On Friday March 18th, we traveled to Montmartre which is an area in the 18th arrondissement in the North of Paris. Our tour guide Pamela gave us a guided tour of the district and told us the story of the Saint Denis who was a christian martyr living at the time of the roman soldiers. The legend of St. Denis is that he was decapitated by the Romans while he was walking through the streets of  Montmartre. But the Romans could not stop him, he picked up his head and walked ten kilometers to be buried in the Christian way. The Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre is located on a huge hill at the top of Montmartre. There is an amazing view from the top of the hill.
After we visited the Church we had time to explore the area.

 

 After we visited the Church we had time to explore the area. In front of the Church were people playing music and a man that could do amazing tricks with a soccer ball. Behind the Church was a row of shops with many artists who were creating portraits of people in the street.

Pôle de Commerces et de Loisirs Confluence

Our first day in Lyon was jam-packed with exciting activites. After returning back to school from our visit to l’hôtel de Région, we used our free time to go to Pôle de Commerces et de Loisirs Confluence with our correspondants.This is the shopping mall in Confluence, the hub-epicenter area of Lyon. Just two tram stops away from school, Pôle de Commerces et de Loisirs Confluence is where all of the french kids go to socialize and kill some free time. There aren't too many people, so the ambiance feels pretty laid back opposed to the King of Prussia mall. From Mexican food to bungee jumping, you'll be able to find anything you want with a wide range of restaurants and stores to choose from. A bunch of us decided to go to Woko, the hot, new Asian-infused restaurant in the mall. With a choice of Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese or Japanese foods, we spent a while holding up the line debating over what to order. Thankfully, the server came to our assistance, but spoke very fast. It was extremely difficult to keep up with what she was saying, but we managed to order something in the end. On some of the warmer nights in Lyon, parts of the roof of the mall open up, giving you a view of the night sky. There are lights that change colors on the ceiling, illuminating the walkways of the shopping center while creating a fun and entertaining atmosphere. On the first floor of the mall, the first thing that catches your eye is a movie theater. This past weekend, a bunch of us had taken a trip to the UGC Ciné Cité Confluence to see Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Although the movie wasn't great, we all had an awesome time watching it together. The movie theater was very clean and modern, looking much nicer than any movie theater we've seen in America. Sometimes, a bunch of us will take the tram during lunchtime and will buy food at Carrefour, a very large, Wawa-like supermarket in the mall. The baguettes with assorted choices of meats, cheeses and vegetables are a group favorite. With only three days left in Lyon, a lot of our free time will definitely be spent at Pôle de Commerces et de Loisirs Confluence.
  - Sophie and Lucy

 

Vieux Lyon

Vieux Lyon

On Tuesday, March 22nd, we got to explore vieux (old) Lyon. We started off the day by going CSI with our parteners in the morning, and then right before lunch we set out for the metro. The metro took us to a funicular that was located across the Rhône river, at the base of the hill that held the beautiful church, Fourvière. When we got to the top, we ate lunch on a terrace beside an amazing view of Lyon. After lunch, our tour guide met us by the terrace and talked a little about the geography of vieux Lyon. He then led us into Fourviére, which was absoluetly beautiful. There were many meticulous details inside which added a very special and sacred feel. After our tour, we started our way down the hill by foot. There were many great view points, and cool stone work that decorated the side of the hill. We walked through narrow cobblestone streets lined with old houses and buildings, and finally hit the base of the hill, where the heart of vieux Lyon was located. There were little shops and cafes everywhere, as well as beautiful, old, stone buildings. While walking through the streets, our guide pointed out various types of architecture, and explained a brief background on what they signified in the medieval time period. One that I thought was particularly interesting was the octagonal-shaped towers attached to the side of certain houses. He said that the octagonal shape was a flashy way the upper class showed their wealth to society. During medieval times, the towers held stairs used by servants. Poor citizens did not have stairs in their homes, as they didn't have servants, nor the money to pay for multi-floored homes. Along with looking at architecture, we also walked through many passageways called traboules. Traboules were first implemented to help bring supplies to stores and businesses from ships docked in the Rhône faster. This was because since buildings and streets are parallel to the river, the trip to stores in the center of the city very long as you would have to walk to the end of a row of buildings. Now citizens use traboules to get around the city easier. We concluded our visit by the metro station, and headed back to CSI to meet our parteners. 

-Hannah Posencheg 

The Picasso Museum

On Friday (March 18th) our group visited the Museum dedicated to Pablo Picasso, located in Le Marais, which is known as the cities Jewish and gay neighborhood. We were shown the museum by a guide, who started off with Piccassos work on sculptures and metal work. Many of Piccassos work with clay and stone sculptures were depictions of women. As was his style, their body parts and extremities were often exaggerated, particularly the nose. This style was also carried into his painting. His metal sculptures often depicted humanoid forms, put together from an assembly of metal rods and plates. One example being the goat head, a metal sculpture depicting a goat skull, which Picasso later translated into a painting.

Heading into the upper levels of the Museum, we were shown some of Picassos paintwork and drawings. These were drawings that were often angular and exaggerated like his sculptures, particularly in the nose. They were often paintings of people or animals, just like his sculptures were portraits of specific subjects. He also made use of a wide variety of vivid colors in his paintings, a number of which zere not only used to express his internal emotions and the subjects, but comment on current events of the time.

by Zak and Erlend

Les Halles de Lyon and Food with our French Families

 Les Halles de Lyon
On Saturday I spent the day in the center of Lyon at Les Halles de Lyon (The Paul Bocuse Market). Similar to Reading Terminal, Les Halles de Lyon is a indoor food market with both small restaurant like stalls as well as Fromageries, Patisseries, Boulangeries, Charcuteries, and a variety of other stalls. After seeing the entire market my host family decided to get oysters, but my correspondant, Guillaume, thought I should try more classic French cuisine while at the market. We decided to try cuisses de grenouilles (frog legs). Although intimidating at first, after trying them I quickly consumed the whole plate. The cuisses de grenouilles were breaded and pan-fried in olive oil, garlic and parsley. In the U.S. I always heard that frogs leg tasted just like chicken, but I think they taste more like a meaty whitefish. Whether they taste like a whitefish or chicken, cuisses de grenouilles were one of the best things I have eaten in France. Les Halles de Lyon is the food center of Lyon, the food captital of France, making it any foodies dream.

Dinner with our French Family
Each dinner I eat at my host family's house consists of seven, yes seven, courses. We start with bread, butter, and water. After that, we move to the main course which consists of a protein, a vegetable, and a starch. Some of the main courses are sausage Lyonnais, steamed radishes, with spiced rice, or roasted chicken with lyonnaise carrots, and potatoes. After the main course, we have cheese: from classics like camembert to sticky cheeses such as Epoisses, or Rhône-Alpes specialties like D'affinois. The cheeses are always fantastic. After the cheese, we have yogurt, flan, and mousse. For our fifth course, we have a prepared dessert like apple tart or malgache a Madagascan banana cake. After dessert, we have fruit, and last but not least, coffee and tea. The meals are massive, and I have slowly learned how to pace myself in order to try everything.

-Alex and Max

L'Institut Lumière

The Institut Lumière

On Tuesday of our second week in Lyon, our group visited the Institut Lumière. The Institute Lumière was originally the home of Lumiere brothers, two men involved in cinema and filmography. The house was described to us as a “Library for movies” as there were many films that are stored in the house, as well as movie making equipment that was used back in the 1980’s. We found it interesting to see the original versions of equipment such as cameras, lights, film strips and flip books that showed what the process making films was like at that time.

We saw a large model of a factory dedicated to filmmaking in front of the house that was also very fascinating. This was when we learned about how black and white film was turned into color by using a certain type of potato powder!

We really enjoyed our experience at the Institut Lumière, and we are glad that we learned so much about the origin of filmmaking. It is so great to see places that promote the preservation of all aspects of French cinema.

By Sonya and Rishi

Intouchables

    The French kids organized a movie night for all of us with lots of homemade food and the french movie Intouchables or Untouchables in English. The movie was based on a true story about a lower class man who gets a job working for a rich tetraplegic and forms an extraordinary bond with him. Everyone loved the movie and thought it was really funny. The movie was in French but we watched it with english subtitles. Before the movie, we all just hung out in the movie room and ate lots of baked goods and drank lots of soda. It was a lot of fun to be with the whole group and just have a night where we could all hang out together.
-Chloe and Julia