Opening Week in Lyon

I just finished my first full week in Lyon and, I have to say, I love this city. It is so alive with its two rivers, its old and new town, and its bouchons. Every day, I discovered something new: a different metro stop Monday, a candy store Tuesday, weather trends Wednesday... The list goes on.

The days of the week were filled with classes (oral, writing, and "technique universitaire") that are as tedious as they sound, but, in fairness, helpful in preparing us for the upcoming semester.  And, as we have started taking French classes at a French university, it is amazing to see how (no offense) inefficient the system is here. You don't receive an email when your class time or location changes (which happens much more often than you expect) and there is no specific office where you can get this information because even the secretary doesn't know. It's definitely going to take some getting used to.

On Wednesday, a few of us Americans attended the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Lyon by the Allies. We saw original jeeps used for the operation, veterans, and American flags everywhere! My favorite part about the celebration was the mini concert put on, featuring a French woman singing some American songs from the 40s and all the old couples swing dancing. 

Place Bellecour on the day of the celebration

And on Thursday, my friend (who did the same program last year and is technically the peer advisor for us abroad students) showed me my new cafe! 

Today, everyone was relieved it was finally the weekend. A few of us grabbed some lunch at "Crock n Roll", a croque-monsieur place, and shopped around Presqu'île, the heart of Lyon, before going home for dinner. 

Le Croq'Urbain (mascarpone, pepper, country ham, fresh mushrooms)

Place des Jacobins

So there, week one down!