Lyon is beautiful

I spent six days in Lyon. I highly recommend Lyon to anyone visiting France. It's the second biggest city, just as cosmopolitan as Paris, and yet the residents are infinitely friendlier and the overall vibe is more laidback.

rooftops and churches

Place des Terreaux

Only in Lyon

couchsurfing meeting...so much fun

Traboules in Lyon

One of the unique things in Lyon are the traboules. They are basically staircases that go between buildings so it's quicker to get from one area of the city to another area. They were originally created when Lyon was a major silk producer, and, for reasons I still don't completely understand, it was advantageous to move rolls of silk through these passages instead of on main streets. More recently they were used by resistance fighters during WWII - they could hide from the enemy and also transport weapons and basic goods without being detected. If I had done this post while I was in Lyon I could have given more accurate details, but alas one week of intense travel has already elapsed and I'm struggling to recall details. Here are a few pictures of the traboules my friends in Lyon led me through:

Fermé pour congés (Closed for annual vacation)

The French take their summer vacation seriously. I know this. I learned about it in French class and heard about it from other travelers, but I had never experienced it myself until now.  It's a two-to-four-week all-out affair, where restaurants, stores, pharmacies and offices shut down.  Walking through Lyon in August gives the impression that locals have been hard hit by the recession and lots of places went out of business. In reality, the owners are just sun bathing in St. Tropez or visiting the ruins in Rome.Those who have stayed seem surprised when they meet other Lyonnais around town; e.g. while standing in line at the pharmacy, all three people in line ahead of me asked the pharmacist why she wasn't on vacation (answer: she went on vacation in June). In all, visiting France in August isn't that bad - all the tourist attractions are open, and lots of cities (such as Lyon) are actually less crowded than usual since so many locals are out of town. And even with so many places closed I was always able find what I needed - sometimes I just had to search a little longer, and walk a bit farther.

Macon and Burgundy countryside

I was in Macon for almost exactly 24 hours, and that was all I needed to see the entire town, plus great scenery in the surrounding area.  On Friday morning Karan (my Helpx host) dropped me off in front of the Macon tourist center and took off. A few minutes later my couchsurfing host showed up and my adventure began! After a short rest at his apartment to drop off my bags and eat lunch, we decided to explore the countryside.

We set off with no specific destination in mind, just driving around until something interesting came along and then we'd stop.  It ended up being a fun adventure of exploring castles, hiking up to viewpoints, and getting lost on tiny, rundown roads meant for tractors and other farm vehicles.  That night we went out to a cafe and then had kebabs sitting by the river. The next day I walked around the town by myself for a few hours and then Florent drove me to the train station.

Staying with Florent was a good way to ease back into couchsurfing...it was just him and his roommate who are both very chill guys. My first couchsurfing experience (in Strasbourg) was great but crazy, and at times overwhelming. So after six weeks of isolation on a farm I was glad to have a low-key reintroduction to the backpacking lifestyle. We had fun exploring, hanging out, drinking and just talking about random stuff.  Florent was happy I surfed his couch because it gave him an excuse to see some things he wouldn't normally visit (his words), and I learned about Macon, Lyon and some cool french bands. He also introduced me to a new drink - red wine and coke. I was hesitant at first - since I'm not a big fan of either one individually - but when combined it's very refreshing!

Burgundy countryside

Macon

Travelling Again

I left the farm yesterday and set off for three weeks of travel. I'll be spending a week in France before busing my way to Eastern Europe - Zagreb, Sarajevo, Mostar, Dubrovnik, Lake Bled and Ljubljana are all on the itinerary. Of course the list is subject to change, but that's the current plan. What worries me the most is that it's August in Europe. Well, it's August everywhere, but in Europe it's peak tourist season and I don't have anything booked ahead of time. I'm slightly comforted by the fact that it's not possible to book trains or buses online for any of these countries. The only way to get tickets ahead of time is to go to a sales office which means you have to actually be in the country to book a ticket. That means no foreign tourists can pre-book, so I assume I won't have too much trouble buying a ticket on the spot. I do need to think about sleeping though - I'll probably do a mixture of couchsurfing and hostels.

In France I'm going to Macon (already visited), Lyon (current location), and hopefully Annecy. I'll also be spending a few days in Paris when I get back from Eastern Europe, but before going to the Loire Valley for another HelpX exchange.

I'll try to keep the blog updated while I'm travelling!

Birthday

my homemade birthday cake 

I celebrated my 26th birthday on the farm. Normally I'm with family and/or friends on my birthday; this was the first year I was on my own and not particularly excited about it.  But my host family made a big effort to make sure I enjoyed myself, so it ended up being a pretty fun day after all.  In the morning we went to Cluny for the Saturday market and shopping. This was my second visit to the town, and I found it even more beautiful and charming than the first time.  We stopped at a patisserie/chocolaterie for coffee and pastries. You know when something looks delicious, and then you taste it and are disappointed? This was not one of those times.  The pastries all looked so amazing that I was expecting to be let down, but oh my god it was one of the most delicious things I've ever put in my mouth. Ever. I really want to go Cluny again just to try more pastries from this patisserie.

In the afternoon I relaxed around the farm - played with the kids, watched a movie, etc. Karan gave me the TV remote for the day so I actually got to watch TV and a movie (I Love You, Man - it's pretty funny). The boys are usually playing Call of Duty from morning to night, so just having a break from the sound of machine guns and exploding bombs was a birthday present in itself.  For dinner, Karan made an American-themed dinner: hamburgers, onion rings and potato skins. For dessert there was a home-made cake. It was all really good! I received cards from all of the kids, and they made me a plaque and a necklace. Needless to say it was different from how I usually celebrate my birthday, but I had a great day!

American-themed dinner: hamburgers, onion rings and potato skins

Around the farm

A typical day starts around 9 AM - first I water the plants in the poly-tunnel and then go back to the house for breakfast. After breakfast I do whatever tasks Karan asks of me - usually weeding, watering/feeding the animals, or working with the animals. Around noon we break for lunch, and then in the afternoon we do more random jobs or just relax.

Except for a few standard tasks, the work on the farm changes daily (which I love). Today a group of children from the local school came over (they walked! on busy roads! in high heat! that would never have happened at any of my schools) to look at the animals and compare the differences in their fur. Yesterday a prospective buyer came to look at one of the alpacas so we had to catch Romeo, make him look beautiful and get him into the holding pen. Just a few examples of what goes on around here.

And now, here's a tour of La Bergerie:

the house

Aggie, the basset hound

the great danes - Dixie and Gaia

inside the poly-tunnel

grapevine

beets

tomatoes

garden #1 - fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce

garden #2 - overgrown with weeds (in the process of being de-weeded); snap peas, carrots, potatoes, beets

chickens

 pigs

the llamas 

the donkeys - Tabitha and Eeyore

in the alpaca enclosure - putting a harness on Romeo

Joseph leading Romeo

the llamas want to see what's going on

leading Romeo to the holding pen