Au revoir, St. Étienne!

I’m sitting in a sketchy hotel room in the middle of Lyon, the atmosphere smelling of something musky and unfamiliar, and resembling a scene from the 30’s. That’s probably how old this hotel is. It’s too hot to keep the windows closed, so there is constant noise from the street below. Men speaking loudly at a bar across the street, noisy cars driving by. It sits on a road known to be the place to be if you want drugs. Charming, right? It was the most affordable. No, but I'm actually growing quite fond of it. It really is quite charming in its own way, very vintage. I can easily imagine a scene of French people dressed up in 1930's attire, spending a night here after partying at a Jazz club.

Last Tuesday we had a full day of class, but spent the afternoon taking photos of various restaurants in St. Étienne for a presentation. We anticipated for a night out a few hours after. We went to a bar called the Soggy Bottom lol. Despite the ridiculous name, it was actually a really nice place, with an old school cowboy theme. Everything was wooden, and tables were huge barrels. After, we headed to Balafon to go dancing. Definitely a night to remember. The next day was used to recuperate. It was a national holiday so there was no worrying about having to wake up early for class with a hang over. After waking up past noon, the day was consumed with laundry and homework. I had a tea/homework party in my room with NC, often getting off topic. Doing the homework was a pain, especially finding out that it wasn't even mandatory to do. But it was a nice and relaxing night regardless.

Thursday, we had a full day of class to compensate for the holiday on Wednesday. It was our last night there as a full group from the program, so we had some dinner followed by some pre-drinking back at the residence, going to a bar, and then to La Mine, a nightclub. The night started off a bit rough for me, not really feeling in the mood to party. But it was indeed our last night, so I took in a beer and couple shots of tequila and I was ready to go! Yup, that's all I needed. Oh interesting story, we met a man from Manchester who told us his whole life story about how he went from being a family man, to a cheating man, to a man who found himself on a park bench with a bottle of wine in his hand one morning in St. Étienne. Cool dude. Anyway, we danced the night away, until the club had to kick us out. Yet another night to remember.

Yesterday was my last day in St. Étienne, and I don’t quite know how to feel about it. It just feels so surreal. Did I really just spend a month studying in France, and did it really go by that fast? Was I really that scared to start living there at first? Now that I've experienced one of the best times of my life, it's silly looking back at how scared I was in the beginning. Now it's all over. It's all over, but I'm ready to move on. The experience was amazing and I've met people I'll never forget. It was hard to say good bye but I'm ready to go back to Stockholm to see my sister, grandmother, and my parents, all of whom I've missed like crazy. And after that, I'll be more than ready to get back to Canada!

Today was spent in Lyon, site seeing here and there. We first visited a few areas I've seen before, but no matter how many times I explore this city, the beauty will never cease to amaze me. We first walked along the Rhône river, admiring the sparking blue water and cloudless blue sky. We walked to a traditional Lyonnaise restaurant and ate delicious food, followed by exploring Vieux Lyon. We found a Lyonnaise postcard at a souvenir shop of a large but very old outdoor theatre, where only ruins now remain. Once I saw the picture, I knew I had to see it so we went on a hunt! We found it, and it just took my breath away. Such a historical place with broken down walls made of stone, and deteriorating Roman pillars. NC and I spent the rest of the day sitting by the Rhône river during the sunset, having deep conversation. Good day, good day.

Ps. I thought I'd survive this summer without any mosquito bites, but I ended up getting 4 last night :( So close.