After a full day of adventure, exploration, and happy hormones in Annecy, we were exhausted, but went out to explore anyway and got fresh crepes at a market in town.
Finally, we had dinner outside in the town square. Here's Brian enjoying some scrumptious bone marrow :|
We walked all around the grounds and were the only ones there! Of course, I saw a huge section of glorious color and made a beeline for the prettiest little garden area full of poppies!
Then, we drove to Lyon. We parked in the old town and walked up to the ancient Roman Amphitheater of Fourviere.
It began to rain so we made our way to the Basilica of Notre Dame of Fourviere. It was definitely the fanciest cathedral we visited on this trip.
We stopped for lunch until the rain let up a little. From there, we drove up to Dijon for the night. I'd rented an apartment on Airbnb right in the old town that was so cute. I was driving and found it really easily, but managed to get a parking ticket from the 1 1/2 minutes that we left the car unattended to make sure that we were at the right spot. From the outside, it seemed really plain and kind of seedy, but the host's instructions were spot on and once we got into the lock box to get the key to get into the building to get to tiny door at the end of the hall that opened up into a courtyard with a set of stairs in the far corner with another tiny door to the apartment, we were thrilled with it! It was a cozy little studio with everything we needed. After we settled in, we went out into Dijon's old town to explore.
We were having a tough time finding places to eat that were open, so ended up Googling "Ramen" as we usually do when wandering down a strange, foreign European city looking for something to eat. We ended up in this hole in the wall place that was literally a lovely Korean woman's apartment. She had her little kitchen in the back and we sat in what was basically her living room and she took our order and then made us dinner...it was kind of bizarre but we loved it and she was so excited to have us there. She spoke pretty good English despite being Korean and living in France. I always wonder about people's stories and how they ended up where they ended up. We paid and she gifted us a sampler of different Dijon mustards that we've since used in our salad dressings. I'll never forget that little spot.
We explored a little more and then made our way back to our little old apartment, took showers, washed some clothes, and slept like rocks. The next morning, we walked back into the town square for breakfast and then made our way up to Luxembourg. It was such a beautiful city packed with stunning architecture and was so lush and green with dramatic gorges and the new city overlooking the the old town. I so wish that our flights over hadn't been so messed up and we could have more time to explore. I'd love to make it back there someday.
My flight home was the next morning, but Brian's flight was that evening at about 6 pm, so we spent the day walking around Luxembourg and then he dropped me off at my motel for the night and took the rental car back to the airport for his flight home.
There were a series of tunnels and stairways through the old stone wall that we had to navigate to get up to the center of the old town. I loved that they still used the ancient infrastructure as part of the current way of life. One of the turrets had a spiral staircase inside with a particularly cool sticker that caught our eye :)
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Brian was especially astounded by the size of their dandelion greens |
It wasn't long before the clouds began to break up and the sun came out and it was just the most beautiful day.
The next day I had breakfast at the motel and then took the bus (public transportation is completely free and super user-friendly in Luxembourg) to the airport the next morning. The airport there is pretty tiny which was so nice because it didn't take long to get through and then I got to use the lounge while I waited to board. The flight was fine but I got super sick right at the very end and I did my usual 'fill 5 barf bags up with vomit". I'm starting to think that it's the pressure changing in the plane upon descent because the last few times it's just been right at the end. Anyway, we both landed on time in Phoenix and Brian's parents picked us up from the airport. Another amazing adventure on the books!
Since I started writing about this trip, I decided to book a solo adventure in the Dolomites next month and I'm so stinking excited. I think dealing with my foot issues that are just progressively getting worse has made me realize that I've got to get some of these experiences in before I'm no longer physically able to, and a BIG hiking trip is one of those experiences. I'm young and able and can afford it, so why not? Brian isn't able to join me (as of yet...who knows, maybe he'll change his mind) but I'm just going to go all out and go during peak season when it's warm and green and exactly as I want to remember it. We've been twice before in May and it's always been cold and snowy and rainy, so I'm just splurging a little and doing it right. Next up is a little weekend jaunt to Crested Butte, so I'll see you back here then <3