This was the week of seeing friends. From Belgium to Luxembourg, I rounded it all out with visiting Lyon, France where my friend Cris lives. I met Cris in September while I was in Copenhagen and it was great to catch up with her.

Lyon

I’ll admit, like in Luxembourg I took this a bit slower than I have others. I’m starting to feel a bit run down from all the constent travel and know that I haven’t been doing a great job at balancing things. I have plans for that to change – but to be honest it probably won’t until I leave the EU since I have so short of a time left before my visa runs out.

That all being said – I slept so well here! The bed wasn’t fancy or anything (I’ve definitely slept on better), but the thing that set it all apart was that it was pod style and constructed in such a way that it was largely sound resistant while you were tucked away. Normally in hostels, I wake up constantly as people get up and pack and leave throughout the morning. My time in Lyon that isn’t the case. Both days that I was there I was able to truly sleep in for the first time in a while. It felt so good! I’m definitely going to miss that as I move forward.

After sleeping in, I spent some time planning my next steps, touching base with various people, and just in general being a bit lazy before I headed out to explore the town. I walked all over. Their bus and metro system is really affordable and easy to use – but I honestly prefer to explore by foot more often than not because it allows me to see more and get to know the city a lot quicker.

Some highlights included:

• Seeing the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière (not to be confused with the famous Notre-Dame that is in Paris)
• Visiting the ruins of a roman theatre. They actually hold music festivals there each year too! It’s in great shape considering how old they are, and it’s crazy to think that what we can see is only a 3rd of what was once there.
• Exploring the parks around the city, including a very large one (Parc de la Tête d’Or) that has not only a very large lake in it – but a zoo that is not only free, but actively working to make sure that only animals that can thrive in a small space are there. As the large animals they’ve had for years pass, they aren’t replacing them. The zoo isn’t large and many sections are being renovated, but it’s nice to see a zoo that cares that the animals won’t thrive in confinement. I’m pretty sure the Giraffes are the biggest animals they have – and in a cool twist you can see them without even entering the zoo. Their enclosure is fairly large and seems connects to other enclosures. During the season, there’s even a couple of cafe’s in the park that you can eat at with perfect views of the animals – all without entering the zoo during their open hours.
• Hanging out with Cris. We met up on my last night there and went to a Game Bar. We had attempted to do an escape room, but unfortunately they were booked and she’s done so many in the city that we decided to pass on it. We didn’t end up playing any games this time, instead we spent the time catching up – but it was a great time.

One thing I didn’t realize until I got there was how hilly Lyon is. Everything is tiered and so I spent a lot of time hiking up streets and walking up steps. Not something that a basic map can show so I wasn’t really expecting it. It was good exercise though!

Best food? Crepes. I love crepes and galettes which are basically the main dish version of crepes while crepes are dessert.