Lyon, France

In 2018, I fed my wanderlust through a trip to Lyon, France. Why Lyon? I was led there through genealogy. My Great Grandmother was from a direct line of French Colonials. The first ancestor to travel to New France (Illinois along the Mississippi) from Lyon, was a baker. So, what would be a better way to honor this particular French ancestor than to take a cooking class in his home town. My sister joined me on this trip, and we chose to travel with Road Scholar. Road Scholar emphasizes lifelong learning and offers a number of travel choices for France. Little did we know Lyon is considered the gastronomic capital of the worldand this particular trip focused on food, and cooking. Perfect! But I’m not a cook. I’m sure Antoine, my many times Great Grandfather turned over in his grave each time my spatula met the bowl. But I loved every minute of it. Although, I forgot everything I learned as soon as I stepped off the plane in Portland. Of course, my sister and I were interested in more than just cooking. We took a few extra days to explore the five ancient churches our ancestors were married or baptized in.

pastry dough – a valiant effort