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Published: August 7th 2007
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Cluny
Wine tour I just got back from my spring vacation, one of the best weeks of my life. I know I say that like every time : BEST VACATION EVER! But it's so true, and I feel like that every time, until there is another trip that tops the previous. Because I really felt like that week in Poland was amazing, but then there was Russia in February and now I have Cluny and Lyon.
Well, last Friday Camila, Josh and I went to Cluny, to a small medieval town in Burgundy, a famous wine region in Eastern France. The main reason for our trip was the wine degustation trip or rally organized by the university from which Josh (Camila´s french b-friend) graduated a couple years ago. It 's called Arts et Metiers, it is very prestigious and very old, with lots of weird traditions and mostly guys as students J In Cluny is located one of its campuses. The university occupies this amazing 18th century building and is just next to ruins of an ancient Abby. I should say a word about Arts et Metiers traditions. For example, the students speak their own language, a slang-type french, which can be very hard
Cluny
Visit of Brancion understand for outsiders (Cami and I). We really strugglled. Then, no one uses their real names, everyone has a nickname. Everyone belongs to a family (generation to generation), an official group of friends and there are many other social subdivisions which can be rather confusing. As an example of a weird tradition: if someone breaks a glass, the person closest to the breaker has to do a dance with him, a rather funny one. They have an interesting way to drink, smashing the cups (plastic) one the head of the one who hasn't finished his drink yet. They also sing a lot! Anyway, it was an interesting experience as you can imagine. Now a word about Abby, it was extremely powerful and big back in the day. It dates from the10th century and it used to be where the largest cathedral in the world was located. Then the St. Peter's in Vatican was built, and later the church was destroyed during the French Revolution. All that remains is one of the three towers and some walls. It is rather sad to think what an incredible ensemble was destroyed. Other than the Abby, Cluny is a rather picturesque town, with little
Cluny
All that remains of the church streets and all that good stuff. Of course the best part of the weekend was the wine degustation trip.We visited 5 wine-producers, tried about 25 different wines and saw some incredibly beautiful countryside. I think pictures can speak for themselves. After the trip there was another huge party, and guys really let themselves loose! Some were taking their clothes off up on the stage, like completely off! It is a rather fun atmosphere, since there are not that many girls and they can really feel at ease and not bother with appearances. I met some pretty cool guys during those 3 days, but most of them were rather shy J Of course I often felt weird and out of place, but it was an experience like no other. And there was always Camis who felt just as uncomfortable! So the day after the drinking we decided to do something cultural, got some guys together (from Josh's family) and drove to visit an ancien fort or castle, Brancion. Simply breathtaking! That evening we spent just walking around Cluny, trying to trace the location of old Abby. Oh yeah, something I completely forgot to mention, which was one of the coolest parts
Lyon
View of Lyon from our hostel of the trip. We got to visit the church tower and a fort tower in the middle of the night! It was a completely secret and illegal trip, but one of the guys just happenned to have the keys, we could not refuse. These sites are normally closed to the public, since they are really old. The view from the top was amazing and just the whole experience was so thrilling!
Well, if that weekend was not enough, Monday Camis and I left for Lyon (just a short trip by train). I really did not expect much and I was simply amazed with its beauty. Lyon is France's second largest city, but it sometimes has an air of being a village! It is rather hilly, all the houses have pretty red roofs, there are two rivers (Rhine and Saone), which is like a perfect mix for a beautiful town. We stayed in Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), a hilly older part of Lyon, with small little streets, secret passages (traboules) and many old churches. The center (between the two rivers) I didn't like too much, but the Crois Rousse district was simply breathtaking (another hill). We also got very lucky with
Lyon
Saone river, this reminded me of St. Petersbourg the weatr, it was always very warm, even hot, with lots of sun, so we spent most of our time just walking around, stopping for breaks in local cafes, by the river, or just in the parks. The only museum we visited was The Brother Lumieres Museum, the guys that invented CINEMA! It was one of the coolest museums I have ever seen, very interactive, we got to see the very first films and all their cameras and projectors. well, I am not going to bore you with everything we have done in Lyon. It was fun, that's all. Too bad we came there during the week and even worse, during spring vacation (when everyone leaves), so I cannot say anything positive about the nightlife. Weirdly, I started missing Paris by the end of our stay there. If one week away from it can be rough, what will happen this summer when I leave it for good?
If you think my vacation was over, not quite. Once I got back to Paris, Olesia (my Russian friend from Cologne, the Christmas trip) and her mom came to visit me. I showed
them around, almost driving them crazy with the amount of
Lyon
night view walking we had to do. I packed in Eiffel Tower, Arch de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Place de la Concorde, Louvre and Notre Dame into one day! But then for the next two days I could show them a bit of Paris I really liked. Best part was hanging out in Parc Luxembourg for hours. This was the first time I was showing Paris to someone and I felt so nervous! I don't know, I want everyone to love it just as much as I do. It is very hard to show how special it is in just three days. It took me awhile to really start loving Paris. Yeah, it is fascinating at first, then you feel like you don't belong and only eventually you start to really love it. Anyway, I really enjoyed that weekend with Olesia and I hope she did too.
Now some good news: I bought my ticket back to US, for July 10th. I'll have to fly into Atlanta, since there are some things I have to do there ASAP before the fall semester begins, like finding apartment and a job, and filing my degree petition. Then I will try to go to Jacksonville for
Paris
Our picnic in Jardin Luxembourg a couple of weeks to see my family. I am sorry it won't be a very long stay, but with a summer this short, I don't have much choice. I actually feel excited about coming back, at least I am calm now that I have a ticket in my hands.
Oh, and here the link to my pics:
Cluny: http://git.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070533&l=a0ccd&id=12800335
Lyon: http://git.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070764&l=8bfe5&id=12800335
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sherry
non-member comment
wonderful trip
Hi Yulia, Words fail. What an exciting and exhilerating time you have had! Coming back to the States will be a bit anti-climactic, but we look forward to seeing you. Got your postcard and thank you for remembering us! We have a LOT to catch up on this summer. Hope there is time for a big barbeque!