Saint Etienne...A lovely City

I’ve been dreading writing this post about Saint Etienne, because I know it means my time in France has come to an end. Boooo. To the city that has treated me so well I say MERCI BEAUCOUP!

I must admit….before arriving in France I was a bit nervous. I did some research about Saint Etienne before leaving, but wasn’t quite sure about 3 months in the city. I am happy to report, no problems in Sainté (I feel like I was local enough to call it that). Everyday was something interesting and fun, crazy and beautiful. Apparently I arrived during a special winter....the coldest winter in like 20 years. This was also my first real winter. It was really a great experience, but I was happy when the snow finally cleared and the sun came out and revealed a new Saint Etienne. Sadly it wasn't until my last week that the weather started to warm up and cafes began to expand to the terrace. I'm glad for the residents though, I know it was a really tough winter. Global Warming!

What I really liked about Saint Etienne was it's many communes. There was so much more than what wikitravel described (I know, how ridiculous to get all my research from wikipedia!). You could go to the mountains and play in the snow one day, drive around the gorgeous countryside for a little wine tasting the next day and hit some really interesting museums the next. Done Done and Done. There was so many great things to discover. Typically French...I loved it.

I have so many great memories in Sainté I really consider it my second home and was quite sad to say Au Revoir. One such memory was getting engaged to my wonderful boyfriend/fiancé Eric at Saint-Victor-sur-Loire. I’ve also picked up a new nickname….La Gourmande…thanks to my obsession with pretty little pastries and sweets (merci Nadia).

Saint Etienne I will throughly miss you and know we will meet again soon.

Now it is time to start the job. I am so glad that I was able to take this trip and discover more of France. I had an absolutely amazing time and glad that technology is so advanced I was able to share a little with you all. Please continue to check the blog I may surprise you every once in a while with some random thoughts. So to sum up....When in France I.....spoke some French, ate some macarons (lots of macarons actually), had foie gras, confit de canard, lapin and pretty much every French specialty you can think of, I drove a manual, partook in les soldes, drank espresso, people watched in the café, watched Le Ferme (popular reality tv show about former celebs working on a farm in Africa....of course I did!), watched football (allez les verts) and did like the French do....Lived!

A Bientôt xx

Lyon.

Saturday was devoted to discovering Lyon. In the 2 months that I have been in Saint Etienne I've been to Lyon probably 3 times....and those 3 times, I haven't gotten as far as the mall (which is only steps away from the train station). Such a shame! Lyon is the 2nd largest metropolitan area in France after Paris, I can't believe it took me this long to see it! Better late than never. My good friend Nelli came to visit me all the way from Hungary, so it was the perfect time for an adventure. We saw churches and monuments, the river rhône, walked the small streets of vieux Lyon, ate McDonalds (I know) and enjoyed the sunshine. While we enjoyed every minute (maybe not the metro ride) I think our favorite was the free zoo in the park. Good suggestion on Eric's part. We saw lions and tigers and bears Oh My! Actually no tigers or bears, but there were many other cool animals to see. I can only imagine how nice it must be in the summer...because it was actually freezing despite the clear skies. Loved Lyon...I wanted to buy things in the souvenir shop that expressed my love....but apparently there are long rooted football issues between Lyon and Saint Etienne...so that was out of the question!

Every time I write a post about a different city I've visited, I want to write that it was my favorite place....but I don't think I can choose. Every place is so different and beautiful and interesting it's not easy to pick one over another. Every place has had something special that makes me smile and I guess that's all I can say.

Panoramas

Lyon

Avignon

Venice

Marseille

Paris

Avignon

Just got back from the weekend in Avignon. It was just like every other French city I've visited in that of course it was beautiful. In my opinion the city is highly underrated compared to the more highlighted cities in France (Paris). To me it was just like Paris just in the South of France. We were lucky to have blue skies and bright sun on Saturday...the only issue was the Mistral (wind so horrible they named it). Aside from that we had a great tour of the city. Most impressive was the gigantic Palais des Papes....one of the largest gothic structures in the world...and housed the popes in the 1300's. Sunday we woke up to snow, really surprising given the sun and clear skies the day before. We ventured out of Avignon to Arles which was about 45 min drive and the weather took a massive turn for the worst. Sadly I wasn't able to capture the beauty of the city because it was just too cold for me to work the camera, but if I told you it was pretty would you believe me! Van Gogh actually lived in the city for some time and found inspiration in it's beauty, it's also where he cut off a piece of his ear....The weekend ended with us caught in a snow storm while driving back to Saint Etienne....quite memorable!