Day 26- Last day in Lyon

Today was my farewell to Lyon. Today was another sweltering day. The day started out very early for me because I had two tests and I needed to get up and study. My first test was in my French class. It was really sad having to say goodbye to our teacher Anna, she was a great teacher and I definitely can understand French a whole lot better because of her. For lunch I finished off my chicken cordon bleu and my chicken nuggets (lots of chicken products) and some of the strawberries from the market the other day. After lunch I headed off for my next test in my intercultural business communications class.

After class I went with Harley to do some last minute souvenir shopping in Vieux Lyon where I stopped and got my final ice cream at Terre Adelice (the place I have been frequenting) and got my favorite of all the flavors I tried, blood orange, and then a scoop of hazelnut flavored ice cream which tasted like Nutella!

Right after we got back to the apartment I found out the PC group was already gathering to head to get 'farewell' drinks. So I waited in the lobby to head back out. We took the train to Bellecour area to Le Grand Cafe des Negociants, a very fancy little cafe that is apparently very well known in the area. We all sat outside under some large awnings which helped with the heat some. I ordered a Coke with lemon, I did my best to order in French but our waiter already knew to speak English to us. As Dr. Kiley recommended I went inside to see the beautiful interior of the restaurant which looked like a place you would expect to see in a movie about Paris where someone goes to a dinner at a 5 star restaurant. Even the bathroom was fancy! After drinks some of the group went to go on a river cruise while the rest of us went back towards the apartment.

On our way down to the metro, there was a door leading into the Monoprix at station level so a few of us popped in to buy some going away snacks to bring home. After getting on the metro I decided to get off at Vieux Lyon to pick up on more souvenir and then go back to my room. It was sad walking down the main road one last time.

The area we ate on our first night in Lyon

IDRAC

The apartment buildings were we live, mine is the one on the right. My window looked in between the two buildings. The corner of the first building is where the bakery is. 

After I got back to my room, I took a nap before starting the task of cleaning out my fridge and cooking everything I had left. I made my favorite chicken francais which I decided is my 'going away' meal because I had it the night I left home. Now I am winding down the night with laundry and packing, which has hit a bit of a wall in that I am running out of room for all of my gifts, I may have to leave some things behind.

Tomorrow I head to London for 4 days before doing a 4 day tour of England, seeing some things that I had wanted to see last year when studying abroad that I never got around to. So far the weather looks wonderful compared to the heat we have had in the last few days. I may not get to write during my travels but hopefully I will finish up this blog when I get to New York. Au revior!

Also, a happy early birthday to my dad! It's June 5th here!

Day 25

Two days left! As the clock keeps ticking down towards my departure I try to check off a list of "Before I Leave"s. Tonight was my final meal out in Lyon. After a long, very hot day of classes the PC Lyon group went to Dr. Kiley's apartment for hor d'oeuvres and socializing before 7 of us (and Jessie's mom) went to find dinner out in Lyon.

By the time we reached the restaurant area it was already 9pm so we were all ready to just sit down and eat. We found a place called Le Winch which was a nautical themed restaurant that served a pretty wide variety of food. I decided to make my last meal something I wouldn't be able to get at home so I ordered a duck breast in a fruit sauce. It was probably the best duck I ever had! If you don't know what duck tastes like, it was fairly close to perhaps a steak but had a slight taste of almost pork or chicken. I was very excited when the server asked me how I wanted my duck cooked because during our French class today we reviewed restaurant phrases and terms, including cooking temperatures! I settled for a safe 'à point' or medium, I was very proud of myself for remembering the term.  I typically order my meats medium-rare, but the phrase for that was too hard to remember and to a French chef medium-rare may be more like 'rare' to an American as seen in previous experiences. After what seemed like an eternity our food finally arrived, meanwhile the people who arrived after us had already received their food.

After dinner we all walked to the flower covered fountain and took a group photo of what would be probably our last night out for dinner. Tomorrow I have a test in both of my classes, but I'm feeling good about them. After that, I will make one last trip to Vieux-Lyon on a last minute souvenir run, go for one last ice cream/ gelato, buy one last box of my favorite butter cookies with dark chocolate (they're amazingly delicious and freakishly addicting), make one last dinner, and do one last load of laundry before I start my packing. Until tomorrow!

Harley and I throwing up a Sigma sailboat!

Day 24

Only 3 days left in Lyon before I start the journey west (cue "Into the West" by Annie Lenox from the Return of the King soundtrack). Today was a pretty fun day of classes starting at 9 with Dr. Kiley's class ending at 12, then only a 2 hour afternoon session of French. After class I decided I haven't had enough French pastries since I have been here, so I stopped by the bakery next door and bought a tarte praline for dessert tonight.

Shortly after returning to my room, the Facebook group message announced that a group would be going shopping in Bellecour so I figured I would join despite my all day shopping outing there the day before. I could always use the exercise and the social interaction. So I joined Maggie, Olivia, Harley, Kellie, Joel, and Harrison and went shopping. I requested a stop first at the Body Shoppe because I have been in desperate need of some decent hand lotion since I arrived. We then browsed through Zara, Mango, Printemps, and some other stores before heading back towards the metro.

On the way, we saw some more leftovers form the Rose Festival, the fountain (from one of my previous posts covered in roses). Every so often we would get a waft of rose smell, which smelled lovely, but I commented that it smelled like an artificial rose scent. After a closer look we determined that the roses weren't real, a big disappointment for everyone, but we couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from.

The group decided they wanted to get "the best burgers ever" for dinner at the Belgian fry shop. I decided to skip the burger and got an ice cream instead from my favorite gelato/ice cream shop. Toady's selection was dark chocolate and Madeleine cookie. The dark chocolate tasted like pure cocoa powder in ice cream form (in a good way) but the Madeleine cookie was my favorite flavor of the day because it tasted just like a Madeleine cookie!

I sat with the group in the park next to the Lyon Cathedral as they ate their meal. They gave me the extra fries in the bag as there was at least 3 potatoes worth! After they finished eating the rest of the group got their ice cream and we headed back towards the apartments. The rest of the girls in the group headed to Monoprix for some things they would need for the next few days and I headed back to my room for a pre-dinner nap. Well, that's about all the important stuff from today. I can't believe my time here is almost over!

Tarte Praline

Day 23

Today was a toss up, to go to Nimes or stay in Lyon. I decided the night before that I would use the day to go shopping in Lyon with Natalie from Chester. We stayed mostly in the Bellecour area and would stop in almost any store that looked promising. After a while of going in and out of stores and trying on clothes with no luck, we stopped a chocolate/coffee/pastry shop and decided to try some of their macaroons. I tried the salted caramel which looked really good, as well as the grapefruit and rose (which only had one left so I assumed it was the best flavor). The salted caramel was nothing special, but the grapefruit and rose was really good despite the not so perfect shell.

Some town decorations in honor of the Rose Festival

Our next stop was to find the arch of books at a local book store. The bookstore had a very odd variety of books to sell and as I left I accidentally ran over my toe with the very heavy front door. We then headed across the street to have 'high tea.' It was a good thing we stopped when we did because it started to rain just as we entered the shop.  Both of us ordered tea, and Natalie bought a box of mini macaroons. We sat and talked for almost an hour before we started our journey back to the apartments.

On the way back we stopped and picked up groceries from the Monoprix and stopped at a pharmacy to find medicine for me, but I couldn't read any of the boxes to know what I needed so I decided to try to wait out my cold or allergies until I leave on Friday and can buy medicine in England.