One week down.

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So I'm one week in and all is going well so far.

Orientation was, for the most part, not much more than we did in Spielmann's class this semester. Thankfully, the class schedule wasn't that demanding and that left us plenty of time to get to know the city. And spend money -- too much -- and seemingly only on food and booze.

I really couldn't ask for much more as far as food goes. The meals at home have been great. Fish in a mustard sauce, chicken in a mayo sauce, legitimate French onion soup, and phenomenal desserts. If there's one thing the French haven't perfected in the kitchen, at least to my privileged tastes, is Italian cuisine. Both at home, and just last night at a restaurant, the pasta was over-cooked and the sauce nothing to write home about. I should say though, that the little pizzeria right around the corner was phenomenal. But, I suppose there's more to my trip than food.

The city is absolutely beautiful. I've done plenty of walking through the presqu'ile and Vieux Lyon. The architecture, especially in Vieux, is stunning. The other night I hiked up to Fauviere, not knowing that there's an incline to take you up there. I was sweating my arse off by the top of the hill, but the view was well worth it.

My French is holding up pretty well. I've managed to talk politics at the dinner table, tell off some guys that were harassing us, and figure out what people were protesting about yesterday. There are some hiccups along the way, but that's to be expected, I suspect.

Bah, well I've got homework to do to complete that orientation -- I'll try to post some pictures upu here soon. e


--Steve

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Photos

Blades of Steel
Blades of Steel

High Above Lyon
Aboard Place Bellecour's Ferris Wheel

More Ferris Wheel
The Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourvière and the cleverly-named Tour Métallique

The skies open on Lyon
Pretty cool.

School from the Ferris Wheel
That's my school on the other side of the river.

Fourvière
More of the Hill

More Lyon
This one's for my sister: the big tower in the background, the tallest building in Lyon, is a Radisson.