Lyon

At the end of January, Amanda, Natalie and I went on our second trip outside of Spain to Lyon, France. As with Belgium, we had bought the tickets simply because they were incredibly cheap, and while I didn't love Lyon as much as I had enjoyed Belgium, it was still a nice trip. Although it is not necessarily somewhere you've probably heard a lot about, it is the third largest city in France after Paris and Marseille, and the historic center is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Views from the apartment where we Couch Surfed

Lyon is built around two rivers and two large hills. The hill you can see in the topmost picture (above), with the cathedral and what looks like a replica in miniature of the Eiffel Tower (it's actually a TV broadcasting tower) is called Fourvière. The apartment where we stayed was on another hill called Croix-Rousse. The two rivers are the Rhône and the Saône. In the far distance in the bottom picture (^ also above ^), you can see the Alps!

Because it is so hilly, there are several systems of long, steep stairs and narrow cobblestone streets snaking their way between the old stucco buildings.

There is also a system of "secret passageways" (okay, they are not actually a secret, but they seem mysterious to me) that allow you to pass through residential buildings without having to go out of your way. Most of these routes, called traboules in French, were created for workers in silk factories, as silk was Lyon's biggest economic driver in the nineteenth century. Some of the factories have now been turned into apartments, and apparently many of them are located in the somewhat Bohemian neighborhood where we were staying.

Patios in two of the traboules we explored in the city center

You could also take a funny little tram called the "Funicular," or Funiculaire in French, up the Fourvière hill to see the cathedral at the top. We were excited by its old-timeyness and by the possibility of great views, but upon exiting the station it promptly entered a dark, creepy tunnel and did not emerge until we arrived at the top of the hill! Still, it was a fun thing to do, and apparently the tram has been there since 1862!

The cathedral on top of the hill, more formally called Basilica of Nôtre-Dame de Fourvière, is actually not that old, having been constructed in the late 19th century, but it was nevertheless beautiful and impressive.

The best part of ascending the hill, however, was the amazing views it afforded of the city.

On the other side of the same hill are the remains of the Roman settlement Lugdunum, which at one point was the second largest urban center in the empire outside of Rome! The largest part of what remains is the Roman theater, the coolest part of which is that it is so carefully constructed acoustically that a person standing on the stage doesn't even have to raise her voice to be heard perfectly, even in the last rows. We were able to verify this when another tourist started talking in the center and we could hear her perfectly from high up in the seats.

Being minstrelsy in the Roman theater

Among other highlights of Lyon were a very lovely fine arts museum, an interesting history museum, several other old cathedrals, and lots of really delicious food! Lyon is apparently the gastronomic capital of France, and while we refrained from forking out tons of money to eat really fancy French food, we did have some very delicious crêpes, along with some other not-so-traditional things like pizzas and falafel wraps.

Beautiful! Beer! Belgium!

During our penultimate weekend in Madrid before Christmas, Natalie and I took a short trip to Belgium. We really only bought the tickets because they were very cheap and we wanted to travel somewhere outside of Spain before heading home to the States for the holidays. But as is often the case, the trips where you have the least expectations turn out to be the greatest! Not only did we get to meet up with Charlene, who drove up from France with a friend, but Belgium was beautiful, quaint, charming, and full of amazingly delicious food and beer!

The church of St. Catherine in Brussels

Christmas

As in Madrid, Christmas decorations were on display throughout Brussels. They also had an enormous Christmas market with hot spiced wine, sweets, and all kinds of trinkets and doodads. Here are just a few pictures!

The Food & Drink

To be honest, we spent the majority of our time not in museums or out and about seeing the city, but in different bars and restaurants! The food - and especially the beer - in Belgium was definitely my favorite part. There was one beer (de Garre, in a picture below) that we tried during our trip to Bruges that was only brewed and sold in the building where we bought it! 

We also enjoyed the famed - if overpriced - Belgian waffles and fries. French fries, of course, are originally from Belgium, even though we call them "French" in English.

The Sights

The two most famous things to see in Brussels are the central square, or Grande Place in French, and an awkward statue of a little boy peeing! I have no clue why this second one exists, but it is extremely popular, even though it is actually quite small. The city even dresses him up in different costumes at different times of the year.

Bruges

After a day and a half in Brussels, we felt like we had seen the majority of the things there were to see. So, we decided somewhat last-minute to take a day trip to Bruges, a small town about an hour's train ride from the capital. Although it is small and sleepy now - aside from the thousands of tourists - in the 15th and 16th centuries it was a bustling city, as its location near the ocean and on a river made it an important city for trade. It is often called the Venice of Northern Europe, as many lovely canals run alongside its narrow cobblestone streets.

 It seriously seemed like something out of a fairy tale - enchanted and enchanting! All of the buildings were quaint, picturesque and charming. Combined with all of the delicious food and fun we had had in Brussels, Bruges was the icing on top of the cake for this already wonderful trip!

Christmas in Madrid

Beginning in late November (remember that there is no Thanksgiving here), the streets of Madrid were decorated with varicolored Christmas lights. Many of the plazas were filled with Christmas markets selling traditional sweets and candies that are only available during the holidays. Stalls were set up selling roasted chestnuts and hot chocolate at random street corners, and the department stores put up lavish window displays. Here are just a few pictures of the different lights, which changed every time you entered a new neighborhood in the city center.

This is the main Christmas market in the Plaza Mayor. For some reason, Christmas was kind of just like a Carnival here, with lots of kids' toys and stuffed animals for sale. Another tradition which none of us could quite make sense of was the tendency to buy and wear ridiculous wigs and hats. What in the world does that have to do with Christmas?