The Abode of Chaos

Posted on November 17, 2019 by

So, as we were researching things to do in Lyon, we came across something called the Abode of Chaos.  With a name like that, you know we were immediately all in.

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One of the many skulls at the Abode of Chaos.

After visiting, I still can’t really tell you what the Abode of Chaos is all about.  I can tell you where it is — about 10 km North of Lyon in a small, cozy little village called Saint Romain au Mont d’Or.  The bus ride there is stunningly beautiful as it follows the river.

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Faces of various people, including Bernie Sanders.  I have no idea what, if anything, these people have in common.

I can tell you that the Abode of Chaos is often referred to as a contemporary art museum and that it contains thousands of works of art from several different artists.  I can tell you that the museum is supposed to reflect chaos and some say it is supposed to reflect a post-apocalyptic war zone.

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More skulls, human and robot, and (maybe) monkey.

I can tell you it was the brainchild of someone named Thierry Erhmann, who is apparently a very successful business man in France and the CEO of multiple companies.

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More faces at the Abode of Chaos.

I can tell you that the Abode of Chaos sits on the site of what was apparently once a pretty nice 17th Century villa.  I can tell you that the people of Saint Romain au Mont d’Or do not appreciate the Abode of Chaos and that Thierry Erhmann has been sued over and over and over again in an attempt to shut the Abode of Chaos down.

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Another skull, reflecting in a pond, at the Abode of Chaos.

Apparently, as a result of one of the many lawsuits, Thierry Erhmann was ordered to dismantle the Abode of Chaos.  When he refused, he was ordered to pay a daily fine.  I doubt he paid it and, somehow, the museum is still open.  In fact, from what I understand, because of Thierry Erhmann and the Abode of Chaos, France enacted a law protecting artistic expression.

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Art at the Abode of Chaos.

And, I can tell you the Abode of Chaos is only open on weekends and that admission is free and that you can take a city bus to get there.  And, I can tell you that you will leave confused but happy that you made the trip.

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A brief glimpse of Lyon

Posted on November 13, 2019 by

Lyon sits where two rivers — the Rhone and the Soane — meet.  Apparently, there have been settlements here since B.C. days (to be precise, since 43 B.C. according to wiki).  These days, it is the third largest city in France.  We spent just a few days there, and it was rainy for about half of our visit so we didn’t see nearly as much as we would have liked to have seen.

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Pretty river view near our hotel in Lyon.

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Final thoughts on Spain

Posted on November 10, 2019 by

We’ve left Spain for France so that must mean it is time for final thoughts.  Once again, our final thoughts are somewhat limited, as we only visited Seville, Valencia, and Cadiz (for part of a day).  But, that has never stopped us before, so here goes!

We absolutely fell in love with Spain.  The people were friendly, the scenery was amazing, the conveniences were modern, the transportation options were plentiful and easy, and the food (at least in Seville) was outstanding.  I even spent a few minutes looking into retirement visas…

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Art at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia.

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Valencia street art

Posted on November 6, 2019 by

One of the best things we did in Valencia was to take the street art tour offered by Free Tour Valencia.  It was phenomenal.  Our guide clearly loved the subject and wanted to provide us with as much information as possible.

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A brand new piece of art on the streets of Valencia.  You could still smell the paint.

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Eating in Valencia

Posted on November 3, 2019 by

I’m not going to lie.  I did not love the food in Valencia.  After devouring everything in sight in Seville, I was surprised at how difficult it was to get a decent meal at a decent price in Valencia.  My dislike of seafood no doubt played a large role in my dislike of the food in Valencia….

So, what would we recommend?

First, because it is Valencia, you simply have to try the paella.  I’m pretty sure you can’t visit Valencia without trying the paella and a true Valencian will tell you not to bother with paella outside a 50 km radius of Valencia.  A true Valencian will also tell you that CHORIZO DOES NOT BELONG IN PAELLA.  Why they care so much about the no chorizo rule, I don’t know, but boy do they ever hate the idea of chorizo in paella.  There are a million and one things that could be added to paella (personally, I like pancetta in mine), but all you will hear about is no chorizo, no chorizo, no chorizo.  And, you must, must, must have your paella at lunch.  Real Valencians never ever eat paella at dinner.  I have no idea why, but I do know that you will stand out as a tourist if you order it at dinner.  Finally, real paella should be served in the pan and in multiples of two — if a restaurant offers paella for one, and it isn’t part of the menu of the day special, the paella was probably frozen and heated up.  One of the best places in town for paella is said to be Navarro.  Be aware that you absolutely have to book a table and, if you want traditional Valencian paella with chicken, rabbit, and snails, you have to order it 24 hours in advance.  Robert thought this paella was very good.  I was annoyed that it was full of onions (which, as I understand it, do not belong in paella, just like chorizo doesn’t belong in paella).

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Paella at Nararro.  A good paella should only have a very thin layer of rice — the rule is the pan should get bigger, the rice shouldn’t get deeper.

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What to do in Valencia

Posted on October 30, 2019 by

We spent 10 wonderful days in Valencia.  We packed quite a bit into those 10 days.  So, what did we do?

On our first morning, we set an alarm (oh, how we hate that these days) to make it to a free walking tour at 10:30 (I know, I know, you are shocked we need an alarm to be somewhere by 10:30, but we do these days).  The “free” tour was offered by a company called, aptly enough, Free Tour Valencia.  And, it was a really good tour.  We saw quite a few things and learned various bits of trivia about Valencia.  Five minutes in and I turned to Robert and said “this is already better than the tour of Seville.”  Of course, free doesn’t mean totally free, as you are expected to tip at the end, but at least you can tip according to how good the tour turned out.

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Statue in the Plaza of the Virgin — meeting place for our walking tours and a fun place to people watch if you don’t mind paying inflated prices for drinks.

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A day trip to Italica

Posted on October 27, 2019 by

When we first started planning our trip to Seville, we thought we would take quite a few day trips to surrounding towns.  As it turned out, we absolutely fell in love with Seville and didn’t want to leave.  So, we didn’t take many day trips at all.  However, the Roman ruins of Italica were only a short bus ride away (some websites even suggest walking, but we do not), so we did devote half a day to a visit.

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Statue at Italica.

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A day trip to Cadiz

Posted on October 20, 2019 by

After spending a several months in Cadiz, Kentucky (where the town is pronounced kind of like kaye deez), it was time to see the REAL Cadiz (where the town is pronounced kind of like ka dee).  So, we dragged ourselves out of bed before it was even light out, walked 30 minutes to the train station in Seville, and hopped on the 8:30 am train to Cadiz.  Just under two hours later, we arrived in the REAL Cadiz.

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Robert outside the train station.

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What to eat in Seville

Posted on October 13, 2019 by

Seville is a food lover’s paradise.  But, first, you have to get on the Spainish schedule.  What is the Spainish schedule you may ask?  Well, first breakfast (or desayuno)  is from around 7 until around 9 and typically something small.  We never made it out of bed for first breakfast.  Second breakfast (or almuerzo)  is around 10:30 to around 11:30.  This is often some sort of sandwich or churros.  And, you will often see locals having a small beer with second breakfast.  Lunch (or comida) is generally from about 2 to about 4 and is the biggest meal of the day.  Comida literally translates as “food” which tells you something about how important lunch is to the Spanish.  Then there is snack time (or merienda) around 5 and that is usually something sweet like churros or something cured like a small ham sandwich.  Dinner (or cena) doesn’t start until 8 and most people wouldn’t think about dinner until 9 or so.  Got it?  It was a real struggle for us (ok, for me) to get on the Spanish timetable.

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Yema sobre bizcocho de boletus y vino caramelizado at Eslava.  It is a slow cooked egg on (I think) a mushroom cake with a caramelized wine reduction.  Robert said it was delicious — I didn’t get near it.  I do have to admit it was pretty….

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What to do in Seville

Posted on October 9, 2019 by

So, we spent far more time in Seville than I’m guessing most tourists do (about two weeks).  And, we weren’t bored for even one second.  So, what should you do?

Well, let me start with the most important thing.  First, you need to book a room about a mile or so outside of the main tourist area.  Better still, make it a third floor walk-up.  Trust me on this.  You are going to be eating a lot. You will need to walk a lot too unless you want to gain 10 pounds.  More on that in a later post.  Anyway, check out the Macarena neighborhood — lots of bars, restaurants, groceries, and locals.  It was the perfect place for us and it meant most days we walked a minimum of four miles.

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One of the many cones eaten in Seville.  This one was coconut gelato and blood orange sorbet.  So good!

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