Travel Diary Pt. 1

It's a jour férié in France today (that's a bank holiday to you lot), past lunch time, and I'm still in my pj's taking it easy after a weekend of farewell/ birthday parties including Friday nights fancy dress flat party we hosted (see Instagram for excellent costume) so I thought I best do something productive to warrant this kind of behaviour. 

Being as Erasmus student doesn't require an obscene amount of effort (don't tell anyone I said that, but let's be honest), so it's safe to say that I have had plenty of free time to explore a bit this year and thanks to extremely cheap state-funded transport in France it's very easy and cheap enough to do so.

For anyone going to do a study abroad or Erasmus year; DO IT! And make the most of every second, don't ever look back. My amazing year in Lyon is almost at an end now and I will cry like a baby when I leave, it's been the most rewarding experience and I've met some of the most beautiful people.

I've been to travelled to some great cities and discovered a lot of new places. I don't want to bore you with reals of photos or a long, detailed itinerary of each trip and city so here are just a few of my favourite moments.

Half term interrailing.

It's something I've dreamed about doing for a long time and this year I finally managed to find the time and money to travel through some of Europe by train. We only had a week so had to stick reasonably close to Lyon to make it back in time. We went to Zurich, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Geneva.

Train views through the Swiss Alps.

Boat trip round Zurich lake.

Zurich was beautiful, we only had one night there, it was more of a layover between Lyon and Munich. We hopped on a boat trip that took us round the lake, which was amazing. I've developed a fascination with mountains since moving here so this was a real treat for me. We also saw the lindt factory (chocolate being another love of mine), but unfortunately didn't have time to stop in before we had to catch the train to Munich.

Scenic autumn views at the Englischer Garten, Munich.

Marienplatz, Munich.

Kind of Guise shop, Munich.

Munich is a really cool city. Plenty of streets tucked away lined with trendy shops, filled with even trendier people. We ate some great food in Munich, finding vegetarian places proved very easy here so we made the most of that. And of course I couldn't resist a trip to see where A Kind of Guise originally started- the shop is just as beautiful and carefully curated as their clothes.

Leopold Museum, Vienna.

The big wheel at Wiener Riesenrad, Vienna.

Grey day at the Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna.

Although we only had one night in Vienna, we timed our trains so we had nearly 2 full days to explore. The weather wasn't particularly sunny (see above photo), but we managed to dodge the rain and see most of the city. The Leopold Museum was a personal favourite here!

Széchenyi thermal baths, Budapest.

View from Citadella, Budapest.

Szimpla Kert ruin bar, Budapest.

Chain bridge, Budapest.

Great Market Hall, Budapest.

We spent the most time in Budapest, mainly because it was the cheapest place overall. We ate and drank like kings; we found a greek restaurant serving the most AMAZING veggie food and finally satisfied all our halloumi cravings. The city was beautiful, the strenuous climb up to Citadella at night recommended by some fellow travellers we met was certainly worth it. And although my friend dropped her phone in a sink during a bar crawl with said fellow travellers and we lost most of our photos and videos we still had an amazing time here; a definite must for all young travellers, and older in fact (my parents are actually going this weekend)!

Cheese fondue and a glass of red at Buvette Bains de Pâquis, Geneva.

Lake Geneva.

Geneva is a mere 2 hour bus trip from Lyon and being that we weren't allowed to use our interrail tickets in our country of residence, (make sure you check this out before planning everything unlike us!) we made Geneva our last stop on the list so we could pick up the cheap Flixbus from there back to Lyon. Although Switzerland was a bit (waaaaaay) out of our budget, and we missed the famous Jet d'Eau (water jets in the lake basically), it was a beautifully sunny and surprisingly warm couple of days in Geneva so we made the most of it by eating fondue outside at night under fairy lights, lake side with fire pits for extra warmth and chilling by the harbour during the day.

Interrailing was truly the best "holiday" ever, we had a blast and I would totally recommend it to anyone looking to travel. European transport is much classier and comfier than our UK trains and although it can get quite pricey depending where you go and how long you do it for, it was totally worth it and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat!

A beautiful day trip to Annecy.

We picked a perfect sunny day which meant we got to really enjoy the lake and surrounding views- a small piece of heaven.

Lac D'Annecy

Such a beautiful place for a quick escape from the city. The weather certainly did us a favour, we sat by the lake reading and chilling- an ideal summers day. 

Beautiful coloured buildings line the waterside

Wandering through the market that ran down the picturesque narrow streets followed by a spot of lunch and the obligatory holiday mid-day glass of wine by the water in the sunshine.

Pont des Amours

Lake side with a view

Walking down from the castle

Birthday weekend in Paris.

For my 22nd (ouch) birthday, a friend bought us tickets to go see Basement and Tigers Jaw in Paris (if you don't know who they are already, go give them a listen!), so we seized the opportunity to spend a few days in the beautiful capital.

Obligatory Arc de Triomphe photo.

View from said Arc.

Night time at the Louvre.

Big wheel at the end of the Champs Élysées.

 We picked the perfect dates to go to Paris as it fell on Fashion Week, so we took great pleasure in sifting through the crowds of celebs and models- obviously sticking out like two sore thumbs but one can dream right?! Paris is a lot more expensive than Lyon and although I have visited a few times before I definitely enjoyed it more this time!

Skiing in Val Thorens.

As a first-time skier, I was truly amazed by the views up there; hence my new fascination with mountains! We booked a weekend ski trip with an agency as it was the easiest and cheapest thing to do and it all worked out perfectly.

Lunch with a view

All the gear and literally no idea.

Cable cars making their way down.

Horrible quality photo (phone issues) but great view and our first time up the mountain.

We went to Orelle- Val Thorens which in Les Trois Vallées and little did we know it is the highest resort in Europe i.e. not one for us beginners! But we managed with the help of our lovely instructor, Flo and took to the blue runs straight away- yikes!