Day 16 - Lyon

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Got up early and took a taxi to the train station. In a few hours, I met Teresa in Chambery and we rode another train to Lyon. Teresa brought some food and so we ate and caught up on what we have been up to the past six months. She is studying French and Spanish in Chambery.

After arriving in Lyon, we first walked around to find the hostel so that I could drop off my bag. We ended up walking quite a ways through the city and up many, many steps (I felt like a monk on a pilgrimage with my bag going up all of the steps). We found the hostel in the Old Lyon, and it is located on a UNESCO World Heritage Site. http://www.hihostels.com/performOpenHosteldetail.do?shop=20042

I got checked in, dropped off my bag in the room, and then we went to see the Vienne Roman Theatre, St. Jean Baptist Cathedral, St. Bonaventure Church, Old Lyon, a square, and some parks.

One of the highlights of the day was when we ate crepes in Old Lyon. Teresa knew of a good place to get crepes and we sat outside on the edge of a pedestrian road (this one was like the narrow roads with buildings flush together lining a street full of cafes, restaurants, and shops that you see in a lot of movies).

I was very thankful that Teresa made the trip to Lyon and spent the day with me touring the city. She is very cheerful and bold (e.g. she led the way in going into what looked like the remains of an old Roman hallway... we had to crouch down in it and it was very dark), in addition to knowing French and a lot about France in general (she helped me understand better what the protests are all about, and we also talked a little about French history and Catholicism).

We then walked along one of the rivers (two go through Lyon). Right now, the water is very high with the snow melting off the mountains. We noticed a few good sized whirlpools here and there.

We then had some ice cream outside on the edge of another pedestrian road and afterwards walked to the train station. After she departed for Chambery, I headed back to the hostel, checked my email, and went to bed.

Note: Will post more photos soon.

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Comments

[Augusta]

Weather
You said the snow is melting in the mountains....is it still cooler there, or is it getting warmer? You said Greece and Italy had springlike weather, just wondering if it was staying the same or being variable based on where you're traveling.

[EchelonFive]

Warmer
Well, it is warmer all over, it is just that going from -20 to -5 celsius doen't melt the snow. So, there is kind of a line along the mountains, above which there is snow. Also, Athens is much further south than France. And even Greece still had some snow on the mountains. Therefore, it does vary depending on where I go (in Athens, I wore a t-shirt and shorts, while here in the Swiss Alps I'm all bundled up).

[Ivan]

horse again and again
This picture with French Alps is great, I prefer this one rather than one with horse on it. Also Cinque Terre is amazing.