Lyon Part III: The Videos

This last installment in the Lyon series is all about the sights and the sounds.  I took a few videos that are worth sharing for those who love viral video remakes, break dancing, and the movie Enchanted.  Please grab some popcorn and enjoy the show....

We couldn't help ourselves when we spotted this arc-en-ciel.

B-boys doing it right~  That little fella is something else.

Clear out of the way folks~that guys poppin' and lockin' is excellent.

Surprise concert featuring fun Disney songs in the small town of Perouge outside Lyon.  We suspect this was a high school band from somewhere in North America...

More to come on Perouge soon!

Lyon Part II: Our weekend with friends

Alas, we've arrived at the weekend summary.  We departed Friday afternoon and returned to Metz Monday evening with our friends and downstairs neighbors, the Reindls.  Thus there was plenty of time to get a little fun in each day.  Friday night Jonathan led us on a small tour through Place Bellecour, Vieux Lyon and some super secret traboules (or passageways), and a park by the basilica and monastery.  Every now and then, Jonathan would say, "Give me your camera," as to helpfully contribute to our collection of photos.  After a little exploration, we all returned to his apartment for a tasty dinner of salad, baby salmon quiches, something else I can't recall at the moment (not to say it wasn't tasty~Jonathan is a good cook!).  Michael and Lauren went to their hotel late in the night while Kyle and I crashed chez Jonathan (but not before washing dishes and playing some fun games).

One of the more famous traboules; it has a cute spiral staircase/spire.

We are taking some serious sun to the face in this nuns' garden.

The host (Jonathan) and Hamiltons capitalizing on the opportunity to have a stellar backdrop in a group photo.

The whole group enjoying a meal tous ensembles.

Saturday morning Jonathan, Kyle and I scurried up the hill to Croix Rousse to partake in a tour centered on this neighborhood and the silk weaving industry for which Lyon is so well known.  We made it in the nick of time to enjoy the tour, but we were unaware that we ought to have made reservations beforehand.  The tour guide was kind enough to let us give her money for the tickets and join along (I got the student deal~praise the Lord for these youthful looks!)  Along the way we saw the who, what, where, when, and whys of silk manufacturing.  Highly informative & beautiful neighborhoods....

At the top of the hill and the beginning of the tour~winded but ready to walk around Croix Rousse for 2 hours!

A beautiful view down towards the Rhone river.  Also pictured, the funny Japanese woman's hat, her friend, and our tour guide's hand.

Silk worker housing and workshops~once upon a time it was a noisy place with all that weaving.

Behold fancy silk screen printing in progress~soon these will be overpriced scarves for sale at the Office de Tourisme.

We met up with Lauren and Michael around lunchtime in Place Terreaux (where once can find a lovely fountain, Musee des Beaux Arts, and Hotel de Ville).  We wandered over to what appeared to be an abandoned market sauf qu'un homme (except for one man).  He had a lovely snacky restaurant going where we enjoyed toast, pesto, chevre, and saucisse as well as ICED beverages.  I didn't capture these magic frozen treasures in digital photography (or any of this meal really), but Lauren did.  You can find those gems in her facebook album here.

 Kyle and I are just chilling by the fountain in Place Terreaux before lunchtime.

At Musee des Beaux Arts, there is a lovely little garden tucked in the center of the grounds.

 This garden is where we found the Rodin sculpture called L'ombre ou Adam, but to me it was obvious he was doing that sweet Beyonce move from the Single Ladies music video.  Naturally, I had to join in the fun...

The men folk patiently waited in the sun while I tried to do the human zoom out (i.e. walk backwards into strangers, lampposts, and oncoming traffic).  Opera House picture fail...

After lunch, Jonathan split ways with us; Lauren, Michael, Kyle and I  took off towards parc  Tete d'Or.  Tete d'Or is the most wonderful park in the entire world~ there is a large lake where one can take out small boats, trails galore, tons of open space for picnics or soccer games, an area to see puppet shows daily, botanical gardens, a free zoo, a tiny choo choo for little ones to tour the park, a rose garden, plenty of stands to buy ice cream and cotton candy, and lots of carousels.  I'm not even exaggerating; it is simply the best park I've ever been to.  You'll have to see it for yourself someday. 

 Terribly picture, I know, but if you've ever been to Nancy, you should recognize those fancy gates.  They are supposedly created by the very same Jean Lamour who made Nancy's Place Stanislas so lovely.

 Kyle, Lauren, and Michael in the roseraies (rose garden)

 Every time I go to a zoo, I always take pictures of the animals.  Each time I do, I never ever ever go back to look at the photos... why I keep snapping shots of flamingos is beyond me.

 Same goes for the giraffes...

Flowers and ponds galore

 Our little group next headed to the shopping district by Place Bellecour to pass the time a bit before dinner.  I was on the hunt for some new, inexpensive sunglasses (my excellent pair from home broke irreparably in London and were thus trashed).  No luck there, but Kyle and I did manage to visit Starbucks for the second time of the trip at this point.  For the evening, we walked over to Vieux Lyon to enjoy some serious lyonnaise cuisine at an authentic bouchon.  This is not what one would consider haute cuisine, but they rose in popularity during the 1600s & 1700s.  The silk workers dined in the bouchon where they enjoyed meals centered around fatty meats.  Again, no pictures of the food we ate here, but you can find Lauren's pictures on facebook.  Perhaps it's better this way since what we ate was considerably quite gross (but delicious).  We all tried each others' plates~let me see if I can get this straight...

That's right, folks, I made a table... super dorky. ***Let it be noted here that Lauren did not have Tripe dumplings, but rather PIKE dumplings~big difference!  Too much trouble to redo the table...

That was about it for Saturday night.  We were all super tired after such a huge meal.  I'm going to save our Sunday activities for a whole different entry, so let's move on the Monday morning.  We started the day early to thank Jonathan for a lovely weekend before he was off to work.  We set out first to Starbucks to get a big cup of coffee, and then sight see before getting back on the road.  We had a few destinations on our list~Place des Jacobins, Celestins (Theatre de Lyon), the Rhone river banks where the city has put in recreational areas, the Theatres Romains, and one last visit to the basilica.  It was action packed and very delightful.

Farewell Louis XIV~it's been fun.

The fountain in Place des Jacobins was on a break~this is my favorite fountain in all of France.

Lovely theatre~wish I had the opportunity to see something here.

The Rhone river has a beautiful color.

One Roman theatre...

...two Roman theatres....

...and two Hamiltons!

Let me drop a little history on you~this impressive basilica was only built at the end of the 1800s.  It contains two sanctuaries; the upper one is very ornate, while the lower one is more modest.  It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary who is credited for having saved the city of Lyon two time~once from the plague in the 1600s and again from Prussia during the Franco-Prussian war.  Supposedly, it also represents the triumph of Christian values over those of socialism which were popular in the commune of Lyon in 1870.

Guess which sanctuary this one is!

It's a bit dimmer downstairs~fewer windows...

There you have it.  I have been writing this entry for hours and am relieved to finally have recorded all the details that Kyle and I'll probably want to look back on down the road.  You're a champ if you made it through this post.... promise the next one will be shorter!

Lyon Part I: Now & Then

Once upon a time, I was a young 20 year old who ventured out of the country for the first time on a summer study abroad to Lyon, France.  It's a large, beautiful city with lots of history and culture (but aren't all European cities, really?).  Lyon shaped my idea of living overseas and the French way of life.  It has literally been six years to the day since I returned from that adventure.  At the time I never dreamed I'd ever go back; it'd have been quite unimaginable to believe I'd actually live and work in France then, too, I suppose.  How was it going back?  Amazing... especially because since the summer of 2004, we have made some great friends (both from Lyon and the U.S.) to share the experience with.  It'd have been the icing on the cake to have Hien there (our lyonnais friend who lives in Marietta, GA).  Next time...

Alright, I'm going to share some brief highlights from my last trip that were excellent to revisit this time around.  In 2004, I lived with a lovely lady name Marie-France in a fancy apartment at 28 Place Bellecour.  If you know Lyon, you know this is the center of the city and the largest square of its kind in all of Europe.  Four days a week I strolled through the shopping district, over the Rhone river on a pedestrian bridge, and into a small school to take 3 French classes with the GT LBAT program.  We had a small class of 18 students~14 girls and 4 boys.  You are probably thinking: funny numbers for a Tech program, right?  Yes indeed but a nice break from the Atlanta campus (or the Lorraine campus for that matter...)

Then:  This was home for 6 weeks

Then: Only one more flight of stairs to my apartment on the 3rd (make that the American 4th) floor.

Then: This was my bedroom.  Apparently I forgot to pack sunscreen and a smile.  Yikes!

Now: I tried dropping in on Miss Marie-France.  Over the years, I lost contact with her.  She was out on this occasion... tant pis.  Those four locks on the door really made it difficult to leave and come home.

Then:  My view of Place Bellecour from one of the windows~on a college student budget, I got my money's worth.

Now:  I only get to view it as a mild mannered pedestrian.  The tourism department has exploded here~I like their catchy motto.

Then:  I passed fancy stores like these on my daily walk to school.

Now:  There are not 1, but 2 (that's right, 2!!!) Starbucks within walking distance of my old home.  Seriously, an American girl doesn't need no stinkin' Gucci~ we need affordable coffee in an unstuffy atmosphere.  By the way, I know I have no culture... and I'm not opposed to any Louis Vuitton gifts.

Then:  I crossed the Rhone on this sturdy bridge where a bum spent most of his days under that arch.

Now:  Happy to report that that bum is still there.  I doubt that he's homeless~he's always dressed so well.  Sneaky devil.  Anywho, I've always loved that this bridge leads to a quaint (for Europe) little church.

Now:  This is where my classes were held~it doesn't appear to be a school-type facility any longer.

Then:  I watched old men play petanque in this small garden by school.  Petanque is bocce ball, by the way.

Now:  Even the young folks are playing petanque.  The fountain is more beautiful than I remembered.

Then:  My class ate here everyday.  I'm pretty sure dolphin was never on the menu.

Now:  I have to settle for a picnic in the petanque park since Au Dauphin is nowhere to be found.  Store owners around hadn't even ever heard of it... crazy!

Then:  I hiked up the hill to Fourviere whenever the desire struck me (or my large butterfly...again, yikes!)

Now: It nearly killed me to have to do it two days in a row.  Forget your stair masters, kids.  Move to Fourviere or Croix Rousse.

Then: Le Crayon (read: The pencil building) was the only skyscraper on the map.

Now:  There are two!  You can hardly see it, but this is the only picture I have~it's right in between Kyle's hair and shoulder.

Then:  This was my favorite fresque in the whole city~sneaky cats!

Now:  This one is simply the best; it showcases all the well-known folks from Lyon.

Then: It was easy to sneak a free showing of Guignol in the parc Tete d'Or.

 Now:  You have to steal a peak behind the ever-so-clever curtain they hung.  This should have been done years ago...

T

Then:  Hotel de Ville was totally lugubre.

Now:  A little pressure wash and sunshine makes all the difference in the world!

This is not all I have to report on Lyon~I haven't even told you what we did (except for retrace all my old steps about town).  More to come in installment two of Lyon coming soon.  There may also be a third entry for some special videos... A bientot!