WEEK 2 RECAP: School, Tour of Lyon, and the Beaujolais

My first week of studying in Lyon flew by faster than I could blink. We had school Monday-Wednesday, then we had excursions Thursday-Saturday. I slept all day Sunday so I could wake up this morning and do it all over again!

On Monday, I got my first taste of cafeteria food à la France. It was...fine. Super super cheap, so I'll take it! We had class Monday through Wednesday, starting with a 2 hour language class. Sitting in a class for two hours with a mean french professor is rough, let me tell you that.

On Thursday, we went to Fourvière, one of the two big hills in Lyon. You can see the whole city from the top! 

There's a huge basilica on the top, la Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière, and the story goes that the Lyonnaise people made a promise to the Virgin Mary that if she spared the city from the Prussians in the Franco-Prussian war in the 1860's, they would build a basilica in her honor. In my opinion, that's pretty messed up logic but either way, Lyon didn't get invaded by the Prussians, and they broke ground on the basilica in 1872.

After we visited the basilica, our professor gave us each 20 euros to try a true Lyonnaise dish at a bouchon (Lyonnaise restaurant). I tried pâté. It was disgusting. At least I tried it?

The bouchons are all in 'Vieux Lyon' or 'Old Lyon', where the Palais de Justice is also located. They even have a court of appeals in France, dad!

Friday was a really fun day because we got to go to the market that they have each weekend along the Saone River. It's so cool to see an actual French farmers market - way cooler than in Dallas. They literally had EVERYTHING there, even things I did not want to see (like ducks with their feathery little heads still attached, and skinned whole rabbits). 

We went on a cruise on the Saone and the Rhône rivers later that day, officially making it the most perfect day I've had so far in Lyon. Just look at the clouds!

Saturday was the day I had been looking forward to the most - the medieval village of Pérouges, followed by the Beaujolais (aka wine country!). It was all so overwhelmingly beautiful. 

We went to the home (well...giant chateau) of a wine maker and he let us explore his house. Can you imagine growing up getting to swing on that swing set overlooking French wine country? Their house was breathtaking inside and out, exactly where I imagine the owner of a French vineyard living.

Lastly, I found this today in the grocery store and it kind of makes my heart sad. They don't have salsa here, although I spend 30 minutes scouring the itsy bitsy grocery store for it...all they have is fajita sauce. I don't know what the heck fajita sauce is, but WHAT THE HECK, I'm calling their bluff, it's not real. I will keep you posted as to when I find real salsa in Lyon, because I. WILL. FIND. SALSA.