Wow, It has been a week since I last updated, so much has gone on! It’s been a busy week! Let me get started:

Saturday, January 18:

Kristina, Mallory, Luis & I headed to somewhere (Lyon) for an overnight adventure; we weren’t sure what we’d find, but hoping for an enjoyable weekend. Getting to Lyon proved to be adventurous in itself. We all got up early that morning, and called a cab, having her pick us up at 730am. The cab was a 20-minute car ride to Retournac. Unfortunately between the sharp turns, fast speed and mountains a few of us were motion sick. Once arriving to the train station, we had to buy a ticket, and wait for the train to arrive. We boarded the train and headed to Lyon station. When we arrived, we discussed with the very patient ticket guide about possibilities for a final destination, but between the additional length of train ride and dollar signs, we opted to stay in Lyon (Best decision ever)!

Leaving the station, we were faced with where to go from there. We started walking, and ran into other JWU’ers on the street outside the train station, and then onto the next destination: FOOD! Mallory is vegan and finding a place we can all eat at proved difficult. Every restaurant we passed, we declined hoping a better one would appear. After searching for food, we came across a busy pizza shop, and decided to order and take to go, eating in the park down the street. I ordered Gnocchi and the other ordered pizza. We waited 40 minutes for the food, and walked to the park, scarfing down our food (which wasn’t the best anyone’s ever had). After we kept exploring, checking out the hidden treasures and sights Lyon has to offer. We found a condom machine outside of pharmacies on the street, and of course had to try it lol!

Walked upon 3 suspension bridges, something I’m glad I experienced, but hope to not experience again, taking a step and the bridge shakes, a feeling of uncontrolled moments. We walked through historic Lyon, upscale Lyon, artsy Lyon, and even downtown nightlife Lyon. We were then off on another mission, a place to sleep for the night. We first went into the Best Western, 88 euros for a room for 2, so 160 euros for the 4 of us for one night…not happening! The front desk lady spoke English and assisted us with finding the tourist center, our next stop. We left and headed there, hoping to find a hostel to stay at for the night. In the direction of office, we across a Ferris Wheel lit up in blue, similar to the London eye, allowing a view of the city, and next it a churro shop, and of course we had to get some, with a side of Nutella. Next the tourist office: the lady at the desk was really helpful, even calling the two potential hostel options, one full and one that was available. So it was the time to head to the hostel, which so happened to be on the other side of Lyon, up a steep hill and a multitude of stairs. On the way up, we hiked up 103 steep steps, reaching the top and having to hike farther up another hill, down a windy road and up a third hill. We came across a park with a gorgeous view overlooking the entire city. Of course we had to take pictures, checking out the city below us, spotting the train station, seeing an overview of all we had walked so far since arriving in Lyon. After our photo session, we left the park only to discover the hostel is next door to the park. We walked in to book a room and the greatest weirdest coincidence occurred next. We went to the desk, saying we’d called looking for 4-beds, and the very nice woman (who wonderfully spoke English) said she had a six room available. Then asked us if we were: American and if our names were Jess Meltzer, Kristina, Mallory and Luis? We all were extremely puzzled, not having given the tourist office our names, and completely unsure why my last name was listed. The lady then informed us that two girls checked in a bit ago and gave her our names incase we showed up. (If you recall, we ran into some JWU’ers on the street earlier, said we were staying the night, they decided to stay as well, and it just so happened that we all ended up staying at the same hostel and split the room!) We filled out necessary paperwork, and paid!

We headed to our room. We relaxed for a bit, and then went back out, meeting up with the other two. It was time for dinner, and we ended up at Planet Sushi. Amazing sushi! They even have dessert sushi, filled with Nutella and the option of banana or strawberry. After dinner, we walked around, checking out the nightlife, passed many bars and clubs. We went to a bar; most got beer, and enjoyed the night. Left after an hour and continued walking, running into other people from the international group at ENSP. Grabbed a quick bite at a local shop, and hiked back up the hill, it was time for bed. We saw most of Lyon in 12 hours; we walked everywhere, trying to see all that Lyon has to offer.