lyon livin with family

The past few days have flown by in exploration. My family and I have visited the Confluence museum, Beaux Arts museum, the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere, and each place couldn’t be more different from the others. The Confluence is an architectural feat with modern exhibits. The Beaux Arts museum features paintings and antiques surrounding an open courtyard with flowers, fountains, and sculptures. The Basilica and its gilded statute of Mary overlook Lyon, and the church on the second story is ornate with intricate mosaics linings the walls and ceiling. Thus far, we have also picnicked on Roman ruins near the Basilica, biked to the Paul Bocuse market (Vic and Boat were in heaven), and ate crepes and gelato in Vieux Lyon. Since we’ve covered this much in three days, I can’t wait for what’s in store.

 

weekend getaway

Tia and I spent this past weekend in Yvoire and Annecy! Yvoire is a happy village bursting with flowers in the street, in window boxes, growing on houses, in driveways, and anywhere else you can imagine. Our hotel overlooked Lake Geneva and the ferries that passed by every few hours. We explored a beautiful garden with seven different sections separated by hedges: toxic plants, plants to touch, plants to taste, etc. A henhouse and a birdhouse were on the outermost paths of the garden maze so every now and then we saw a chicken running through the path, sticking its head into the bushes and then take off running again. I couldn’t have loved Yvoire more if I tried.

The day we left Yvoire, we took a ferry ride to Geneva and a bus to Annecy. It was gorgeous.  We went for a walk until we ran into the main lake surrounded by mountains. We saw that we could go on a boat ride for 30 euro, so we walked to the dock and met John who took us to a boat and helped us aboard. Tia was setting our backpacks down at the bow when John motioned to me and said, “You drive. I show you how.” He proceeded to give me directions, untie the boat, and wave goodbye. Tia turned around, waved goodbye without thinking, and then saw me behind the wheel and shouted, “Wait, he’s not coming with us? You’re driving!” We just looked at each other and busted out laughing because neither one of us knew that would happen. We had a blast! Don’t worry Mom, we had a ring buoy with us, and it only went about 10 miles an hour.

When we left Annecy on Sunday, we got back just in time to try out Le Nord (kudos to Katie for the choice) for Katie’s last night here. It was delicious! Katie had steak and green beans, Tia ate the fish and grilled vegetables, and I didn’t share more than a bite of macaroni and cheese. We ran to the metro in time to meet Vic and Boat at the train station! They have been on a three week trip around Italy celebrating Boat’s graduation from Orthodontics. Now we’re all happily reunited and ready for adventures ahead. It was Katie’s last night in Lyon last night, but something tells me this isn’t the end – her world traveling has just begun!

together at last

Six weeks apart was too long! Tia landed safely in Geneva on Friday. Meeting Tia at the airport was the best way to celebrate after taking the Wine Law exam that morning. I attacked her with hugs and kisses until she had enough and was ready to take off for Yvoire. We were all smiles the whole way here – even when we were soaked, running after the ferry floating away in a torrential downpour. When the rain stopped and we caught our breath, Tia noticed a rainbow at the edge of Lake Geneva. When we arrived at Yvoire, we walked 30 steps before realizing that our hotel is right next to the dock overlooking the lake. I think I gasped when we learned that our hotel room has air conditioning (I haven’t felt the heavenly breeze of AC in six weeks). We were so excited to explore Yvoire together. Now that school’s out, it feels like this trip is beginning all over again!

reality check on life in lyon

Mama and Dad, this post is proof that I study every now and then. Our exam is in two days, and I feel like I’ll go blind reading my notes and the material if I don’t take a quick break. Beloved Katie is torturing me with texts reporting that our special cafe is cold while I sweat my heart out in the library on the 5th or 6th floor (I always lose count as I lose my breath climbing the stairs). It’s not all bad. Here, it’s quiet, easy to focus, and the view is gorgeous. And I’m learning more than just Wine Law up here. For example, I’ve learned that all the library people are tanner than this table and apparently have no shame picking their noses (the count is up to four people now).

Don’t worry Mama, I can already hear you in my bed, “That’s great, honey. Now, get back to studying.”

Hey Tia, countdown: 2 days!

an hour of sunshine

This week has been a hard one. For the States, for France, for us. Katie and I sunbathed by the Rhone river this afternoon. We had good intentions to study, but somehow the sunshine melted those intentions away. A peaceful hour appreciating the day was nice and maybe needed after the violence of this week. Today, my prayers abound for Nice and Baton Rouge.

Rhone river view

Rhone river

splash-pad in bellecour

 

update that LSU students are safe

By now, I suppose most of y’all have heard about the tragedy in Nice last night. Thankfully, all LSU students in Nice are safe and sound. Today, my prayers are dedicated to those affected in Nice and for the continued safety of the LSU crew.

Thank you to everyone who has contacted us in concern.

happy bastille day

Happy Bastille Day from Lyon! Katie and friends are celebrating in Nice while others celebrate in Paris. I reluctantly decided to stay home to attack a building workload for the weekend. Today, the streets of Lyon are pretty empty and quiet – save the infrequent fireworks that sound like gunshots. I’m still sick so I snapped a shot of the weather outside that captures my mood for the day: gloomy with a rainbow in sight. When I’m gloomy, Mama always says to “count your blessings” so the rainbow list from today would have to be (1) my family for lovingly funding this abroad experience, (2) the privilege to choose to stay home and study, (3) a day to celebrate the French Revolution and unity of France, and (4) the self-important feeling of drinking tea (with heaps of honey) out of a wine-glass since we don’t have mugs. Wherever you are, I hope you have a rainbow in your day.

Hey Tia, countdown: 8 days

winery tour

Today we went on a winery tour and tasting at Guyot! It was a treat to actually see the grapes and wine-making process we’ve been learning about in class. Guyot taught us about how the vines grow, how to ward off diseases, when to pick the grapes, and the different processes for white, rosé, and red wines. We saw the massive metal structures where the wines are actually made, the barrels the wines age in, the machines that clean empty wine bottles before they are filled, and more. They served a rosé and two types of red wine to taste (I loved them all), and after the tasting, they fed us lunch! I could get used to this kind of learning. . .

expert featured on the right

guyot cleaning bottles

presenting the wines

where the wine is fermented

ready for a winery tour!

guyot factory

guyot factory

wine tasting

learning about making wine

learning about grapes

barrels

wine tasting

so excited!

wine tasting

guyot factory

Fun fact of the day: Light colored rosés are trending now. To make a light colored rosé, you press the grapes when you pick them off the vine. To make a darker rosé, you allow the “juice” to come into contact with the grape skins which gives the wine its red coloring. The longer the “juice” touches the skins, the darker red the rosé is.

 

 

sick together, stick together

Last night held a host of trouble. First, France lost the UEFA Euro 2016 final to Portugal because Portugal scored in the last six minutes during the second overtime. Miserable loss. (Interestingly enough, a moth actually landed on Cristiano Ronaldo’s eyelashes as he sat injured on the field and sobbed.) Second, Katie’s throat started hurting. Naturally, mine began hurting today. We bought throat lozenges and spray at a local pharmacy. I tried out the throat spray first, and I accidentally scared myself and sprayed my arm. I should have known something was wrong when the room started to smell. It stunk so much that I called Katie into the bathroom to have a whiff. She agreed, we laughed it off, and I proceeded to spray the back of my throat with the nastiest black licorice skunk spray I have ever tasted. I couldn’t rinse my mouth out fast enough. No thank you, Lyon pharmacy! At least we’re sick together and not sick of each other; right Katie? Here’s to hoping we feel better before the wine tour and tasting tomorrow.

happy days

The past few days have been a happy blur. Every morning, I woke up early and headed over to Cafe Marmot with Kyle (Katie joined us on the last school day) to get homework done before class. While I was in class, Kyle walked all over exploring different parts of Lyon every day. After class, Kyle and I grabbed lunch (approximately 2.5 hours if done properly here) and spent the afternoon hiking to the Basilica on the top of the hill, sunbathing in the park, visiting the Fine Arts and Confluence museums, and hopping on a 30 minute train ride to St. Etienne. Every night, we ate dinner at a different restaurant in Lyon (rinse and repeat the lunch process). At Pizza Pino, we each ate massive pizzas without aid and vowed never to do so again. At Le Winch, I found myself drooling eating cheese ravioli and chocolate cake from heaven. At Le Sud, Kyle’s seabass was prepared for him at the table and my traditional fish soup from Marseille was anything but “fishy.” At a restaurant in Lyon – the name of which I can’t remember – Kyle accidentally ordered veal stomach. I almost threw up when he realized what he was eating, and he almost threw up at the taste and texture but suffered through the meal to be polite. Needless to say, we ate our weight in Lyonnaise dishes and loved every minute of it.

st. etienne

cake from heaven

swan friend

air vent discovery

vieux lyon

st. etienne

at the tip of the confluence

biking

biking on the soane

mojito walk

getting beckoned

getting ready to eat

cheese ravioli from heaven

ecstatic in the raw materials exhibit!

machine exhibit

beers on the dock

hey there handsome

bike exhibit

karate kid fail

snails. yuck.

war exhibit

angry bird

mojito dance

cheesy handholding

confluence

helping strangers

lunch in vieux lyon

cathedral in st. etienne

museum in st. etienne

vieux lyon

ready to eat!

dinner in vieux lyon

karate kid

dessert

pouring wine is my new favorite hobby

The dinner that stands out and meant the most was the surprise dinner cruise aboard the Lyon City Boat Hermes. I had no clue where we were going or what the big surprise he had been talking about since before I left was all about until we crossed a bridge to get to the Hermes. A rose sat on our table in the upper deck, and we drank Champagne before and after the first course. Kyle enjoyed lamb and vegetables for his main course while I ate salmon drizzled with red sauce. The dinner felt especially French when we ate matured cheeses for the third course. After each course, we walked to the outside deck and enjoyed the sunset view as we sailed down the Rhone river and up the Soane river and back. There’s something magical about Lyon and seeing it in a romantic setting with my sweetheart over dinner was an unforgettable experience.

Kyle left the food capital of the world today to head back home to air conditioning. This blog will likely be dead over the next week as we prepare for exams the week after, but Lord knows it will pick right back up when the Willis-McKey crew get in town! C’mon y’all!