On the weekends, the international students from CPE Lyon, plus a few others that live in the same residence that go to different schools, get together to cook or head out to Vieux Lyon for a few drinks. Unfortunately, none of the residences have common rooms, so we usually end up all cramming in to one person's room. Night life here is more laid-back than in Canada, with more of an emphasis on bars with a dance floor than clubs. Interestingly, Irish and Scottish pubs are very à la mode in Lyon, and one of the bars we’ve been to a few times is Australian-themed. Most places are found near l’Hôtel de Ville or in Vieux Lyon. Quite a different neighborhood than the 10th Avenue spots in Calgary. It’s always a bit of a shock when you leave and realise you’re walking through a medieval neighborhood! There are also many cafés all over the city, many of which feel more like a bar than a Starbucks and serve both alcohol and coffee.
Place des Terreaux. Hôtel de Ville is the building on the left.
Place Bellcour at night.
On the Pont Bonaparte over the Saone, with Vieux Lyon, Cathédrale St-Jean and la Fourvière in the background.
Bridge over the Saone.
The Rhône.
With Jan (Germany) and Steven (Belgium) in La Caverne, a really cool bar in the cellar of a Renaissance-era building in Vieux Lyon.
Opéra de Lyon.
Celebrating the "Beaujolais Nouveau" wine festival in residence with Marc and Néstor from Catalonia (Spain).
Outside the James Joyce Irish pub in Vieux Lyon.
International Students night at the Boston pub (yet another Irish bar), with Piotr (Poland).
In early December, we went to the Fouvière hill, which overlooks the whole city, for some Glühwein, or German mulled wine. It's generally sold from a large pot over a kerosene heater, and is made of red wine mixed with rum or vodka, cinnamon and other spices, and sometimes sliced apples or oranges. It tastes like Christmas cake and is especially nice on cold winter evenings like this one.
Enjoying our Glühwein in front of the Fourvière Basilica, with Camila (Brazil) and Julia (Germany).
Fouvière Basilica.
View of Lyon from the Fouvière Hill. You can see both the Saône and Rhône rivers, Place Bellecour, and Cathédrale St-Jean.
Girls night! On Fridays some of the CPE girls get together to cook and try out some locals wines. My favourite was when we made crêpe: ham and emmental for dinner and nutella for dessert.
With Julia (Germany), Elaine, Daiane and Camila (Brazil).
In late November some of us went to the annual CPE Gala, their equivalent of a graduation party. It's nice to have something to dress up for every once in a while!
With Stefan (Germany), Victor and Néstor (Catalonia, Spain).
In October I applied for the Jeunes-Ambassadeurs program, a cultural, industrial, economic and professional immersion program that gives you a closer look at life and industry in Lyon. The first meeting was in the beautiful Hôtel du Région.
Hôtel du Région.
Chambre de Commerce de Lyon, where we had our second meeting.
One aspect of the program is you get paired up with a “coach”, someone experienced in the industry of the region. Lyon is a major pharmaceutical research and industrial centre, and I was luckily paired up with a coach from one of the largest vaccine manufacturers in the world, Sanofi Pasteur. I’m really interested in pharmaceutical engineering, which is also a component of the biomedical engineering curriculum, so I’m really looking forward to learning more about this aspect of Lyon industry. I’ve signed up for a filed trip organised by the program to one of their factories in a few weeks – really looking forward to it!
The program is also great for meeting other students. There are meetings with all of the students about once a month where we learn a bit about Lyon culture and industry, with a cocktail reception afterwards.
At the Hôtel du Région with Marco (Germany), another CPE student.
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