First Impressions of Lyon

Lyon's beauty is really, unreal! One, I am always in awe of anywhere that is flat (ehm... Illinois or Missouri could you spring up a mountain or valley or something while I'm gone?). Lyon is perched on a valley and sprawls across two rivers. The right bank is the newer Lyon, with more industry, this is where Université Jean Moulin 3 is located. The middle of the city is cut into a pie shape by the Rhône and the Saône rivers. The left bank or Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon) is dotted with old old Irish, English, and French pubs, Gothic churches and beautiful free-standing homes.
My host family lives on the left bank. Which means that they are a bit more well-off than typical Lyonaise families. It also means that they apartment has an incrediable view:


Vieux Lyon is also the center of social life in Lyon which is so perfect that it is going to be within walking distance

Université Jean Moulin 3 is a very different university for me. The campus composes about a whole block, which is much smaller than the one I am used to. But, it is interesting. The whole university is really one palacesque building with courtyards and tunnels. I guess its a pretty typical European university, but will take some getting used to for me.

The walk up to my home here is also so very European. Vieux Lyon gets its name because its the oldest part of Lyon. It has small walkways and streets, descrete passage ways, and pedestrian staircases. One of those staircases leads up to the house. These stairs are no joke! They aren't just stairs, they have got to be equivalent to the steps up to Sacre Coeur in Paris. Then you wiggle and wind through this five people wide cobblestone passageway which serves as a driveway to some of the tightest homes I have ever seen. Most of them have family crests engraved into their gates. You follow this path until you wiggle up and down the side of the valley to the apartment. It is stunning, and I'm going to be in the best shape of my life if I choose to walk that everyday! But where else does a stone staircase, hidden driveways, and a small mountain path lead you home? Just Beautiful!