I took pictures of everything with my fisheye lens. The photos were all bubbles of people and roads, because I did not know the lens cover was two pieces - the cylinder and cap - until months later.

I could not find a hotel the first night, so I played soccer with kids from an orphanage infront of a police station. They swore a lot, I could tell, so I talked trash and tried to asnwer their questions. When they went home, I didn't know where to go. I slept on a bench in front of a police station with my chinese dictionary for a pillow, and rocketing up whenever a car drove near in case someone would mistake me for homeless and call the police. But maybe I was. At the time, it wasn't homelessness; at first, the world was my oyster.

I tried several ATMS, growing slowly more panicked with every fail until Societe General finally accepted my card. it was a huge relief. I'd exchanged currency at the airport at he start of the trip, but the $100 was only worth 60E at the time.

Lyon probably was the best place I could have started - beautiful and historic. I passed the Bridges to the famous churches on the River probably a dozen times. Lyon also had HI (Hostel International). Also, there were not so many people that the town felt slimy from the curious fingers of tourists.

For hours my feet wandered around the streets of Lyon, looking at stores, alley ways, steep and old staircases, tiny brick houses, and odd corners, taking pictures of shadows, walls, store fronts, and people.

I had three satchels the whole trip, for three months, stacked my shoulders heavily and roughly balanced.

written by  humancrashpad on August 4, 2012 from Lyon, France
from the travel blog: Where I've Climbed
tagged Climbing, RoadTrip and TiffanyHensley
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