Lyon was..

I went last weekend with my host parents to see the sights. I would like to make it know first off that Lyon is the second biggest city in France, and largely over looked. It is beautiful, has a well organized down town and is know world wide as the capital of gastronomie. Which I will admit as well, was where I ate some of the best food ever. The first day we got there I ate so much my stomach hurt. Like it really caused me pain. I have never really felt that before. What an exchange student experience.
And now I will show you all, my dear readers, what I saw.

We started out in the morning appropriatly with a museum about the beginnings of Lyon. Their research and findings date back to a few hundred year av JC. When the romans came and built a grand fortress to expand their empire and defend against the original french, the gaulois, who were living there at the time. This a picture of their fortress after 2000 some odd years:

They were pretty with it for people who built houses way back in the day. They had pools they built their rooves so that they got the most sun was at an angle where it warmed the houses in the winter and wasn't too hot in summer. This picture is of their little theatre. The musuem was prostar (thought I'd add a little canadian slang) because you start at the top and walk down hill for 4 floors then take the elevator back up. The perfect solution.

After that we went to see this really old Cathedrale at Fourviere, which was also very prostar (can you use "prostar" to describe cathedrales?) There was a one of the first coo coo clocks ever there, which was built in 1300 and something and it still works today. It is an astrological clock so it tells you lots of other stuff too, like the day and your astrological sign. It was cool. We waited till 3:00 to watch it chime. As you can see, it was the 11th of March the day we were there.

We also went to the theatre down town the Celestins, for a guided tour, which was cool cuz the actors and musicians were doing a final rehearsal / walk of the stage and it made me miss doing those things myself. However it was neat cuz I saw one of the canadians I met at the olympics, and his quebecois roommate, who were doing a university project on the theatre. What a small world!

We stayed with friends of the family, who live there that had the most beautiful house ever. I thoroughly enjoyed being there. The next morning we went to an art market along the Saone river, then we saw a circus. But not a circus with clowns and elephants, but one that was like theatre but with juggling, and dancing and people doing really amazing things with their bodies. For one entire hour I sat with 60 other people and didn't move, we stared, all of us. It was incredible the things they did. The performers were beautiful, and athletic and gracful and talented. I have never seen a circus before, but I realized that it is everything that I love about theatre. Its a story without words, an expression of the body. I have definatly decided instead of university I am going to join a school of cirque, and do that for the rest of my life. I have found my passion, and there is no going back.

The last thing we did was to stop by the Opera of Lyon, wich was also very cool and very well known. Then we went home. It was a wonderful little jont.