The Dijon Diaries

Merci Maria

Merci Marie.

A festival of lights in Lyon, held annually when 4 million people flood to Lyon to what the beautiful light shows candle ceremonies and festivities in celebration of the time when they prayed to Mary and she removed the plague... or something. 

I have to say getting to Lyon has not ever been simply. This time it was not me who caused it but Antonia, who on her way to the train station got a flat time flipped her bike, lost it's chain and had to abandon it and then run 20 mins to get on just before departure  covered in grease, sweat and tears!

But anyways off we went to see the lights! Juliette being our guide found us on the train, me and Aaron napping on each other, and proceeded to take us about. we went for an early lunch, that had no vegetarian option (not good when travelling with multiple vegetarians!) we went off. The day included extreme cases of Vertigo- which the lovely Bastian helped me through. Fighting old people in crowds and many a coffee.

Tbh the day was spent generally in search of places to pee and in attempts to escape the crowds. which made it hard to enjoy, but Juliette was an amazing guide waking a head of us with a union jack umbrella, however by 8pm we were exhausted, cold and hungry and after catching a quick MaccyD's and Kebab we headed to the train station 2 hrs early.

Satu and Toni went in search of Tarte Noir and we lost them for an hour by the time they returned, having failed what would be the first Tarte Noir mission of many, but gaining two free hot chocolates from a strange French man they were at a level of hyperness that had most people suspecting that the hot chocolates had been spiked!

Silliness of an amazing level ensued  including me telling Bastian we were now married, Toni convincing me she's missed the train and the start of Life metaphors (of which Laura is given the job of compiling into book) 

This week I had to brave what I had been avoiding till now, a workshop on my own without any of my English speaking companions, namely Aaron a.k.a the translator extraordinaire! We arrived back from Lyon at 1 am on Monday morning and I was in studio at 9 am staying till 7. I was very proud of my dedication but not of my mental break down. Thank god for Toni who let me cry on her and bought be a lighting up Disney princess case full of love hearts. I wont right down why I had a break down, no need to remember really as it was silly, but the point is I cam back and stuck with it. Spent the entire week 9-7 or 8 in studio creating an animation and then exhibiting that Thursday. By the second day the work shop was amazing, the studio was buzzing with productivity, I got to spend time with my favorite German and managed to create something I was proud off. And to be fair after seeing Satu and Toni's stress in Seriography I realized my workshop was a breeze! 

Inspired by William Kentridge's 'Tide Table'

Lured in by an apple for her eye,

That Filly was Trapped...

and left to die*

On Friday morning we packed our bags for a lunchtime train to Lyon! After a shaky start involving ticket collection, Australian credit cards and Rach's memory... we all managed to make it to the city, even if we did arrive at different times! Once we had gathered oursleves we walked through town along the beautiful river and found our hostel. The central part of Lyon is on an island with old Lyon on one side. Our hostel was on the other side of the river, in what I can only describe as Kebab district?! It was within good walking distance from the city though. 

Three Jamaican's in Dijon and Beaune ( we didn't half stand out!)

Whilst in Dijon we seem to have developed a love for long coach journeys to see art in different parts of France. Don't ask me why after spending 7hrs getting to Nancy to be exhausted and dragged around the galleries, did we decide that Paris would be a good idea. Maybe it was because we only paid 10 euros? or maybe we are just that dedicated to art :) well we went and can you believe it, spent EVEN LONGER travelling- left at 6.30 am got home at 12.00 am (the driver decided that he needed a 45 minute break on the way home which did not help!) well we went to the Edward Hooper exhibition and visited the Centre Pompidou.

 Paris was less beautiful than I remembered it being 3 years ago when I was just out of high school, but the art was amazing and the company first class. We had dinner in an Italian restaurant, which involved an awkward pass the parcel with Laura's camera to get a photograph of three of us in different mixes...