Nice, France

We took the train to Nice, passing through Marseille, Toulons, Cannes, and Antibes. Sitting across from us was a French calamari fisherman who, through extremely broken English, offered us shots of homemade schnapps to pass the time. 

Nice is a city for relaxing. Although we spent one day driving around the French Riviera, most of our time in Nice was spent lounging by the pool and going to the Cours Saleya Flower Market. My favourite part of the city was the Promenade du Paillon, an urban park beside the colourful Place Masséna. I loved the water features, the diverse planting scheme (so many palm trees and cacti!), and the way it seamlessly fit into the surrounding architecture. It was a pleasant surprise to see some unique landscape architecture in such an infamously touristy city.

Lyon, France pt. 2

On our second day in Lyon we drove to Yssingeaux to meet my sister's host family. Yssingeaux is a very small town located in central France about 2 hours away from Lyon. The ride there was breathtaking - we drove through rolling hills, evergreen mountains, and valleys that went on for miles. Yssingeaux is home to L'Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie (ENSP), an acclaimed baking school where my sister studied back in May. 

That afternoon we explored Old Lyon, walking through a hidden traboule (a type of passageway native to Lyon) and taking the trolley up to the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, a grand cathedral at the top of the city. My sister and I walked to the infamous Only Lyon sign, had macarons from Richart, and saw a cool public art piece called "Flower Tree" by Korean artist Jeong-Hwa Choi in Place Bellecour. We ended our evening at a local brasserie where we feasted on Lyonnaise cuisine and drank lots of French wine.