Lyon

I got back from my great trip to Lyon late last night, and I finally have the energy to post about it! It was really good to see my friend Jordan from UCI. We both studied in France at the same time, but getting to Lyon from Bordeaux by train is a pain, so this was my first time visiting her in her natural habitat. This time was also more fun than when she came to see me in Paris in February, since we accidentally planned her trip here on the coldest weekend of my life when I also happened to be really sick (note to self: don't get that sick again when it's the coldest weekend of your life).

I ate a lot of really good things (Lyonaise and otherwise, mmmmm, Naan with cheese inside, drool). I also drank a bunch of champagne, which we had as we watched the French presidential election results on May 8th. Jordan and her husband Joris don't have a TV, so we watched the coverage at their friend's apartment. The French results are reported so differently than ours are at home, it's kind of funny. Instead of all-day coverage as each county's votes come in like ours, the French results are announced all at once. At 8PM exactly, the news stops showing footage of reporters and people at rallies, and you see a computer-generated red carpet unfold through what I'm guessing is a computer generated version of France's White House. Then, as the red carpet unrolls completely, they show you a photograph of the new president. So simple!

I really liked being in Lyon. It has two big hills, two rivers, and two Roman amphitheaters. Also, there was clock and (especially) marionette imagery everywhere!

The unnecessarily huge cinnamon/speculoos hot chocolate which I accidentally ordered (and then refused to leave without finishing all of).

Pretty Lyon!

The opera house. 

Meeeeee.

One of Lyon's two Roman amphitheaters. 

Nice cemetery. 

Charlamagne-era monastery on an island.

Adorable Russian blue playing with Jordan (right before it bit me).

Tandoori chicken in cheese-filled naan, nbd. 

Really nice stained glass at St. Bonventura. Look at the little planet!

Anyway, it's a nice city. Also, some other highlights of this week:

1. I learned a new word recently: cephalaphore, or, someone depicted carrying their own head. Usually, for obvious reasons, this person tends to be a saint, like St. Denis, patron saint of Paris. The best part about learning this word is that I now know it because it was a Word of the Month in one of the kid's kid magazine. Oh, France.

2. I have a really strong desire to learn how to play the accordion. I'm perfectly serious about this, so if anyone stumbles upon an accordion at a garage sale and knows someone who likes to give out free accordion lessons, please send them my way. Once I learn, I'm going to buy a monkey and supplement my income by teaching it to dance as I play.

3. My goal for the summer is to see if I can get around Burbank without my car, by walking everywhere. I'm actually really looking forward to that. We walk so much around Paris on a daily basis (today: from above the Pantheon, to the Notre Dame area, to the Marais, then back to the Pantheon area, then to Montparnasse), that there's no reason why I need to drive so much at home.