Lyon -- first hits

Although it's become somewhat asymmetric with expansion to the west (where the university is), the ideological center of Lyon is the presqu'ile, which, as you might guess, is very close to an island. It's formed by the Rhône and the Saône, and, while the two rivers meet to the south, they tail away from each other above, hence the "presqu'." There is a plethora of bridges over the two rivers, most collinear, so that you can walk straight across the presqu'ile, and in a multitude of different styles, from nice old-looking ones to an elegant bridge supported by a single structure at one end with steel cables extending from it at intervals all the way to the other side, to a frankly not very beautiful bridge that looks as though it were built in the 60's.

Speaking of being built in the 60's, my campus is absolutely hideous. Most American campuses have some relic of that inglorious era, but this one is like that in every direction. When I first saw it, the grass was extremely overgrown and weedy, which I assumed was French energy-saving style, but it turned out to just be a summer thing, so it looks a little bit better now, and less like an abandoned industrial estate. The only bright spot is the quiet, efficient, and altogether endearing tram, which runs to right in front of my building. A pleasing feature I haven't seen before is train tracks laid into grass, which is necessarily kept nicely shorn.

My temporary housing, which ends September 24th, is in Vieux Lyon. My house is of undetermined age, so we'll just say, really, really old. I believe that it predates indoor plumbing, judging from the placement and internal piping of the half bathrooms, and probably also electricity as well. My ceilings are very high, and formed by massive wooden beams. My windows are enormous, but, due to the dark wood and the crowded buildings, the house is dark nearly all the time. I technically have a roommate, but apparently he rented this place because he was divorcing his wife. Shortly afterwards, he reconciled with her, and so he doesn't use it at all. I wish them the best.

Public transit in Lyon is great, with 4 subway lines, some trams, and a slew of buses, all part of the same system. The city is also quite compact, so no two places are more than a half-hour bike ride apart. At least, no two places you would "want to go." It's interesting hearing people in Europe try to say things about non-whites -- they know they should be tactful, but somehow they don't know how. It's like the Simpsons -- "I don't want you stalking anyone, Homer!" "Don't worry Marge. I'm just going . . . outside . . . to stalk . . . Lenny and Carl." I'm offended on behalf of undetermined ethnicities living in undetermined neighborhoods.