Notre Dame is...

This morning I bought a map. I didn't look at it once the rest of the day (which is why I got lost) but it was still nice to know I had it if I needed it.

And as it turns out Notre Dame is pretty lame, but more on that later.

I walked all over the city today, passing monuments and statues and fountains.  And what I discovered is that the French have weird art, just like we do in America.

For example,

what is a guy with wings doing on roller skates?

I mean, who thought that that was a good idea and decided to memorialize it for future generations with a statue? 

"Yes, today I think I will build some metal wings and try to fly in them while roller skating."

...

Luckily, Lyon has plenty of cool buildings to balance things out.

Which brings me to Notre Dame.  Notre Dame was going to be my thing in Lyon, the place I would have all these memorable experiences.  Where I would go to do homework and people watch or eat some French bread.  But I rode the metro to Notre Dame on Saturday and what I saw wasn't all that great.  When I tried to walk to it today I had to go through sketchy streets and up a giant hill, but I still couldn't make it over to the church. 

However, at the bottom of Notre Dame is St. Jean's Cathedral.  Which is absolutely stunning.

And just down the road is St. George's Cathedral, which is smaller, but almost as wonderful.

Additionally, on my way home from Notre Dame I accidentally went the wrong way and instead of ending up at Parc de la Tête d'Or I ended up at my school.

C'était parfait.

Except then I had to walk back home, which was kind of embarrassing.  I mean, I had really gone the wrong direction - for a long time.

I finally did get home - and still have yet to open my map - when I saw this out of my window.

And I realized that even if Notre Dame is not what I thought it would be, it is still pretty amazing.

Also, I can see it without walking up a giant hill, so that's a win.