1 June 2026 - Blog d'Harris Phifer

7h45: Today was Monday after the weekend. I woke up and started my normal morning routine at 7:45, hoping to be out of the door by 8:40. The majority of students attended classes with their correspondents from 8-9, but my correspondent, Maya, had a free period, so I got the chance to sleep in a bit. I had a simple breakfast consisting of a croissant, orange juice, and a pain au chocolat (see below) before I
walked with Maya to the train station.

My breakfast

9h15: We arrived at school and packed our lunches for the day. Our first stop was the Basilique de Fourvière, a historic, Roman Catholic basilica in Lyon. We took a tour of the massive structure, seeing the cathedral, several sculptures, and a wonderful view of Lyon from the rooftops.

The structure from the outside

A spiral staircase in the basilica

The cathedral (seen from above)

My brother and I outside the basilica

The view from the rooftop

My brother and I atop the basilica

12h00: After exploring the Basilique de Fourvière, we stopped for a pastry at a nearby bakery. During this time, we met up with a BCH alum who shared his experience on the Lyon exchange in 1974.

Us playing outside the bakery

The pastry/dessert I ordered

1h00: Shortly thereafter, we headed off for the Parc de la tete d’or. Here, we had our picnic lunch and explored the historic park in small groups.

The group picnic

A small river in the park

A view of the pond in the middle of the park

5h00: We returned to the school just before 5 o’clock. After checking out for the day we dispersed with our host students. I took the train back to Maya’s friend Isis’s house. Isis is Matt’s host student. There, we chilled out for a bit and went off to play some basketball. We met up with Andrew and his host student Jules, and went off to the courts.

9h00: Maya and I walked back from the courts and ate dinner at home. Maya’s mom made chicken, rice, french fries, and salad – it was delicious!

10h30: I went through my nightly routine and dozed off. What a day!

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