My year in Lyon went by so fast, that I missed to write about most of the good side of things in living there. It's been a constant love-hate relationship with France, I would say, from the infamous French bureaucracy, to the reputed rudeness of the locals, proven true time and again. However, a year spent in Lyon also proved that even such gloomiest impressions could be outshone by a few, far better things. In the end, everything's just based on perspective, always a case-to-case basis. And in the spirit of paying credits to where it's due, and for the sake of reminiscing too, I am listing all the personal best Lyon memories I managed to extract out of 12 months of battling out such French revolution .
Going out of Lyon for the very first time ( Annecy ) Not intentionally trying to be sour here, but during the first few weeks I had been in Lyon, I could not wait to leave. Leaving Lyon right away and whenever possible was a habit I looked forward to, in the process. First attempt was a trip to Annecy, which was no less than wonderful. With its beautiful canals, old buildings, and the fact that it was the least French thing (more Swiss, tbh) I experienced for the first time in a long while, it was a breath of fresh air. Having some drinks on a boat ride on the clear lake almost made me want to just stay there and never go back to Lyon, honestly.
Lyon (the place itself) was exquisite as it is. Even in the darkest of days, the visual serves (and keeps on giving). One can easily confirm this up close, or even from afar. The city is just a beauty beyond compare. But it needs quite an immersion before full appreciation given the language difference, cultural mismatch, and a long list of other things people collectively hate about France. It's one of those cities that get even more breathtaking with time. So I needed to actually leave, to breath, once in a while. One of my favorite escape points is this medieval neighbor called Perouges known for the famous galettes, the major filming site for The Three Musketeers, notably packed with friendly neighborhood cats. It was nice, I had to be there twice.
Spontaneous weekend hikes and naturally walks on parks and more (Mont Pilat, Mont Thou , Lacroix Laval, Mirabel Jonage, etc.)
Before coming to Europe, outdoors and mountains were the regular things that fuels me to navigate around. I did a handful of hikes in the Baltics despite it being a region generally flat, so it will be a shame to not have a decent count in France after staying for a whole year. And I was a bit happy that I had spent quite some time doing such, in the middle of nowhere, having maps but getting lost anyways. Such times now forever hold a special place in my core.
Three of my favorites in Lyon, and France in general, are cheese, wine, and croissant. Cheese and wine were the regular suspects in my grocery list (because, how the hell could the price be that low?), then there was my addiction to croissants, which truly ate a huge chunk in my budget. On a close fourth is beer, particularly pints of them from Sirius, a cosy bar by the Rhône, during those random weekend and after-work sessions. But more than anything, I think it was the people I had these drinks with, whom I spent most of those days, navigating the stirring yet isolating period of not understanding what was going on, that made the place special as advertised 😕
La Fête de la Musique
Of the few events and festivals I managed to attend in Lyon, the music festival is among the top-tier ones, I would say. On normal days, free music in the streets make me genuinely happy– from those regular accordion performances along Charpennes, to those random guitar recitals near Bellecour. Having all of these in a grander scale during the music festival, my heart burst at the seams, with joy and appreciation– for all the good things I had on those fleeting moments, in exchange of what I had to leave behind.
Of the few events and festivals I managed to attend in Lyon, the music festival is among the top-tier ones, I would say. On normal days, free music in the streets make me genuinely happy– from those regular accordion performances along Charpennes, to those random guitar recitals near Bellecour. Having all of these in a grander scale during the music festival, my heart burst at the seams, with joy and appreciation– for all the good things I had on those fleeting moments, in exchange of what I had to leave behind.
When million lights lit up Lyon ( Fête des Lumières )
I once wrote about this and I basically wanted to say the same thing.
I once wrote about this and I basically wanted to say the same thing.
There were a few times I had been admittedly wasted in Lyon. First, during the beer festival, and second, during a wine tasting event. To be fair, I was not informed about the golden rule: to spit, and not always swallow. Disregarding the rule, I ended up as a heavy drinking afternoon (or night!). To further the damage, I had to be in another event. That night, I ended up done & down, and had to deal with the after-effects the next day. But it all was worth the unwanted throw-up.
Lyon Street Food Festival Lyon just never runs out of reasons to drink all the time. Festivals, one after the other. That being said, I was quite relieved I didn't have the fomo genes in my system, otherwise my bank would have been seriously drained. I managed to choose my battles, still. And this Street Food Festival is one of those smart choices. Much recommended!
All the things mentioned so far were activities beyond school, but there also were a few nice things going on within the confines of the academic walls such as the Winter School. For the last 5 months, I have been stressed out and was pathologically disjointed and disconnected with the French system. Spending a week with familiar faces was such a breath of fresh air. Relieving and comforting, at the very core.
After a year, part of the old me was dead and gone. I was dead proud finishing the masters in high spirits because gone are the days of bearing that label of being a leaver; feeling bad about not getting that sablay I initially worked for during my first attempt at getting a masters. As some said, we are never denied, only redirected.
