From Boys to Baguettes

Geneva, Switzerland

2009-12-17T09:39:00.006+01:00

I've been kind of a shut in these days. That's probably due to the fact that all of my friends are students and with exams looming, none of them have time to go out. So when I noticed I had the weekend off (a rarity in my line of work) I decided to take advantage and do what it is that I came here to do: travel! Since I only had Saturday and Sunday off, I knew I had to stay relatively close to home but I was itching to get out of France. I found a return train ticket to Geneva online for €36. Without thinking twice I bought it and proceeded to book a night at the Geneva youth hostel. Just like that! I'm in Switzerland.

I arrived early Saturday morning and made my way to the Vielle Ville (Old city). The streets were all lit up in preparation for the holidays and stores were jam packed with people buying Christmas gifts. Every ten steps, I passed a chocolate shop. I was in heaven.In the Vielle Ville I noticed that there were tons of kids running around in 17th century costumes. As I walked a bit more, I saw some adults dressed the same way on horses. I asked a woman in costume what was going on and she tried to explain to me that this weekend was the celebration of L'Escalade. Apparently, something really awesome happenned to the people of Geneva back in 1602, and now they get dressed up every December to commemorate it.As ususal, I did my thing and walked around town; took too many pictures and then tried to justify to myself that it was acceptable to eat nothing but chocolate for lunch.On Sunday morning, I woke up and it was snowing. Only a little bit, but it was still significant, as it was the first snow I had seen all winter. Since on Sunday all the stores were closed (I guess it's a Eurpoean thing and not only the French do it) I decided to learn a bit more about the country and I visitied the International Museum of the Red Cross. Super interesting stuff. On the way there I was surprised to walk by the international headquarters of the United Nations. Crazy! You really never know what's around the corner in Europe.My aftfernoon consisted of even more culture when I visited an exhibit on the sculptor Alberto Giacometti. He made some pretty cool stuff in the 50s and 60s. At 5pm, the bells at Saint Pierre Cathedral were going off like mad so I stuck around the Old Town to see what was up. What was up was a crazy long parade with everyone dressed in their 1602 gear marching around town.Geneva is a beautiful city. I hope to return to Switzerland soon and visit more ofthe country. But I only had two days, so that's how I spent my weekend.

Fete des Lumières

2009-12-15T12:32:00.002+01:00

Each year the city of Lyon comes together to give thanks to Mary. Back in the 1600s, Mary began protecting the people of Lyon from the plague. Now, each year that the plague doesn't return, Lyon celebrates by hosting a festival of lights. The people of Lyon show their gratitude by putting candles on their window sills. Tourists flock to the city to see the light shows, projections and installation art all over Lyon. Personally, I found the festivities to be rather amazing. This being my first Fete des Lumières, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. If I had to use one word to describe it, that word would have to be magical. From the projections on the facades of old churches to the garden of neon flowers "planted" on the montée of the Croix-Rousse, the city was definitely illuminated from the Rhone to the Saone and beyond. Imaginations were running at full speed trying to decipher the lit up creations before us. It lasted four nights, which was just long enough for me to see everything I wanted to see. And short enough for me not to pour buckets of water on the thousands of tourists below my living room window (though it was so tempting...) Here's a look at some of the events taking place in Lyon last weekend:

The Deluxe Virtual Tour

2009-12-14T11:42:00.002+01:00

Here's a much cooler look into my new home!

My New Apartment

2009-12-03T12:24:00.007+01:00

Better late than never...

We've been here for two months but now it's time for the big reveal. Finally furnished and ready to be photographed, here is my new home! It's located in a really old building in Vieux Lyon. It's got charm and character and we were really lucky to have found it.

Thanksgiving in Lyon

2009-11-16T08:49:00.004+01:00

How hard can it be to find a turkey in Lyon? Not as hard as one would imagine, however... off-season birds are crazy expensive and need to be specially ordered. So, instead of attempting to cook my first turkey and no doubt probably ruin 50€ worth of dinde, I decided that the 9 of us would eat 3 big tasty chickens for dinner.

It was kind of a big deal since the French don't celebrate Thankgiving. There were lots of questions that I tried my best to answer why do you celebrate Thanksgiving? and Why do you and the U.S. celebrate at different times etc. I tried my best to answer, and I think we even got some help from wikepedia. But after the history lesson, we ate! There was salad, mashed potatoes, carrots (thanks mom for the awesome recipe, I think they came out alright), green beans lots of wine and great dessert. I can't take all of the credit, my awesome friends helped out a lot (in the true spirit of Thanksgiving).

After we pigged out, we decided to watch the Thanksgiving episode of Friends with Brad Pitt. Such a good episode. We ate, we laughed and I think/hope that their first Thanksgiving was a memorable one. Here are some leftovers from my thanksgiving for those of you who couldn't be there.

Journée de Star Wars

2009-11-16T08:36:00.004+01:00

A long time ago in my apartment far far away, I was getting to know more about my roommates (Valentin and Eimear) and it blew my mind that they had never seen any of the Star Wars films. The rest of the gang at rue Ferrandiere hadn’t seen them either, or at least not any of the first ones. I took it upon myself to change that and introduce them all to Luke, Han and Leia during a Star Wars Day Marathon in my new apartment. It took place months later, and sadly Eimear wasn't there. Once Jeremy showed up in his Darth Vader helmet it was on! We started a bit late on a Sunday afternoon so we only got through A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. But as an old Jedi master would say “much progress we have made!”They seemed to enjoy the films and look forward to watching the four others….eventually. The plan was to get pizzas between films but since no one delivers to my neighborhood (only downfall of my awesome new apartment) we went downstairs and picked up Subway to refuel us for the second film. It was a success! Fun was had by all. Next step... show the French what Thanksgiving is like.

What do you wanna do today? I dunno, let's go to Vienne!

2009-11-05T10:27:00.004+01:00

I had the day off yesterday, so Sarah and I decided to hop on a train and check out Vienne. It's about 30kms away from Lyon, just a short train ride away. It's a charming old Roman town with tons of history, a couple of ruins and a kick-ass jazz festival each summer.

The weather was kind of iffy, but we made the best of it. We walked around the town and decided to make our way to the fine arts museum, only to find out it would be closing in a few minutes for lunch (I always forget about that). So we decided to go for a stroll and grab a long lunch.

After our chicken curry, steak haché and Sarah's chocolate mousse - or Verrine d'Automne (Automn in a glass?) we played a little game I like to call....Ultimate Tourist.

With our map in tow, we hit up the following:

We took pictures along the Rhone river
Saint-Maurice Cathedral (It was pretty nice in there)Archaeological Gardens
Museum of Fine Arts
(Most. Clutterred. Museum. Everrrr.) Mont Pipet and the Antique Theatre

It's a really charming city. I think I speak for both of us when I say a good time was had by all. I love that all this can be done by hopping on a train. Only a 15 minute train ride away, yet it's a completely different environment. Just one of the many things I love about France.

First of the month

2009-11-01T11:17:00.002+01:00

Okay guys, I'm back. I've got a fully furnished apartment with functioning internet service. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update, but with work, the move, the film festival and my new friends... I've found it difficult to find the time to sit still and write a few paragraphs. But that's all gonna change! It's a new month (I can't believe it's already November)and Sarah's here! We'll be getting into all kinds of trouble in the next couple of weeks which I'll be sure to inform you of. So get ready, because it's gonna be a crazy month. Pictures and anecdotes of our shenanigans to follow!

Rue Saint Jean

2009-10-30T11:11:00.001+01:00

I love the 7 minutes it takes for me to get from the metro station back to my apartment. During those few minutes, I constantly find myself eavesdropping on the dozens of English-speaking voices walking along-side me. I wonder where they’re from, why they chose to visit Lyon. I also wonder what they think of the city and I hope that they get a chance to see more than just the touristy parts. I also, love the look of shock on tourists’ faces when they struggle to ask me for directions using the little French they do know, only for me to respond to them in perfect English. Just one of the many reasons I love my new neighborhood.

Downside… my street sucks if I’m ever in a rush. Tourists love to take their time strolling down the street with their cameras in tow, eating their crepes and their croissants while admiring the architecture and it gets kind of tough navigating through the heavy flow of foot traffic monopolizing the narrow road. I don't blame them... there are tons of beautiful things to see. Not to mention the array of different street performers at any given moment. I'm not complaining, just pointing a few things out. I love my new neighborhood, and I wish you were here.

Vive le 5e arrondisment!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-10-11T22:05:00.005+02:00

Just because I'm not eating turkey tonight, and no one in this city has ever really witnessed a Thanksgiving dinner other than on Friends, doesn't mean that I can't acknowledge one of my favourite holidays and give thanks. So here are some things that I'm thankful for.

Finding my apartment. Even if it didn't have hot water for over a week, and we barely had a fridge...and we still don't have our own internet connection. I love the place AND I'm not homeless.

The middle-eastern epiceries that are open really late and sell almost everything. These are the closest thing I've got to an all night depanneur and has come in handy several times, especially on Sundays.

My roommates. For a couple of 20 year olds, they're pretty handy guys. If it weren't for them I'd still be at the bottom of my staircase trying to figure out how to move all my stuff up four windy flights of stairs sans elevator.

High-speed internet. It doesn't seem so long ago that we were using dial-up, there was no such thing as YouTube and there wasn't button for accepting or ignoring people who wanted to be your friend. But times have changed, and I am thankful for this because technology has allowed me to keep in touch with the ones I love, even all the way from France; and with just the click of a button. So, thank you Microsoft.

My friends. That goes without saying. You guys are my everything. I wouldn't have been able to do any of this if it weren't for you. I miss you everyday. A huge part of me wishes you could be living out this adventure right by my side. But I guess I'll just have to wait until you all come and visit!

My family. As crazy as we might seem at times, I know that we would do anything for one another. Sometimes my family plays out like one from an early-nineties sitcom, but that's just one of the many things that I love about them. I love you all. Admit it, you love 'em too.

Feel free to add a comment and let me know what you guys are thankful for.

Enjoy your turkey dinners everyone!

P.S. I will be hosting a Thanksgiving dinner on the second Sunday of November. I'm calling it French Thanksgiving or Franksgiving. We'll see if it catches on. (OMG, that's so lame, I can't believe I actually typed that. I'm gonna keep in it anyways)

IKEA via public transportation: Impossible? Nope.

2009-10-09T13:23:00.006+02:00

My big strong roommates are so nice that they went to Ikea to furnish our naked apartment. They were fortunate enough to have a giant van at their disposal. They hauled chairs, tables and beds up the stairs while I was busy working all week. But now, they are in school full time and there was a bunch of things that I didn't ask them to pick up for me. So I was faced with the challenging task of going to Ikea by myself using nothing but my two legs, two arms and Lyon's public transportation system.

The first thing you should know about this Ikea is that it isn't even in Lyon. It's in Saint Priest which is about 45 minutes away. For you Montrealers, I reckon it's the same as taking the bus and metro from Pointe Claire to the South Shore (No fun). I got on the metro 5 mins from my place and rode it for about 10 stops (or 25 mins). I then got off the metro and ventured up to street level to catch the tramway -- which is basically an above ground metro. It's like a bus, only it runs on rails and you have no contact with the driver. You just validate you ticket in a machine once you're on board. Then I proceeded to ride the tram until I got to 'Porte des Alpes' - another 25 mins away - where the Ikea is.

Once inside, I had to be really careful of what I bought, since I would be bringing it back myself. But there was a lot of stuff I needed! Two sets of curtains, a garbage pail (awkward shape), bowls and a vase (both fragile), a lamp and light bulbs and finally my red carpet. I lugged all this stuff plus the giant red carpet from Saint Priest all the way to Vieux Lyon. I took up three seats on the tram and metro and almost didn't make it up the windy 100 steps to my apartment. But alas, I survived. It CAN be done! Ikea sans voiture. Impossible? I. think. Not.

Mon nouveau Appart (aka. New Digs)

2009-10-08T12:21:00.000+02:00

I'm just getting settled into my new apartment and I couldn't be happier. I was so stressed out for weeks prior to the big move because it wasn't until we signed the lease (a day before we had to move out) that we were sure we were going to get this awesome pad. We're three in this new place. I still live with Valentin, and my new roommate is his friend (well, our friend) Benoit. Things are great so far -- I did have my doubts about living with two boys, but they're surprisingly tidy!

The place is really coming together, we're just waiting for our fridge (to be delivered tomorrow), internet (which will hopefully be up and running sometime next week), and oh yeah -- hot water. We've got no hot water. I've taken a few glacially cold showers here and some nice hot showers over at the old apartment which will from here on out be referred to as rue Ferrandiere (or Gaby's place). Oh yeah, and I've got no bed. Well, the boys picked me up a bed from Ikea, but I'm waiting for the mattresses to go on sale next week (20% off!). So until then, I've been sleeping on a single mattress on the floor of my super cool bedroom. Now that I think of it, we also don't have a couch yet... I can't complain, I'm so happy living here.

All those pictures on my blog that I took of Vieux Lyon -- well, that's the cobblestoned street that I live on! My building is over 400 years old. Once I open my front door, I walk through a traboule (tunnel or alleyway) which is a historical landmark that Lyon is known for, to get to my staircase. C'est magnifique!

Bonus: I live on top of my favorite shoe store in Lyon. Since I've been in France, I've bought three pairs of shoes there. I have a feeling this is going to get very interesting...

Sincerest Apologies

2009-10-06T11:28:00.000+02:00

Due to a poor internet connection and my busy schedule (what with work and the big move) I haven't been posting as often as I would like. I promise this will all change very soon. But until then, I ask you to please be patient. So much has been happening, I can't wait to tell you all about it. So for now I'd like to let you know what kind of good stuff you'll be in for once I get around to writing about it.

Mom and I at the Chateau Versaille
My new apartment
Grand Lyon Film Festival

October's gonna be a crazy month!

Paris is...

2009-10-01T12:18:00.001+02:00

After spending some time in Paris, I began to notice a couple of things.

Paris is…beautiful, enormous and full of things to see and do. However, you really don’t feel like you’re still in France because everyone’s always speaking English, Spanish and German. I barley heard any French all day. Also, people in France don't pick up their dog poop. JS

Day: Wednesday - Location: Lyon, France - Time: 9:00PM - Physical State: Exhausted

2009-09-30T21:13:00.004+02:00

The following is a list of events that took place today:

12:45pm – Had a tearful goodbye with mom at the airport in Paris

1:00pm – Had lunch at the airport Pizza Hut

1:50pm – Boarded a TGV to get back to Lyon

3:50pm – Arrived in Lyon and prayed fro there to be a bus to take me to my apartment (transit strike)

4:10pm – Dropped my bags off at the apartment to find (yup) a new roommate who moved back after his summer in Australia. Didn’t have time to chat, so I said a quick hello and then it was off to the bus stop again.

4:20pm – after hoping really hard, a bus finally arrived (you really never know with this strike) and I got on and headed to the apartment rental agency…. Any idea where this is going?

5:00pm – Signed the lease to my new amazing apartment in Vieux Lyon!

6:30pm – Headed back to old apartment to pack….

I’m moving tomorrow.

So what's the big deal?

2009-09-29T16:27:00.001+02:00

Yesterday, I went to the museum of all museums. My mother and I had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the world-famous home to masterpieces such as Venus de Milo and Winged Victory of Samothrace. Or as the other hundred thousand people that were in the museum would say it… “I saw the Mona Lisa!”

Now, I love museums. I try to visit some sort of museum whenever I get the chance. These people – or shall I say animals, who shelled out their 9€ to catch a glimpse of the (for some reason) infamous Mona Lisa, need to get a lesson in how to behave in a crowded public place. Never in my life did I think that in a museum, I would get shoved out of the way to see a painting that people aren’t even taking to time to look at. They just throw their cameras in the air, point and shoot without even giving the work of art the few seconds it deserves to be observed up close and personally. To them I ask…What’s the point of taking a picture of something that you’ve already seen in pictures a thousand times?

So I saw it. It was nice. But on the wall opposite DaVinci’s most well known painting, was an enormous tableau of The Wedding Feast at Cana by Veronese which took my breath away. What amazed me even more, was how few people even looked in its direction. What I want to know is, what’s the big deal? Who made the Mona Lisa the thing to see if you’re in France? After having seen it with my own two eyes, all I could come up with is… she’s got a great publicist. Yeah there’s something behind her mysterious smile, but who wouldn’t be smiling if tourists came from all corners of the world to see you? Don’t get me wrong, DaVinci was an extremely talented artist and I just think that his other works of art deserve as much credit as La Joconde. It’s just that other than the room that houses the now famous painting, museum-goers didn’t seem to have much interest in anything else.

If you have the opportunity to visit the Louvre, fight your way through the crowd to see the Mona Lisa and decide for yourself. Is it all it’s cracked up to be? After spending 5 hours in the museum, my mother and I had seen a small percent of the art that is showcased there. But I did manage to be blown away by some of the sculptures and paintings that we came across.

Here are my top 3 things to see in the Louvre *with reasons why they are better than the Mona Lisa.

THE RUBENS ROOM

1) There are benches for taking well needed rests here.

2) Because in 1622, Queen Mary (widow of Henry IV and mother of Louis XIII) commissioned Rubens to create 24 canvases to decorate the Palace of Luxemburg. The paintings illustrate the history of heroism within her family. Each and every one of them is awesome.

VENUS DI MILO

Because she’s fierce… even though she’s missing both arms. Much less of a crowd here, and the ancient sculpture is magnificent.

LE PAVILLION DES SESSIONS

This part of the museum was virtually empty. With every turn I was amazed with the creations of artists from various parts of the globe. The Tribal and aboriginal art was astounding. With an emphasis on animals and mythology, their statues (made up of wood and different metals) were really a breath of fresh air after looking at so much marble in the ancient Greek and Roman divisions.

In all, visiting the Louvre was an amazing way to spend the day. I’m so glad I got to experience it, even though some people in certain rooms made it a tad unpleasant. But it’s the Louvre! Luckily there were 700 other rooms to visit. Now I can finally say “I saw the Mona Lisa!” – but really, what’s the big deal?

Paris in September (Day 1)

2009-09-28T20:59:00.000+02:00

My mother is leaving France the same way she came in… from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. We decided to go three days early to spend some time in Paris together. It’s been 30 years since she last visited the most romantic city in the world and we thought it was time for her to see how it’s changed since the 1970s.

We were blessed with amazing weather during our stay, and we managed to do a whole lot of sightseeing in the three days we were there. The first day we decided to go visit Notre Dame. I was in Paris a few months ago and didn’t get the chance to see it so it was the very first thing that I wanted to cross off my list. My mother had no objections. The cathedral is Off. The. Wall. My newly found obsession with churches reached a new level with this one. It is absolutely incredible. The from the famous stained-glass Rose windows to the art that lines the chapels this house of worship; all of it took my breath away.

Afterwards we strolled through the Jardin de Luxembourg. It’s kind of like France’s Central Park. This massive greenspace is filled with fountains and statues, tennis courts and beautiful flowerbeds, oh yeah. It even has chairs… everywhere(!) for people to just relax, and have a seat and enjoy the view. What a view it is.
Oh, and there's a palace! I love palaces...

For dinner we headed to Montmarte, the 18e arrondissement. We had a lovely dinner at a restaurant in the famous Place de Tetre. It’s a real touristy part of town where artists paintings and portraits all day. The center of the square is taken over by restaurant terraces. It was a really lovely evening. On the walk back, we caught a glimpse of Sacre Coeur all lit up (something I did every night on my walk home the first time I came to Paris). Now that’s a gorgeous basilica if I ever did see one.

More to come. On the agenda for day 2: THE LOUVRE

For Sarah

2009-09-21T18:33:00.003+02:00

Taking advantage of the few hours of sunshine we had today here in Lyon, I took my mother to the Parc de la Tete d'Or. As I've previously mentioned, it is a very large park where there are tonnes of things to see. Today I decided to check out a part of the park I've never seen before: le Jardin Botanique (botanical garden). While I was walking around and observing the foliage, I channeled my inner Campbell* and decided to take some pictures of the lovely strains of flowers.

*Sarah Campbell (master floral photographer/great friend)

Lyon in the Rain... on a Sunday... what to do?

2009-09-20T19:36:00.004+02:00

We woke up this morning to some pretty bad weather. It was rainy and cloudy so we thought it would be the perfect day to go and see a movie. After waiting in line 20 minutes for our tickets to Julie & Julia (apparently we weren't the only ones who thought it would be good idea to go to the movies) we finally made our way into the theater, got our seats and prepared to be pleasantly entertained for the next two hours. The movie was a nice treat. We both enjoyed it. A great mother/daughter film. Nora Ephron's screenplay brings together two true stories; the first of which tells the story of how Julia Child discovered her passion for French cuisine and her dream to have her cookbook published in the mid 1950s and the second is the contemporary story of a post 9/11 government secretary in New York (named Julie) who decides to challenge herself to cook her way through Mrs. Child's famous cookbook in one year and blog about her experiences.

It was a feel good movie, so my mom and I left the theater feeling pretty good. The interesting thing was, when she left all she wanted to do was cook, and for some reason, I just wanted to blog about it. It's really great having her here. We stepped out of the theater and realized that the sun had come out. We decided to spend the rest of our Sunday outside, in the only part of town where things are open on a Sunday -- Vieux Lyon. With her camera in hand, Mom set out to be the vacationing tourist that she is, and clicked her way through the 5e arrondisment.

On our down time, we've just been going out for coffee, tea or beers planning out our time together, getting really excited for what we're going to see in Paris next week.

Mamma Mia!

2009-09-18T11:37:00.000+02:00

It's officially been over three months since I moved to France. Three months is the maximum amount of time you can stay in certain countries without having to get a long stay visa. So, when you think of it like that, three months is kind of like the maximum length of time for a 'vacation' in Europe. So it's official, my vacation is over. I guess I knew that already when I got into a routine of waking up at 6:30am to go to work some days. On days like that I never feel like like I'm on vacation.

It's been awhile since I've seen a familiar face from back home. I guess the last one I saw was my friend Sim when we went to Nimes. And before that it was Emily who visited from Ireland. But now I've got the greatest visitor of all. Mommy's here!

We've been keeping in touch a lot so I didn't really feel I had that much to say to her it terms of 'catching up' when she arrived yesterday. But it does feel great to show her around the city and see it through her eyes for the first time. I guess that was the same look of awe I had in my face when I first got here. My favourite part of yesterday was when I caught my mom smiling uncontrollably. She couldn't stop! It was hilarious/amazing. I don't remember the last time I saw her so happy. I think it had more to do with her being in France than seeing me. She's here for two weeks so I'll have plenty of stories to let you in on... trust me.

Revolving door of Rue Ferrandière

2009-09-14T23:35:00.004+02:00

On the same sad day that my roommate and bestie Valentin hopped on a plane to Ireland (for two weeks), I came home from work to an apartment bustling with action and filled with people. It was an awesome surprise. Gabriella, a girl that used to live here, returned from her summer of traveling and just got back in time to start classes next week. She brought along with her a friend from Paris who would be staying the for the weekend. And my new roommate of two weeks Marie-Lawrence (from Quebec-- I know, right?) was home; so to celebrate Gaby's return, we decided to go out for dinner on the swanky Rue Mercière.

(I didn't take this picture)

It's a beautiful street lined on either side by restaurants that showcase all kinds of cuisine. It's a pretty well known street with tourists and locals, so finding a table on a mild Saturday night in September, was kind of tricky. So we waited a little while for a table at this Italian styled restaurant. It was lovely. Marie-Lawrence had never met Gaby and I had only met her once, so we had lots to talk about. The two girls talked about which courses they would be taking at the university Lyon 2, and I wanted to hear Gaby's stories about her time traveling around the United States this summer. After that we met up with even more people and hit the town of Lyon on a Saturday night. Living in a colocation (apartment w/ roommates) never really gets boring. There are always people coming and going or visiting and moving in and out.

Apartment hunting: Lyon-i-fied

2009-09-12T00:32:00.006+02:00

We can all agree that finding the perfect apartment is nearly impossible. That being said, finding a decent apartment is downright stressful. But finding an apartment in a foreign country, is just insane. Especially in a university town when classes are about to start and your sublet is up in a couple of weeks and you've still got no place to live.

I've been on the hunt for a new place to call home for about three weeks now. Using various websites and checking out the local agencies, I've tried to find affordable housing that is close to work and public transportation. The only problem is, no one wants to rent to students -- apparently you are only worthy of an apartment if you have a family. Now I've been done with school for sometime now, but unfortunately the people I'm moving out with (the awesome duo that is Benoit and Valentin) still have a couple of years of classes to finish.

When I arrived in Lyon, I was lucky enough to sublet an apartment for the summer; it was perfect for me because I wasn't sure how long I would be staying in Lyon. But alas, I got a job, made some friends and now, this is the city that I call home. Except I've got to be out of here in T-29 days.

I've visited about a half dozen apartments and most of them weren't exactly the kind of place I see myself living for the next 8 months. Needless to say, I'm starting to worry. I think the really scary part will be finding the perfect apartment, and then trying to gather the necessary (French) documents to make it all come to fruition. Things usually have a way of working themselves out. I hope this situation doesn't turn out to be the exception to the rule. I'll keep you posted!

You never know what's around the corner

2009-09-06T17:23:00.006+02:00

Ahh... another Sunday in Lyon. As most of the shops were closed and I (obviously) didn't have to go to work today, I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and go for a bike ride around town. After two failed attempts at renting a velo'v (one had a flat tire, the other had issues with the gear shift) I got on my bike and began to pedal towards the enormous Parc de la Tete D'Or. The park has everything in it from a zoo to a museum of modern art, but I was on a mission to go see a movie at the UGC Cite International. The cinema was in a part of the park I had yet to explore, a very interesting stretch of land -- on which I found a hotel, a casino and.... The International Criminal Police Organization's official headquarters, in Lyon. Yes, ladies and gents, I biked past Interpol today. It's a pretty classy looking place. Not that I went inside or anything, I wouldn't want to be late for my screening of The Ugly Truth. Though it would have been fitting for me to go see some conspiracy theory action film after discovering such a fascinating location, sometimes a girl just need a cheesy and predictable romantic comedy on a Sunday afternoon. And for the record, I'm not embarassed to say that I actually laughed out loud a couple of times during the movie. It had its moments.

Notre petite chou chou -- Tu nous manques...deja.

2009-09-03T10:22:00.003+02:00

So, it's been a sad week here in the apartment, ever since Eimear went home back to Dublin. She was my best mate here in France and we had lots of good times together. I know that along this journey I will continue to make new friends and there will be many more goodbyes, but saying goodbye never really gets easier. On the bright side, this just gives me yet another reason to visit Ireland sooner rather than later :) I'll see you soon my monument researching historian.

Lyon contre Nancy

2009-09-02T18:36:00.007+02:00

I had the privilege of attending my first football match last weekend. Lyon was playing against Nancy. I thought I knew what I was in for, but I was in way, way over my head. I watched the previous three matches on the TV screens of various Irish pubs, chose my two favorite players (one based on looks, the other I chose because he scored the most goals that night), and I even learned some rules of the game prior to me attending my first live match! But no one warned me about the chanting.

The constant, baritone shouting of chants made to encourage the home team while psyching out the visitors became just as entertaining to witness as the players fighting for the ball on the field. These men (approx. 33,000 people in attendance), knew every lyric to at least 15 different football chants. The setup involves a 'leader' with a megaphone somewhere in the crowd to start them off, and then for the next minute and a half, the 'Big Gonnes' (what they call the die hard fans out here) are screaming, waving flags around and jumping up and down ON their seats. That's right, I paid for a seat which I later found out was for standing on.
Le Stade Gerland was louder than a Death Boat show. It was amazing! I'm not the world's biggest sports fan, but I most definitely enjoyed myself. By the end of the match, I started singing and jumping on my seat with the best of them.

The final score was 3-1 for Lyon. The stadium and the city was buzzing with victory. Being surrounded by all of that positive energy was pretty invigorating. I wonder how hard would it be to learn the lyrics to 15 French football chants by next weekend?

I know it's French but...

2009-08-28T23:52:00.001+02:00

I just can't get used to the sound of someone playing an accordion outside my bedroom window.

Marseille, France: Day 2 (Le City Pass)

2009-08-22T11:10:00.012+02:00

The first day I arrived in Marseille, I went to the tourism office and bought myself a 2-day 'City Pass'. This thing is fantastic. I get unlimited use of bus, metro and trams, entry into any museum, Petit Train tour of the Vieux Port, boat ride to the Chateau d'If and many many more things that could easily be done in 2 days. Except I had spent the first of the two days (unexpectedly) on the other side of the city, hanging out by the water all day. So in order to get my money's worth (27€ to be exact) I played beat the clock on a Sunday afternoon, trying get the most out of my City Pass and to check out what the city of Marseille had to offer. Here is a list of things I did last Sunday...

1) Guided tour of la Rue de la République

2) Musée de la Mode - where I checked out this really cool exhibit from Designer Fred Sathal.
3) Musée de la Marine et de l'Économie
4) Seaside Market

5) Boat ride to the famous Chateau d'If
6) Tour of the prison at the Chateau d'If
7) Boat ride from Ile d'If to Ile Frioul and then back to Marseille
8) Petit Train tour around Marseille up to the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
9) Fish Market at the Vieux Port
9) Irish pub to grab a few pints and watch a football match between Liverpool and some other city. Liverpool won.

10) Took the bus along the coast all the way back to the beach to have dinner.

Though I crammed what seemed like a million things into one day, I managed to see all I wanted to see in Marseille. It's a nice city, even though it's filled with tourists, and it was the perfect place for me to spend my long weekend, during the heat wave.

As for days three and four... well, naturally I spent the day on the beach. Several beaches. Four, to be exact.

Marseille, France: Day 1

2009-08-22T09:43:00.008+02:00

Well, it's been a pretty busy week. For starters, last I had some time off work so I spent the weekend in Marseille. It was just what I needed. It was the beginning of a heat wave here in Lyon and as much as I love this city, it just can't compare to one with tons of beaches and the Mediterranean sea. I got on the train at 8am and by 10am I had arrived at Gare St-Charles. I bought my train tickets really early and was able to get 1st class tickets for the same price as coach.
I arrived and made my way to the youth hostel with the directions I had gotten from the internet. After taking a metro I was to take the bus and then walk for a couple of hundred meters. While I was waiting for the bus, a young guy asked me if I spoke English and knew when the next bus was arriving. I answered yes to both of his questions, and we quickly realized that we were going to the same place. Seeing as we had about half an hour to kill while we waited for the bus, we chatted about jobs, movies and our respective home countries (he's from Germany). It wasn't until we were almost at the hostel before we learned each others names. His was Domenik; he's a graphic designer/model whose friends went back to Germany the day earlier (he stayed to visit his brother) and now had limited funds and no way to get home. He asked me if I thought he could hitchhike from here to Germany, and I explained to him that where I come from it's pretty dangerous, but I think it's pretty acceptable here. I told him that I think the main obstacle he'll run into is that, in this tourist filled beach town, not many people will be driving back to Germany. The people in Marseille are mostly just visiting from different regions of France.

After checking into the youth hostel, I ran into Domenik again. Seeing as how its been awhile since I've been near large masses of water, I decided to go to the beach. I asked Domenik which was the sea, and he said he was going that way and that I could follow him. I asked him if he was going to the beach and he said no and that there were too many people. He was still going to go to he sea, just at a different 'less touristy' part. He asked me if I wanted to join him and I said sure. We got on a bus and about a half hour later we had reached the end of the road. The bus dropped us of and we decided to walk along the coast to find a good place to hang out for the day. We met this guy named Abdel and asked him if he knew a good spot. He said he was going that way and that we could follow him. He led us to these rocks where people could jump into the sea from different levels.

From 1m to 10m you could plunge into the refreshing saltwater and then climb up and do it all over again. It was pretty awesome, not to mention the spectacular view and the fact that there was barely anyone around. After almost two hours of being astounded by the beauty of my surroundings, I called it a day and told Domenik that I would be heading back to town. He said he would stick around that spot awhile longer, but that he would see me back at the hostel.

Later that day, I walked around the town, went back to the beach (went for a quick dip) and had dinner at this lovely beach side restaurant while I watched the sunset. It was fantastic. I saw colours in the sky that I had never seen before.
After dinner and sunset, I returned to the hostel to grab a sweater. I had seen a poster announcing that there were going to be fireworks on the beach that night. When I got there I ran into Domenik and asked him if he wanted to come. He said 'ya' and after we grabbed our jackets we made our way down to the beach. The fireworks were amazing. They were put to music, and went on for almost 30 minutes. While sitting on the beach, Domenik and I discussed our home countries' different national holidays and annual celebrations. He explained Oktoberfest to me and invited me to Munich this fall to come and experience it first hand. I told him all about Canada day and the fireworks competitions at La Ronde and what poutine was like.
The fireworks ended and we stayed on the beach exchanging email addresses and talking until around midnight. We met for breakfast the next morning at the hostel where we said our goodbyes and I wished him good luck on his journey home.

Thus marked the beginning of my big fun filled touristy day in Marseille! To be continued.....

Cleaning à la taille

2009-08-11T22:12:00.003+02:00

As you know, I work at H&M. I am a 'vendeuse' who works 22hours on a CDI (Contrat a durée Indeterminée) This is an awesome thing to have. Apparently, once you complete your trial period of two months, it is really hard to fire someone who possesses a CDI. I work four days a week, with a staff of about 40 co-workers.

I started work the other day and there really wasn’t much to do. Not very many customers to help out, the place was quite clean since everything was organized the night before. So I asked someone who works in my department what we should be doing at a time like this. She informed me that today, we would be ‘Cleaning à la taille’.

Putain! C’est. Le. Pire. Cleaning à la taille consists of going through every rack of clothing and placing the garments in order from smallest to largest. We did this all day long, everywhere in the store. It was the longest shift I had worked so far (8 hours) and by the time the day was over, I wanted to cut my fingers off. But at one point in the day when I was thinking about how much this menial task was getting on my nerves (specifically while I was sorting through purple lacy tops), I realized that... I’m in France. I have the permission to work legally in a foreign country where I don’t really speak the language that well, not to mention the fact that I was able to find a job – in THIS economy- within two weeks of my arrival.

So right there in front of the lacy purple tops, I decided to take pride in the stupid task that I had been assigned. And I gladly placed the size 38 behind the size 36 and finished my long boring day off with a smile on my face. Because I did it; I had a random thought to visit Europe for a few months, which morphed into me moving to France by all by my lonesome. Actually going through with it, and finishing something that I started is what I’m most proud of. I think the thing I’m second most proud of was how organized that store was when I left that day.

À toute a l'heure!

Thank you Mr. Hughes

2009-08-09T13:03:00.003+02:00

I’m sure by now you have all heard that John Hughes passed away earlier this week. Some of you may not know him by name, but he was one of the greatest filmmakers of our generation. His work has at one point in time put a smile upon each and every one of our faces. I just wanted to take a minute to appreciate and remember the man who created such films as Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Home Alone, Uncle Buck, the always underestimated Curly Sue, Vacation, European Vacation and Christmas Vacation just to name a few.

And to honor his memory, here are a few great scenes written by the late, great John Hughes.

A day in the life

2009-08-09T12:41:00.002+02:00

I will start this post off by apologizing for not having written sooner. I see this blog as a vehicle to pass on information about the fun and exciting things that happen to me here in France, and lately, well… there just hasn’t been anything fun and exciting to write about. I live here now. I'm just going through the motions like you guys are. The other day my mom asked me what I had been doing lately (I assume she was expecting a typical French story involving a mime, an accordion and ends with me wearing a beret). I had nothing to really tell her so I reminded her that “I live here now; my days are probably as un-eventful as yours are in Montreal”. So for those of you who find yourselves wondering what Sophia’s up to over in France, I thought I’d make it easy for you and let you in on my daily regime.

Firstly, I wake up; usually around 10h30. I make a French press full of Costa Rican coffee and throw a bit of yesterday’s baguette in the oven. Then I make my way into the living room (coffee and baguette in hand) to chill out and enjoy 40 minutes of uninterrupted Newport Beach. After that, I will either read my book (in case you’re wondering, I’m currently reading The Namesake – thanks Lisa) or check my email and my Facebook and the rest of the internet to see how your side of the world is doing. (If it’s a day where I have to work, this is probably the part where I would go to work and return – exhausted – at around 19h30) Then I hear Sarah’s voice in my head tell me to “get outside and do something, it’s a beautiful day”. So I reluctantly muster up the energy to get up and do something, and see what’s going on in the world outside of my apartment. I go on walks exploring the new neighborhood in which I live, I try to go to museums, to the movies, sometimes I people watch or I’ll rent a bike and check out the ‘other side of the river’. Then I’m usually home by 5 or 6, have chat with the roommates about their day, figure out what to have for dinner and the go to the supermarché to pick it up. Then I cook dinner and we eat at around 8pm. Once that’s all over, we watch a downloaded episode of Skins or How I Met Your Mother and then decide what we’ll do that night. The usual nightly activity often seems to involve Guitar Hero or going out for a drink somewhere.

So there you have it, a day in my life abroad. Exciting enough for ya?

What's French for 'locksmith'?

2009-08-04T12:10:00.004+02:00

After a long day of work in an UNair-conditioned H&M, (and being bummed about not being at Jenn's b-day party in Mtl) I was really looking forward to a nice relaxing meal out with (the new couple) Eimear and Valentin. We decided to go to this restaurant around the corner called Flam's. Their specialty are these pizza-like dishes cooked in a wood oven, with a very thin crust and a variety of toppings that don't include tomato sauce. Delish. What really sold us on the restaurant was the unlimited Flams plus dessert for 11€.

We could tell that the place was kind of full when we arrived, but after we were seated, we noticed that there were only two waitresses working in this whole place. Seating new clients, cleaning off tables, re-setting tables, taking orders, pouring drinks and bringing out the food. Did I mention that this restaurant has two floors? It was like a short-staffed Saturday afternoon at Homestyle (Sarah, you know what I mean?). So we ordered our first Flam and when that arrived after 5 minutes we thought we were in for an awesome evening filled with unlimited Flams. When 20 minutes passed and we hadn't yet gotten our second serving of delicious Flam, we started getting impatient. After waiting for what felt like an eternity but was probably only actually 35 minutes, I went up to our waitress and asked if it would be much longer. She had the nerve to tell me that it wasn't her who was our waitress but the other girl. (She was DEFINITELY our waitress, but whatever). She then said that she would get right on it. 10 minutes after that, she brought us 2 flams that we didn't order. Valentin ate them anyways, while I waited for my flam that wasn't covered in veggies.

I got my flam and ate it. We were all in kind of a bad mood from waiting so long and for the crap service. But I ate my flam and ordered the best dessert EVER. It was delicious, and almost made up for the 'Hell's Kitchen' pace of our food delivery.

During our meal, a friend of Valentin's who was staying at our place came by to pick up the key to our apartment. Valentin gladly gave him the keys and continued to eat his Flam. 20 minutes later his phone rang. It was his friend telling him that he had broken the key in the door. Turns out, the friend tried to use the tiny mailbox key in our giant front door lock. Valentin left to go see how bad the damage was while Eimear and I waited for dessert.

The guys called a locksmith... at 10pm on a Friday night. And 500€ later, we've got a new lock, a new set of keys and one really broke and really unhappy roommate. And I can't get my mail.

That was a summary of my Saturday night. Oh wait, then the four of us played Cranium, in French.

fin.

P.S. How was your Saturday night?

Un Dimanche Lyonais

2009-07-26T23:08:00.005+02:00

My roommates went to Grenoble for the weekend so I was left to my own devices. I would have gone with them had I not had to work on Saturday (bummer). But luckily I did work on Saturday, because I accepted the invitation of my co-workers to join them for a drink after my shift. It gave me the chance to get to know the people I work with as well as practice my conversational French. I didn't stay out late on Saturday night which left me nice and refreshed for my 'Dimanche Lyonais'.

I woke up and made myself some coffee. Looked out the window and didn't see a soul in sight. I decided to do some laundry and catch up on the episodes of Newport Beach that I missed this week (yup, french repeats of the O.C.). After breakfast I read my book and did the dishes and took a nap. I woke up at 4:30pm and decided I needed to get out of the house.

Empty streets of Lyon

I was under the impression that nothing would be open, but alas, I ventured on a stroll through Vieux Lyon. People were everywhere! And not just people, tourists! I love discovering places that people go on Sundays so I was thrilled to find hundreds of people from all over the world walking through th 5e arrondisment.

Turns out, on Sunday afternoons in Lyon, people get ice cream, sit on terraces watch street preformers and walk a lot. As per usual, I've included some pics of the day:

On prend la glace.

La rue St Jean Street performes in front of the Temple La Bouchon Lyonais A mime...in France. I know, right?Art Gallery It's not a proper Sunday without a house of worship. Amen.

50 kisses... a day

2009-07-24T20:46:00.005+02:00

I started my new job at H&M this week and I realized, it's been a really, really long time since I've worked somewhere with so many people. Hell, it's been a long time since I've actually had to get off my couch and get out of my pajamas to get a full days work in. But I'm not complaining. The one place I wanted to work at was the one place that hired me, so we're golden. I'm really enjoying it. I've already worked three days out of my four day work week and it might not be as easy as I thought it would be, but at least I'm sure I can do this. However there is one thing which I think might be impossible to get used to. I work with about 30-40 people on any given day. And when these people start their shift at staggered moments throughout the day, they approach me, they say "salut" and then they go in... for the two-cheek kiss.

For some reason, this is one french custom that seems impossible for me to get used to. I don't really agree with it. For me it's too close to soon. I'm all about personal space, and if you're not my friend yet, I just won't be comfortable getting that close to you (nothing personal). I think insulted a guy the other day because I accidentally forgot which country I was in and extended my had expecting to shake his. He laughed it off and assumed that 'I must be new here' before he dove in to plant his lips on my face (twice).

I must admit that thanks to this custom, I've managed to learn a lot about my fellow co-workers in a very short amount of time. I now know that Mikey is a smoker, Abdel has extremely soft skin and Sophie smells awesome -- all the time.

It made me wonder last week about the commonly used slogan "as Montreal as a two-cheek kiss". WTF people?! In my 26 years as a resident of Montreal I was ill-prepared for the amount of time I would be two-cheek-kissing people over here! There's nothing Montreal about it! Ya, we do it sometimes, but to claim it as 'our own' is preposterous. We clearly stole the gesture - so I think we should stick to what's actually really 'Montreal': Poutine, Bring your own wine, smoked meat and Tete-a-Claques (which I watched with my roommates the other day and reminded me how proud I am to be a Canadian).

So I guess I'll have to throw two-cheek kisses into the "French things I've really got to get used to" category. It's in the same category as: the sun going down at 9:45pm, carousels at every turn and everything being closed for the siesta from 12-2:30pm.

That's all for now folks,

Bisous :)

Yo quiero bailar

2009-07-18T13:27:00.006+02:00

I woke up this morning and realized that it has been ages since I last danced. I never really thought of myself as much of a 'dancer', but I think it is one of those things that you don't think you'll miss until it's gone. And, I miss it. I can't even remember the last time I danced. Although we've gone out a lot to pubs and bars, we have yet to hit up a dance club. I figure since this is the summer of doing what I want - when I want, I think I'm going to make it my mission to get my groove on tonight.

There's something special about dance music here. It's not that it's different from the music back home, I think its just easier to tolerate when you're in a European country. Back home, it would be the machismos wearing their sunglasses in the club with their Ed Hardy t-shirts and designer shoes getting their groove on to some techno song while drinking their 14$ vodka Redbull; but in France there's just something way less cheesy about it. It's completely acceptable. These people aren't pretentious, they're not getting down to a song because it's the 'cool' thing to do. It's all they listen to here. House, Techno, electronica and Dance are the only thing you'll here around these parts. Well, that and Michael Jackson.

Here's one of the most popular songs in France right now... thoughts?

So that is my goal for the day. I'm going to go out tonight, and dance the night away...to techno music. And what's more important, is that I'm gonna like it.

Guess what? Yup, another concert....

2009-07-18T11:34:00.000+02:00

To avoid sinking into a routine, my roommate Eimear and I decided to be spontaneous and buy tickets to the TV on the Radio concert on Wednesday. The show was that night, and her friend had just come into town from Ireland, so we thought we'd all hang out and hit up a concert. I had really wanted to see the band when they played in Montreal last month, but life got in the way and I missed the show.

The opening acts were Beat Assailant and Of Montreal (who contrary to their name aren't even from Montreal, but never the less they put on an unforgettable show) and the concert was part of Lyon's annual Nuits de Fourvière concert series. When we got to the venue I was amazed to see that the show was going to go down in yet another ancient amphitheater (much smaller than les Arènes de Nimes). This one was called Le théâtre antique romain.

I would have taken pictures had they not confiscated my camera when I got there. I couldn't believe it! They gave me a number and placed it in some 'camera check' booth. At first I didn't really care, but once we got to the top of the hill and I realized how awesome the venue was, I was overcome with frustration knowing that some strangers had my camera. Arrrrgh!

Here's a picture I got off the internet :(

We arrived shortly after Beat Assailant took the stage and they were fantastic. Filled with energetic dance moves and a wicked horn section, the band got everyone on their feet and dancing to their hip hop beats.

Shortly after, Of Montreal started the show off on an interesting note which would carry through the rest of their set. A man in a suit and a lion mask emerged to get the crowd ready for the band. It turns out he wouldn't be the only animal we'd see that night. During each song, a guest would come out and act out some sort of' mini-play' on stage. Animals and aliens would dance-battle each other, people would come out in gas masks with smoke machines; the band definitely kept everyone on their toes wondering who/what would come out next. C'etait genial.

Probably the strangest part of this night was the fact that I bought a (pretty pricey) ticket to see a band that I've never even listened to. I was going strictly on the fact that TV on the Radio is a group that my friends back home like and my brother said I would love. And you guys were right, they were great. I really enjoyed their style and they put on a really good show. I had a fantastic time last Wednesday. Like always, I wish you could have been there.

Passe Partout

2009-07-13T18:08:00.001+02:00

I had the honor of being invited to the Justin Nozuka/Jason Mraz concert in Nimes last week. My friend Sim has been really great about inviting me out to the bands different tour spots around France. It was really nice seeing a familiar Montreal face, and hanging out with a good ol' Canadian band wasn't so bad either. The concert was held in les Arènes de Nimes, which is an old Colosseum in the heart of the city. It is a gorgeous venue, and being able to roam around wherever we pleased was a nice added bonus.

About five minutes after I stepped off the train, I found Sim's tour bus parked outside the venue and woke him up with a text message. For the rest of the day, we strolled around the city, ate some delicious free catered food and I listened to both bands do their sound check while he checked on his merchandise and schmoozed with Mr. Mraz's peeps.

During the sound check I became overwhelmed with what was going on; I realized the following: I'm in France. I'm hanging out with one of my friends from back home. I'm in this amazing ancient arena watching a shirtless Jason Mraz and his superawesome band do a sound check five feet away from me. I'm going to get to see a concert that I've wanted to see for years, in one of the coolest ways possible.

I was all over the place that night. I was in front of front row, I went up to the top steps of the venue (old rock and dirt stairs), I watched both bands play from side stage. It was amazing. Feeling the energy from the crowd and watching musicians do what they love from such a close distance, was really inspiring. Its safe to say that all further concerts will be compared to this one.

Everyone was so nice. Justin Nozuka and his band are a really fun group of down to earth guys. Even though no one's really heard of them in Canada, they're crazy famous here in France. Girls go crazy for them, well, mostly Justin. After the show, Jason Mraz came up and congratulated Justin's band on the good work that they did. Then he saw me and introduced himslef to me. "Hi, my name's Jason." he said as he reached out to shake my hand. Such. a. sweetheart. He asked what my contribution was to the show, and I let him know that I danced my pants off during his cover of Lionel Richie's All Night Long. I said it was a pleasure to meet him, and then he thanked me and then went on his way.

Sim scored me a free t-shirt from Jason's merch guy. We had a great time. I love France.
When my fun-filled day of music was over, I hopped in a cab, and headed back to my youth hostel. Because that's just how I roll.

Here are some more pics from the concert....

Holy 'hill of prayer' -- that's a long walk.

2009-07-08T15:36:00.000+02:00

I had a fantastic afternoon today. I decided to make the crazy trek up the massive Fourvière hill, to get to the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière. I wanted to do this right, so I walked up the winding footpath for 30 minutes until I got to the top instead of taking the tram up. The two things to do at the top of this hill are check out the view of Lyon in its entirety from the lookout or walk around the Basilica. I did both.

The Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière is lit up every night on a hill that looks down onto the city of Lyon. So after a dozen nights of seeing it up there on that hill, I was intrigued, and decided to devote a whole day to exploring this basilica. I learned that this particular church was built in the late 1800s and that people flock from all over to see it. I can't blame them; it's beautiful inside and out. Which probably explains why it is one of Lyon's main tourist attractions. Notre Dame de Fourvière is filled with intricate stained glass windows, metallic mosaics along the walls and religious sculptures on beams throughout the building.

Here are a few things that I learned about myself today.

1) I really can't stand tourists who refuse to even attempt to speak the language of the country they are visiting.

2) I absolutely adore everything that makes up a house of worship. Yup, folks... whether or not there is a higher power, the fact that hundreds (sometimes thousands) of years ago, religious townsfolk got together and built these magnificent structures which find a way to bring together people of different nationalities and races from all over the world never fails to amaze me. I guess I really began to notice my new found obsession when I was in the Basilique du Sacre Coeur in Paris. It is freakin' awesome in there. (FYI- you can't take pictures in there)

3) The third thing I learned about myself today is how much I love taking pictures of architecture. I was blown away by the details in this church from the doors to the windows to the countless sculptures of Mary along the walls. I taught myself how to adjust my f-stops and shutter speeds to attempt to recreate the magical lighting of this church through its stained glass windows and its candle lit altars. I loved experimenting with the different shutter speeds and training myself to stand perfectly still while I tried to take a picture at 1/10 of a second (not that easy). But I think I got the hang of it. So here are some of my favourite pics of the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière.

It's a Garden Party!

2009-07-05T13:48:00.000+02:00

Last night, Lucy* was kind enough to invite Eimear and I to a garden party that her host sisters were throwing. They had just had a birthday and the two girls (Claire and Marie) are moving to Montreal soon, so they invited 100 of their closest friends to kick off their final days in France.

This party was amazing! It was open bar, they had a light show, smoke machine, DJ, swimming pool, hookah, outdoor toilet, ping pong table, dance floor and food. Not to mention, everyone in attendance was so nice and welcoming (albeit drunk). Oh, and did I mention they were gorgeous? Everyone was stunning. Beautiful girls in bikinis, super hot guys dancing around hot and wet from the pool...and not a soul over the age of 23. So, as the grandma of the party, I just danced around and chatted with some people who all said I spoke french really well (flattery will get you everywhere, young ones) except for this one pushy guy who said I had a really strong accent - wtf?

The music was a riot! The DJ played lots of dance music, a bit pop, tons of Michael Jackson and then some salsa. He also managed to get away with sneaking in classic tracks like Cotton Eyed Joe AND the Macarena. But we all loved it and had a great time.

It was extremely reminiscent of the summer parties at Goran's house, and needless to say, I wish you girls could have been there.

*Lucy is the niece of Sarah, a friend that I made in Costa Rica while I was there with Lisa and Sarah. She's the girl who I'm replacing in the apartment. She studied in France for a year and is about to go back home to LA in a few weeks. She's pretty effing cool.

Hey... where'd everyone go?

2009-07-05T12:57:00.000+02:00

Did you know that the whole city of Lyon shuts down on Sundays? (Of course not, how could you?) Nothing is open. Not grocery stores, not shopping malls, not even the pharmacies. This means, that if you need milk, cigarettes or tampons, you have to either buy them ahead of time, or wait for Monday to come around. Not only is nothing open, the city appears to be deserted. It's a ghost town. No one walking on the streets, not even beggars asking for change!

The weather was absolutely gorgeous out last Sunday, so my roommate Eimear and I decided to go to the nearby Parc de Tete d'Or. I had never been before so I didn't really know what to expect. I've seen parks before, so I thought I knew what I was in for. Maybe some grass, benches a couple of people walking around, perhaps a pond and some sort of playground. Hell to the no! Not here.

Parc de Tete d'Or is where the whole city comes on Sundays when everything is closed. And I can say the whole city because I'm pretty sure the entire population of Lyon could fit comfortably in this enormous park. If they don't feel like visiting the greenhouse, they can rent a boat and canoe around the lake. Or if that doesn't tickle their fancy, they can sit at one of the many lakeside restaurants and watch the ducks swim by. Or if their not into ducks, they can go see the giraffes, elephants and lemurs at the FREE ZOO! Yup. Xanadu is real, ladies, and it's officially a 15 minute bike ride from my apartment.

Some pics from my first visit to Parc de Tete d'Or

The Roommates

2009-07-04T14:38:00.000+02:00

It just occurred to me that you might not know who I'm talking about when I'm referencing my new friends. At the moment I've got 2 roommates. Eimear is from Ireland an Valentin in from France. They'll both be living here until the end of the summer.

I work hard for the money...

2009-07-02T16:54:00.000+02:00

After a day of shlepping through town in the 35 degree weather, I was crossing the bridge back home when my phone alerted me that I had a message waiting. I don't know how that is possible, since my crazy french phone never rang... but the message was to inform me that

I GOT THE JOB AT H&M!

The first place I applied...
The only place that called me for an interview...
The place where I was sure I bombed the interview.... CALLED ME BACK to tell me that I was hired!

This job is fantastic for the following reasons:

1) It's only 22 hours a week - which will allow me plenty of time to see the sights, travel around France and not get sick of working all the time.

2) Since I was limited to only bringing 2 suitcases with me from Canada, this new job provides me with not only a slew of new fashions to choose from, but AN AMAZING STORE DISCOUNT!

3) I've secretly always wanted to work at H&M in Fairview but Kristie McCrory works there and for some reason I'm intimidated by her edginess and the fact that she dated Andrew after I did.

4) I can finally stop worrying about when my money's going to run out... I have a job!

I love you all,

Sophdogg out.

France's Best Dance Crew?

2009-06-28T11:33:00.001+02:00

On a quiet Saturday afternoon stroll through Vieux Lyon, I stumbled on to a street performance being put on by five cute french guys. These guys weren't just dancers, they were comedians and crowd pleasers. They entertained us for half an hour...for free, in front a temple. It was awesome. I gave them 2€ and then I left there feeling really happy*.

*Probably because these guys made me realize that there might actually be some cute boys in this city. Not all hope is lost!

Here's a vid of some of the stuff they did. (I know you love my rhyming skillz... admit it.)

Beau-Beau-Beaujolais

2009-06-27T16:02:00.000+02:00

Well, it's definitely been a busy week. It started on Monday when Emily and I decided to go on a wine tour around the Beaujolais region. We wanted to do something a bit -- touristy, and although it was quite pricey, we figured it would be a nice way to spend the day.

We were the first to be picked up by the tour guide, Olivier, at 9am, then we went to pick up the rest of our pack - a retired American, and finally a middle-aged couple from England. We were a small group of 5 ready to embark on our wine-tastic journey.

We visited castles, churches and vineyards throughout the day. We knew lunch wasn't included on this trip and that the restaurant he was planning on taking us too was quite pricey. So we did what normal budget tourists do and stocked up on croissants before we left Lyon.

Needless to say, it was a pretty long day to just be running on croissants and wine. So by the end of the second tasting, we weren't only the youngest people on the tour, I think it's safe to say... we were also the drunkest. Wait! Before you throw that disapproving look my way through your computer screen, know that we weren't plastered and sloppy... just a bit too buzzed for 4 in the afternoon.

Overall, the day was great. We had some fun, we made new friends and we learned alot. Here are some pics from the day. Merci Olivier :)

Church in Theizé

Quarry of Limestone with Iron

View of villages in the Beaujolais Region

100 year old Vine

Village of Oingt

Arrivals/Departures

2009-06-22T20:36:00.000+02:00

My roommate Valentin went to Paris for the weekend. That meant we would be a house full of girls...English speaking girls, for three days. Eimear and I promised to get the English thing out of our system now, because come Monday it's going to be All French-All the time!

So...Friday night, the girls and I went to go pick up my friend Emily from the train station. She had spent a few weeks in Greece and was nice enough to come hang out with me in Lyon for the weekend. Emily is also spending a year abroad living in Ireland; she's been traveling for the last 6 weeks. We got back to the apartment, relaxed and did a little gift exchange. I surprised her with Kraft Dinner from Canada and she brought me three giant chocolate bars from Greece! Mmmm chocolate. Milk chocolate ION chocolates that I used to eat when I was a kid. Melts right in your mouth...I digress.

On Saturday afternoon, after a long day of rifling through the book market and strolling through Vieux lyon I wanted to take a little afternoon nap. I got all ready for my little sieste when I heard some music coming from the street level. I looked out my window and to my surprise, Robin S' 90's hit Show Me Love was blasting from a float covered with shirtless men waving rainbow flags. And behind that float were hundreds of people dancing in the streets. Looks like I wasn't going to be having that nap anytime soon...

The next day was the day Denise left to go back home for Ireland. We were sad to see her go, but we all had a lovely breakfast together her last morning in Lyon.
With all these comings and goings, it looks like it's definately going to be an interesting summer here at 1 rue Ferrendière.

Fete de la Musique

2009-06-22T00:44:00.000+02:00

Dimanche: 21 juin. Father's day, summer solstice and France's own Fete de la Musique!

After a long day of walking around the neighborhood, I tried to take an afternoon nap. I knew there would be music but I was under the impression that it would be played in different large open spaces around the city. I was not expecting for there to be Sting and Rolling Stones songs being played outside my bedroom window. Apparently, wherever there was 5 square feet of space, someone with a guitar, a harmonica or a saxophone would be playing music in the street. In front of bars, on church steps....everywhere.

But I'm not complaining! This celebration of music on the longest day of the year, was a magnificent display of talent, artistic appreciation and community spirit.
After my failed attempt at a nap, we walked around all night and watched different bands play all sorts of music, from jazz, to rock, to ska and big band; the streets were filled with people dancing and singing along until the wee hours of the morning.

I've got a wine tour scheduled for 9am, here's hoping they'll stop playing the U2 music before 2am so I can get a good nights' sleep.

Naive New Beaters concert

2009-06-19T14:27:00.000+02:00

I went to a concert in a park called Square de la Doua. Valentin invited us to the show; a band he really likes called Naive New Beaters was headlining. We got lost on our way there, but it was worth it. The show was awesome -- the band completely surpassed my expectations. Looks like this summer is going to be filled with concerts, not that I'm complaining...

On the way home, we were playing beat the clock to try to find/catch the last metro on time. Surprisingly enough, we caught it and didn't have to do the 45 minute trek that we were dreading.

FYI: There were some eager beavers lined up outside the phone store near our house waiting to buy the new iPhone at 00h30 last night.

Lessons of the night:
1) Always carry your carte bancaire so you can grab a Vélo'v home.
2) Sneaking in through the metro gate while holding on to your friend (sans paying) isn't really that frowned upon in France.
3) Just because your roommate grew up in France, doesn't mean he always knows where he's going.

Pour l'amour de la boeuf

2009-06-19T00:40:00.000+02:00

The title of this post comes from the uniform of a waitress at the restaurant I ate at yesterday. The menu for the restaurant, called Hippopotamus*, consisted mostly of glamour shots of different meat plates. Looks to me like the french seem to take their meat very seriously. Finally, something we have in common.

*As far as I could tell, the restaurant didn't actually serve hippo meat.

Last night, after a couple of bottles of wine, me and the 'mates thought it would be a good idea to go for a beer at one of the many bars on the corner of our street. Needless to say, not only did we have a laugh getting to know each other,but I had a pretty mean hangover in the morning.

A demi-peche is pretty good (1/2 pint of Stella with peach flavouring in it... who knew!)

My new neighborhood

2009-06-17T17:29:00.000+02:00

Here are some pictures of places and things within walking distance from my house.

My building. 1 rue Ferrandière, Lyon. My room is top floor third window from the right of the corner... does that sentence even make sense?!

My keys. Yes, the giant gold one opens my front door. (Thanks again, Emily)

The view from my bedroom at 11pm at night. Psst - on the top floor of the building across the street (somewhere in top center of the picture) you can see a flat screen TV lit up. They were watching Wanted. I watched too for about 10 minutes.

A random fountain and a carousel...

I believe this is the Centre du Commerce.

Le Pont Lafayette (I think... there are so many bridges) This bridge goes over the RHONE river.

The original 'Bixis'. Lyon's very own VELO'Vs

Place des Jacobins

So that was a little introduction to the place I'll be calling home for awhile. Au revoir :P

First Impressions

2009-06-16T22:45:00.000+02:00

After a full afternoon of exploring the charming city of Lyon, I've come to realize a few things about the city and the people who reside here.

1) The people here are thin. Not in an unhealthy, celebrity mimicking, disgusting Lindsay Lohan 2007 kind of way; but there is a serious lack (and by that I mean a non-existing population) of overweight people in this city.

2) All of these thin people are constantly eating?! Eating while walking, eating while buying groceries, eating while driving... all the time.

3) Lyon is not a very multi-cultural city (at least in comparison to Montreal). And the ethnic diversity seems to really goes hand in hand with the difference between classes. About a dozen middle-eastern looking guys kept trying to give me free newspapers and then asked me for money.

4) If a guy wants your number here, he'll take out his cell phone walk towards you and straight up ask you for your number at 10am. Seriously. I was so shocked I almost choked on my croissant. I proceeded to let him down in English explaining that I don't speak french and I have no idea what he was saying.

5) It is completely acceptable to order une verre du vin blanc at 9:30 in the morning.

6) Jasmine was right... there are carousels EVERYWHERE!

Those are just a few observations from my first day in my Lyon.