16 January 2011

Lyon


Monday December 20th-

So last time I left off at the airport in Madrid. From there, I waited several hours (and as usual) my flight was delayed by about an hour. So I grabbed a quick and very unhealthy lunch and waited until finally we got on the plane. However, this time I did not get a window seat and was really upset about it. Anyways, after a boring flight I got into Lyon. Once in Lyon I called the hostel I was staying and asked for directions. The manager spoke with a weird accent so I only half way understood what was said. Anyways, I left the main train station and went to find the tram. Of course it was dark out already so that didn’t help anything. I walked around for what seemed like forever until I finally found it. Then I tried to use the machine to buy a tram ticket but of course my card didn’t work and I didn’t have change. So I went to Quick and bought a cheeseburger and had dinner, went back and bought the ticket, got on the tram and was off. 

Of course I had misunderstood the name so I got off at the wrong stop, but I got back on and off at the right stop. Then I tried to find the street. It wasn’t any of the streets that I could see from the station so I went into a grocery store and asked. He said he didn’t know but he knew it wasn’t far…awesome. So I started walking in one direction along the tracks and it happened to be the next street I came to. I easily found the hostel, got checked in, got up to my room, and plotted how I was going to spend my day.

Tuesday 21– 

Woke up at a relatively early time for me and took the tram to the hill to start my day. I went and visited a cathedral and saw a nice view of the town.  



 Then I went and wandered through some old roman ruins. Then I walked down the hill to old town where I wandered about and saw some neat stuff. Then I went to a different section of town and went to a textile museum. I have never been to one before and didn’t quite know what to think. It was actually pretty cool, I never knew Lyon was so important in the lace making industry. Then I went to the Christmas Market where I had lunch. 

Then I decided to go to this art museum, but it was closed. So I took a tram and a bus to the park. Almost immediately after I got to the park it started to rain. At first it was just sprinkling so I was like oh no big deal and entered this HUGE park. That was a mistake. As soon as I started wandering it started raining harder and harder. Of course I had left my umbrella in the room today so I put up my hood and tried to find the nearest exit. For some reason it took me over half an hour to locate an exit. Meanwhile, I walked past a bike raceway and a mini zoo. So finally I got out and took the bus back into town. I got off at the main station and decided to go to the mall to dry off for a bit. Since I had a huge headache I didn’t stay long and bought some groceries for dinner and went back. Once I got back I took a little nap and watched some TV which made me feel a bit better. Then I ate dinner, used the internet, and watched another movie. Finally I went to bed after a shower because I didn’t want to be tired for when my parents arrived!

Wednesday 22 - 
Woke up and was really excited for the day. I started by getting around and leaving the hostel. Then I went to this museum I wanted to go to the day before but couldn't because it's closed on Tuesdays. So I went to the museum which was really neat. It was the History of the Resistance and Deportation Museum and was about the Holocaust and deportation of the Gypsies. It was really interesting and depressing and I was really glad I stopped even if it was for only an hour. Then I walked to the train station and caught my train to Clermont. Once on the train I relaxed and was to Clermont before I knew it. I then took two buses and got to the airport where I waited for my parents. Their plane was delayed by an hour so I waited and finally when it came in I was super excited. 

Now I had lived in the states my whole life and have never been more than three months without seeing my parents or brother so seeing them after about 5 months brought tears to my eyes. As soon as their plane came in I walked in the baggage area and waited and watched and was super excited when I saw them and they saw me and waved. After some big hugs and excited hellos the bags started coming out... but we only got one of the three checked bags. A little bit flustered we went to the luggage desk where the agent didn't speak much English. So I explained to her the problem and she said she couldn't locate the bags but that there is about 30,000 pieces of luggage lost in the Charles de Galle airport currently. After some reassuring and getting my french phone number as a contact and leaving the hotel information we left for the hotel. We got to the hotel just fine and got in and everything and relaxed and took a nap.

A couple of hours later we walked to my host family's house. We were a little early so we went to the store to buy some essentials (like a toothbrush for Alex) that had been packed in the lost checked luggages. Then we went to my host family's house and were warmly received. We sat down and had a nice aperatif and my host dad spoke more English than I knew he could say. Then we had a delicious dinner and afterwords we relaxed and gave my host parents the small gifts that my parents got for them and after a while we left. After a relaxing walk home we got in, learned that there was no new news about the luggage, went upstairs, and went to bed.

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