On Monday, November 3rd the students of Franklin Pierce University’s Vienna study abroad program made their way into OUR territory. Yep, that’s right! They came to see the lovely city of Lyon, which the girls and I are all so proud to call “home.”
In order to best take advantage of the unique opportunities that this presented, both the Vienna professor and Wendy Dwyer decided it would be a magnificent idea if the “Lyon Ladies” took the Vienna students on a tour. Before it began, Wendy informed us all that the tour didn’t have to be highly supplemented with historical content. Instead, she preferred that we truly showed our peers the aspects of the city that we loved and explain to them why they were so important or significant to us all. Therefore, we were able to take them on a very short, but highly packed tour. We started at the sculpture of Louis XIV in Place de Bellecour, pointed out the Notre-Dame de Fourvière Basilica as well as the Metallic tower of Fourvière, and, after walking down Rue de La Republique, we were able to point out Lyon’s Opera House, the Place des Terreaux, which features Bartholdi’s Fountain. Finally, we took them for a walk down the side of the Seine River and pointed out the boats, works of art, and recreational areas that Lyon boasts. Although we were happy to walk about, the Vienna students seemed more like Victims of our tour than willing guests. They were not very impressed with our city.
When the tour was complete, we were all informed that we would be dining together at a local restaurant in Vieux Lyon at 8:00PM that evening! Although we spent our late afternoons in our separate study abroad groups, having dinner together was a great idea! It was fun to catch up with friends, meet new people, and experience French food together. Plus, the Vienna Victims didn’t seem to be suffering as badly during this excursion. They were enjoying themselves, and they were great company.
Ultimately, even though the Vienna Victims didn’t seem that impressed with our lovely homestead, that doesn’t change our opinions about it! Lyon is our primary location, and we know it inside and out. We’re just as connected to it as they’re connected to Vienna, and therefore, it makes sense that they wouldn’t be able to appreciate it at the same level as us. Although I don’t know about any of the other girls, personally, I took no offense at their harsh opinions. Besides, Paris is still the number one city in my mind… and I think I’d probably take more offense to someone knocking Paris than I would to someone knocking Lyon any day.
Avec l'Amour,
G
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