Vyvacious

*Transcribed from my written journal

Friday, June 29th
12:14am (Lyon Time)

Today (technically Thursday) was a great day. It was the first time we really got a chance to relax. We had arrived in Lyon last night and I passed out on the bed while Emiliza was talking to me. I felt so good after a long, hot shower and the comfy bed lulled me to sleep.

Today we lazily didn’t leave the hotel until late. We traded experiencing the kind of far farmers’ market that would only be open for 15-30 mins once we got there for some perusing at the local grocery store around the corner. It was a great idea and we walked away with a feast for cheap!

Look at those individual rosé wine bottles, demi baguette, cured chorizo, cured rosette de Lyon, sliced Gouda cheese, café cream puffs, butter croissants, chocolate croissants, orange juice, Bobble filtered water, and baby grape tomatoes (not pictured).

It really hit the spot and gave us a chance to use our wifi to make dinner plans, or rather, fail at calling different places to make reservations. Haha. First off, our French is not very good and all the good places were booked for the entire night sadly. We finally got through to a restaurant that had been recommended to us actually by a restaurant that had turned us down.

Excited by our set plans, we ventured off to see some badass gargoyles! Hell yeah! Saint Jean Cathedral was interesting. We were thrown off by the construction/remodeling that was being done and accidentally passed it. We ended up crossing the River Saone which was beautiful and great for picture taking and stumbled into a Catholic store, we figured they’d know where the cathedral is, right? :P

The cathedral itself was dimly lit and was my 4th time in any kind of church. I liked all the stained glass and the organs. I wish someone was playing it. That would have been sweet. The gargoyles outside were alright but I was expecting something a little more ominous/exciting like the gargoyles from Hunchback of Notre Dame :D not in the sense that they’d talk to me (though that’d be trippy don’t you think?), but in the sense that it’d be a more prominent part of the cathedral and maybe scarier? But instead I felt that anything that protruded from the walls was considered a gargoyle and it wasn’t scary in the least. Maybe I need to relearn what the real definition of gargoyle is…

And then it was off for some spontaneous delicious sorbetto in the shade!

My fraise (strawberry) and mangue (mango) flavors were spot on and perfect for a hot midday snack. All done! :P

That was one of the nice things about Lyon that’s a change from Paris – the weather is nice and warm, perfect for shorts and a tank top :)

Then we headed off for Q Park. This was all my bad. I had randomly looked up parks in Lyon because I had several people that mentioned to me that the park was beautiful. Well… Google led me astray – rather I led us astray after looking at the search results. Haha. Turns out, Q Park is just some random, small “park” that has a few benches and a few trees that’s right next to a metro station. Sadly, we had used a metro ticket only to be very disappointed. Haha. A nice old man helped point us in the right direction and even provided us with a handy map which we used extensively :)

Damn. “Le Parc de la Tête d’or’ (Golden Head Park) is freaking BEAUTIFUL!!! The abundance of trees and also the well thought out open fields of grass were extremely appealing to the eyes and conducive to the feeling of relaxation. Apparently a landscape architect birthed this wonder and it really shows! Emiliza and I had the best time just wandering around, taking pictures, and absorbing all the beautifulness this park had to offer. One of the best parts is the cold water PUMPS! You twirl a handle and water comes out of a spout. Freaking delicious!! It really hit the spot!

The park was ginormous but luckily the path we chose led us straight to a beautiful rose garden and oh! What do you know! Some freaking giraffes, rams, flamingos, and pelicans! They were a such to see and such a pleasant surprise :)

I was also really sad the carousel was closed but we made up for it by snagging some seats right by the lake at an outdoor cafe. A glass of Kir each and we were in heaven. The scenic addition to our conversation really helped relax us and broaden our topics of discussion. This ended up being the most relaxing day so far this vacation and honestly, the most relaxing in a few weeks. It’s been crazy and I love that I got today to really unwind :)

It’s been great in Lyon. We’ll miss this hotel but we’re super excited for the next part of our trip! Marseille, here we come!!! :D

*Note: I’ll upload photos from the park once I get it on my memory card…in 2 weeks… :)