a small restaurant in the village. The food was great but that little tiramisu was simply awesome, so we kept visiting that restaurant every day. We sticked together even during the short breaks; you could hear our laughs from far away. We tried to find a name that would fit us best, with “Famous Five” and “Freedom Five” winning the battle easily. Others tried to break into our small “gang”, but the main core always remained the same.

 

 

We visited Lyon and after making some phone calls, we discovered a club named Aperi, which appeared to be one of the best places in town. I swear to you, I can still feel wine running into my veins.

 

I’d never believe that I’d have such a great time on a business trip. If I could turn back time, I would change a single thing, I’d do the exact same things, again and again and again. There are so many things that happened, honestly a novel can be written based on those five days in Lyon. Our "gang" stayed together till the very last moments of that trip and saying goodbye was hard for all of us. But we will meet again, isn't it?

 

THE FREEDOM FIVE

 

 

P.S. My love, I will keep our promise. Nobody will learn how we met in that trip, or your name, or the great times we had together. I just want to dedicate you that song and hope that from now on, all the days of your life will be like that Thursday night in Lyon.