low country margaret: Lyon, France

La Criox Rousse, Lyon from the Rhône river

After visiting with Christine again, I trained down to Lyon, the second-largest city in France behind Paris and ahead of Marseille on the southern coast. I went to see Shirin, Gabby and Micheal who are "studying" there this semester (quotes due to the crazy strikes that have been gripping the French univeristy system this past year, not as a reflection of the aforementioned upright scholars' academic prowess). We had an amazingly relaxed week in Lyon which mainly consisted of long afternoon walks up and down the banks of the two rivers in the city and trekking across the hillside above the city. The best part of my trip was the timing. The weather was exceptional and there was a huge music festival in town, Les Nuits Sonores, at the same time I was there. There were a ton of free musical and artistic performances throughout the city during the days and certain special evenings, and we bought tickets for the Friday night extravaganza at the multi-stage electro-hip hop dance venue. Needless to say, it was a stellar introduction to the city and a welcome chance to relish in the company of good friends.