Day 22- Markets and Roses

Today I got up early and went with Harley, Brandon, Chandler and her mom to the food market in Vieux-Lyon. The market had everything you could need to make a dinner: meats, fresh fish, fresh veggies and fruits, rotisserie chickens, wine, fruits and nuts, juice, breads, cheeses, eggs, ect. It was a fun experience! I got myself a 'to-go' meal of chicken cooked in a gravy with mushrooms and some fried potato wedges. I also bought 2 containers of fresh strawberries for only €3! I also wanted to try some cherries so I found a vendor who was selling them in a plastic 5oz cup for €1. They were so soft and tasty and I ate them all within a 10 minutes.

We then walked through Vieux- Lyon to do some window shopping and I decided 11:45 is an acceptable time for a pre-lunch gelato, so I picked up a scoop marscapone and a scoop of lavender ice cream from my favorite shop. Both flavors were great! The lavender did almost taste like eating a perfume, but not as much as the baby wipe violet flavor! I then headed back towards the shop that Chandler and her mom recommended to buy some madeleines aux pralines. I then headed back to my room to have a nap and then eat my lunch.

Since this weekend was the Rose Festival, I knew I had to take a trip to the Parc Tete d'Or to see the festival. As I got in the elevator, I again ran into one of the British girls from the previous day who said that her and another girl and Harrison were heading to the park as well! When we finally got inside the park, the main area for the festivities was at the back, so we had to walk a good ways to get there. About half way to the festival area there was a section of all different kinds of roses! There were roses of all colors: pink, white, purple, yellow, orange, red, and sometimes a mix of two. After a while I gave up on taking photos of them all because there were so many and it was hard to tell the difference between them all. Once we got to the main festivities, they were artists selling rose themed art work, people advertising the variety of rose bushes they could sell you, people dressed up in costumes with masks that looked like dolls (very creepy), and roses everywhere! Both me and Natalie wanted to buy at least one rose, but we couldn't find anyone selling roses out side of the potted plant.  Eventually I spotted the Only Lyon sign which everyone else had found a few weeks ago when they came to the park. Natalie had brought with her a blanket so we all sat out on the grass and relaxed by the lake. It was nice to be in the shade finally, it was super hot out, especially in jeans and a navy blue shirt.

Not roses, but poppies are still pretty! And look! A bee!

After we had our fill of the outdoors, we headed back towards the apartments. Some how the topic of chicken nuggets came up and so did McDonald's so we all decided to go to McDonald's for dinner. I ordered a cheeseburger on a poppyseed bagel which turned out alright. Day 22 was actually a really social day for me which I had not expected, but it was nice being social for once!

Day 21- Not Nimes

Day 21 was my planned day to go to Nimes, a old Roman city complete with Roman colosseum and a temple as well as only 45 minutes from the Pont du Gard. I still wasn't feeling all that great from my illness but decided I'd push on anyway. As I arrived at the station about 10 minutes early, I realized I had forgotten by train discount card back in my room. I quickly got in line to try to change my ticket to the next train about 2 hours later to give me time to go get my train card. Usually when they check your ticket, they check your discount card, and I didn't want to be caught without one and have to pay a fine. As I stood in line, I looked at my ticket but it didn't say I specifically needed to show my discount card so I probably could have just gotten on the train anyway without trouble. By the time I got up to the ticket counter, my train had already left. When I explained my situation and asked to get the next ticket out, the man told me that because I paid a special fare for my ticket, it was be on that train or the ticket is cancelled and unchangeable. I could've paid €33 for the next train out, but that would give me only 5 hours in Nimes, not enough time to do everything I wanted. I decided to scrap that plan and go another day depending on if I felt better.

I then headed back towards the apartment. On my way, I ran into some of the British girls from Chester that are in my French class, what a funny coincidence! I came back to my room and napped for a while before forcing myself to get up and go out. I headed to the shopping center at Part Dieu, which is basically a mall, and browsed almost every store looking for a dress for my aunt's vow renewal in June. At the Galeries Lafayette (a store I talked about in my Paris post), since it was the Rose Festival weekend, a woman was giving out free rose flavored macaroons! I tried walking by her a few times so she would offer me one, but she didn't, and I didn't want to seem rude by just walking up and asking for one, so I skipped it.

I looked in almost every clothing store they had at this mall and found nothing, the French style just doesn't match my own when it comes to dresses. I left the mall empty handed and headed back to my room. Over all, a very unsuccessful day, but I was proud of myself for getting out and doing something anyway.

Day 20- Fourviere

Day 20 was my first venture into Lyon without the group. Unfortunately, I had to force myself to get out of bed as I was battling a cold/allergies/possible ear infection. It was terribly hot too, but I got out! I went to see the Basilica of Norte Dame de Fourviere which definitely makes my 'top 5 churches of the world' list! It was beautiful! I had massive colored and gold mosaics all over the church and stunning windows and ceiling. The six wall mosaics are devoted in the northern façade to the Virgin in the universal Church, the south façade to the Virgin in the Church of France. Also, thanks to my art history class, I was able to spot several places where the building's designer(s) incorporated the evangelist symbols in the architecture! For those of you who do not know the Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and if you have read the bible you know who they are, and their symbols are a man, lion, ox, and eagle respectively (the first 3 which are sometimes depicted with wings). I also took the time to light and candle and pray a bit while I was there which was a nice way to spend my time.

The Lyon 'Eiffel Tower.' It's just a radio tower, you can'y go up in it.

Different French churches spacifically the Sacre Cour and Notre Dame in Paris, I want to say the other church on the left is another church in Lyon, but I may be wrong

The Basilica in the mosaics

My candle

Winged Ox

Winged Lion

Man, lion, ox, and eagle!

mosaic in the chapel below the church

chapel below the church

After seeing the gorgeous basilica, I headed outside and down the road towards the Roman amphitheater. By the time I got to the amphitheater I was exhausted with the heat and illness, so I quickly finished taking photos and headed back to my room for a refreshing Coke with lemon and a nap. Sorry for another short blog, but I can't remember everything (and yes, I do usually write things down as I go about my day, but usually only for bigger outings).

model of Lyon