The long awaited Lyon update (not so new info anymore...)

Just thought I would give a tourism plug for the AMAZING CITY of Lyon. Two weeks ago, Leah, Larissa, and I went on our first solo voyage of the semester. We'd bought our train tickets early, and got to the station with plenty of time to spare. We even got discount tickets with our 12-25 cards (for people ages 12-25...). But, as traveling never goes smoothly, what did I forget at home?

My Carte 12-25.

Picture this: Me, at 7AM, still dark out, BOOOOOKING it through the streets of France, all the old people on their morning walks staring at me. I felt kinda like Forrest Gump. BUT, due to my super lightning fast running skills, I somehow made it back to my house, grabbed my card, and ran back to the train station in 15 minutes. Barely made the train. Phew. It was a sweaty start, but we were on our way!

I'll just give a quick rundown on why Lyon rocks:
1. Old stuff
2. Free stuff
3. Free old stuff
4. RIVERBOAT DANCE CLUBS

I'll start with #3. Lyon has a part of the Roman empire 2000 years ago, so coincidentally, there are some Roman ruins. Namely, two theaters situated on a hill overlooking the city. Whats even cooler than the fact that these theaters from 2000 years ago still exist, is that you can see them for free, run and leap around them, touch engraved marble tablets, pretend to be statues.....the possibilities are endless. We did all of the above. It also gave a great view of the entire city.

Leaping

Posing

Being awesome

The first night we went out on the town, spoke in British accents (even told people we were from Wisconsin, England), and danced the night away on a RIVERBOAT DANCE CLUB!!!! They exist. It even had portholes. And guess what? It was free to board the boat. No 10 euro Pyms dance club (like in Rennes). It was also called "Sirius" as in Sirius Black as in Harry Potter as in British accents. Perfect.

The next day we explored the town. For lunch we followed my host mom's advice and at a buchon lyonnais (which is just a restaurant that serves typical cuisine from the region). Thank god we did. It was probably the best meal I've eaten in France. We got a steak and gratin daupinois which is like potatoes au gratin, which cheese and I think crème fraîche (we said it was like a classy version of steak and potatoes). This meal made me so happy. So so happy.

After lunch we went to a (FREE) museum that had lots of old stuff. My favorites were the Monet paintings and the Egypt wing. The Egypt wing had a mummy head and hand and all sorts of sarcophagi and stones with hieroglyphics. It even had these GIANT doorways covered in writing. The paintings were really cool too. There were two Monet's that were very pretty (including one thats of a sunset and water and its all purple and blues and I looooooooooove it). There were no barriers, so I got real up close and personal with his brushstrokes. It was a really good way to spend the afternoon.

We then walked all the way to the other side of town, to le parc de la tête d'or. Its a gigantic park with a zoo and everything inside. And by zoo I mean there were deer roaming around. Only in France. We walk in and see deer chilling. You could feed them chestnuts, so a lot of little kids were just chucking them at these deer. It was pretty funny.

I also watched some French TV, which I rarely get to do, because my family doesn't have a TV. Les Simpson! Hearing the voice overs was really bizarre. Bart's voice was awful. I also watched some Charmed, and those voices didn't fit at all. I've talked to Frenchies my age and they all say its awful too. But they love American TV shows so the bad voices must not stop them from watching.

It was a great trip! I'm so glad Leah, Larissa, and I decided to go to Lyon. Such a cool city. And I couldn't have spent the weekend with better people too :)

GROS BISOUS DE FRANCE!