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Lyon Festival of Lights

December 11, 2021

The City of Lyon has a special connection the Virgin Mary. Read the story behind the festival and how it’s connected to Mama Mary. This is why every year the entire city is lit up for a few days around the feast of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December.

I’ve included here the video for the one 2022 to give you an idea of what it’s like. I haven’t had the chance to edit my videos yet.

We knew it would be crowded so we left DiploDog in the room with some food and water after a long walk. We didn’t want him to get trampled on and we knew he would rather be sleeping coz it would be a long night.

While we prepared and the dog got nervous (he can feel when we are leaving him) the tot is having a little screentime.

We left the hotel at around 8pm. As expected the trains and streets were crowded. I recommend doing advance booking for dinner during the Festival of Lights because it was a nightmare looking for a place to eat.

Masks were required for everyone 11 years and older but we still had DiploBaby wear a cloth mask.

I think I took more vids than pics so I can’t really give such a clear idea but there were lighting installations for everyone. It’s definitely not as over the top and impressive as the Berlin Festival of Lights.

These installations are more artsy and kitchy.

It was fun anyway to be out and about as a family.

DiploBaby loves cute graffiti!

The area around Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière is quite an impressive sight to see!

We got hungry but all the restaurants were fully booked and even McDonald’s had a long line. We ended up lining up for FIVE GUYS, which is a fastfood joint we’ve heard good things about but never tried.

After eating in Five Guys we went around some more.

At a little past 11pm, we called it a night. DiploBaby was pooped with all the walking we did.

UP NEXT: Our review of FIVE GUYS REPUBLIC LYON

SEE THE REST OF MY LYON RECOS HERE

Fete des lumieres

See photos of the Festival here
Annually on the weekend of 8 December
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Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own. The content of all my blog and social media posts are products and experiences that I truly enjoy and I only work with brands that fit my life and style.

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One of the things people love about the Philippine One of the things people love about the Philippines is the warmth & heartfelt friendships of the Filipino people.

And was reminded about that when @pattylaurel & her wonderful family took the time to meet up with us on their last day in Geneva.

Though we’ve only seen each other in person once before… lifetimes ago when I was handling marketing for @beautybarph and she was our gracious model for Dashing Diva, hanging out with them felts so warm & natural. 

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Thank you Patty for letting me use your photos. You & @patrickfilart take such amazing ones! Perfect combo of influencer & IG husband 🤪🤪🤪

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TOOL FREE BIDET INSTALL One of the things we miss TOOL FREE BIDET INSTALL

One of the things we miss about living in the Philippines & Indonesia is having a bidet in our bathrooms.

Here we have a MUJI TABO & TOTO PORTABLE BIDETS (dm for link if you want), but nothing beats the water pressure & convenience of a handheld bidet that’s connected to your plumbing IMO.

When I was in @jumbo.schweiz recently I saw a bidet that can be installed with the sink.

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I wasn’t sure our faucet was the correct size but I took a risk for CHF20.

Today I finally had the time to install it. I was # #mariomama again LOL!

The only time you might need a tool (pliers) is if you can’t loosen the AERATOR to remove it from your faucet.

HOW TO INSTALL HOLDER WITHOUT DRILLING

As a renter, I want to avoid making holes in the walls whenever I can. Even if I weren’t a renter I don’t recommend putting holes on tiles coz they might crack.

So I used the strongest @tesa_de  double sided tape on the bidet holder. You can see how I did it step by step on the video. Be sure to use Teflon scissors so they don’t get damaged by the adhesive. Clear monster tape will also work well for this.

*** Amazon affiliate links on my bio under BIDET HACKS ****

WHY CANT YOU INSTALL IT IN YOUR TOILET

The toilets here are all built in. There are no exposed tubes to connect bidets to like in Asia. 

That’s why this hack is a God send! No plumbing experience or tools needed! YAY!

WHERE TO BUY

https://undiplomaticwife.com/bidet-install-hack/

Feel free to dm me if you have any questions!

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Yes! It should be in
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- caves
- storage lockers
- basements
- attics
- bathrooms
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To prevent molds from damaging your property!

Here’s the hack: Don’t throw the container because you can buy refills. 

DM me on where to buy wherever you are!

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1. Go in SPRING like us so prices are lower, no long lines/crowds & no need for super thick snow suits, but low chance of seeing Aurora Borealis & some places might be closed/melted. 

3. A friend who lived in Scandinavia told us for Aurora Borealis, the best time is SEPTEMBER coz it’s not too cold yet. Though some resorts might only be opening in OCTOBER like @glass_resort.

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 ❄️ bring waterproof shoes/boots so you don’t get sick if melted snow gets in. 

❄️ If you will touch snow/have snowball fights, waterproof gloves are a must

❄️ Ask hotel if sleds are free to borrow

❄️ Bring SPF coz snow reflects sun

❄️ As you can see in the reel on our first day it was winter wonderland. The day after things started melting. On our last day things were starting to puddle. After I imagine rivers!

❄️ there was this gigantic snowman & I was too tired to take a pic. It disappeared the next day to my disappointment.

❄️ The SNOWMAN WORLD was already closed when we arrived. It would have been so cool to see the ice resto/bar, slides & disco!

❄️ We found out that the day we were leaving was also the last full day of our hotel. So though Santa Claus Office is open 365 days a year, check with the hotels to see which ones are open.

☀️ Summer activities are different. For example the huskies pull sleds with wheels.

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#udwinsantaclausvillage
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+ OUR FIRST TIME TO HOST AMBASSADORS IN OUR SWISS #DIPLOHOME
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For those of you were asking if we finally had to call a professional for our kitchen sink. In a way yes we did. After all our best efforts, we finally had to ask for help. We feel so lucky to have such a lovely landlord who came and had the knowledge to remove the clog from the pipes that were built into the wall. We are ever so grateful to him for coming on his weekend.

This is #diplolife guys… PARTIES AND PLUMBING! LOL!!!

#UDWinGeneva #undiplomaticwife #diplofamily #thediplomat #thediplomaticwife
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