Mom and Dads visit

Ok so this is way late going up but I have been pretty sick lately and didnt really feel like posting. But anyway mom and dad came to visit me two weeks ago now, wow it feels like they just left, and we had a great time. I found them an apartment in Vieux Lyon called chambre d'hote or host room. Usually its in somebody's home and you eat with them and can speak with them which is really cool if you know French, but since mom speaks absolutely no French and dad speaks minimal I thought that an apartment would be better. The apartment was in a traboule, which dad thought was amazing, and was built in the Middle Ages and the exterior was renovated in the Renaissance Period. It was pretty cool and inside it was IKEA-ed out so it was all new and modern in an old building with a stone spiral staircase to the rooms. I was pretty proud of the find and they really liked it, plus it was centrally located and awesome.
So they got in on Saturday night and we got to the hotel and chatted and then went to bed. Sunday morning we got up and went to the produce market on the banks of the Rhone to get all of our fruits and vegetables for the week. We also got some cheeses that I like which were a great hit as well, brie (of course) and compte which is a pretty strong cheese but smooth. No one wanted to get bleu cheese, my personal favorite so we skipped that. Sunday night we went to the Opera House to see a traveling symphony play music by Mozart which was great and then we went out to dinnner. All in all it was a good day and I would have to say a semi-romantic day seeing as how it was their anniversary, however, they did have their son tagging along so not all that romantic.
Monday we got up and I showed them Vieux Lyon, Fourviere (the big basilica on the hill) and the theatre gallo-roman or the Roman theatres. After that we went back to Vieux Lyon to have lunch and then ran into my friend Josephine who walked with us to Bellecour (one of the biggest courts in France) and right next to the shopping district. After that we got a drink in Place Terreaux and sat in the sun enjoying the beautiful day.
Tuesday we got up early and went to Marseilles for the day which was absolutely amazing. I had no idea what there was to do so we stopped by the tourism office and got a couple of maps and advice on what to do. First thing we did was take a ferry to Chateau D'If the island from the Compte de Monte Cristo and learned about the history of the island as well as the book and Alexandre Dumas' family. One really interesting fact about the book is that it wasnt written as a novel but as pamphlets to be printed in the newspaper, that way more people could enjoy it. It was also the first book translated into Chinese and was the first international best-seller. Anyway we also did a little walking tour of the city and saw some of the sites but we took our time stopping in stores and looking for cool streets. We also had a little break for ice cream and tea next to the old port which was great and then we headed off to the shopping district. That was pretty much the end of the day in Marseilles as we had to catch the train back to Lyon. But when we got back to the apartment we had some of my friends over for drinks and snacks before we went out for Saint Patrick's Day. Mom and dad stayed in the room while 'us kids' went out.
Wednesday I got up early because I thought I had class but was wrong because it had been cancelled. So mom and dad spent the day wandering around and found a store where the man was making silk tapestries, something Lyon is famous for, to which mom of course became a patron. I also found out that I got into Swansea University so it was a pretty good morning. That evening we went to my family's house to have dinner with them and some of their friends who spoke English. It was a great dinner and we had duck with cherries, rice, salad, cheese and then marquise au chocolat (dont know the translation for English) and some other coffee cake thing but neither had to be cooked and were served cold, it was all amazing.
Thursday we spent the day in Parc Tete D'Or which is a mix between a park and zoo which was great and a couple of friends came along for that as well. We also had a drink by the lake enjoying the afternoon sun. It was a great week to come because it was sunny and warm the entire time! And then we went back to the apartment and they packed and got everything ready to go.