Tag: Lyon

Falling in Love with Lyon

May 28

Dear Liza,

I’m no spring chicken anymore, and I thought Summer romances were a thing of the past. But Lyon has pulled me in.

It didn’t happen all at once. There were jet-lagged misunderstandings, missed clues, and disappointments.

But once we got better at listening to each other, Lyon began to charm me.

“Do you like parks?” She asked. “Come see the Parc de la Tête d’Or. Come on May Day, when everyone is celebrating and out with their families.” So I did, and saw Lyon at play. Scooters, soccer balls, roller blades, bikes. Dads lifting toddlers up to touch tree leaves, Moms in earnest conversation with infants, brothers teaching brothers how to do wheelies.

Lakes, a zoo, cafes, wide open spaces, intimate woodsy grottos, two tiny trains, boats and cars for kids to drive, free range deer … It all just made me swoon.

“Do you like art?” She whispered. “Come to the Musée des Beaux Arts, or walk up to the Croix-Rouge neighborhood to see the giant murals. Stand and feel the power of Bertholdi’s fountain in the Place Terreaux, and enjoy the graffiti at the skate parks along the rivers.”

“Are you nervous about being new at French?” She asked, and showed me historical plaques in English and French, to help me learn. I met shop people who added their broken English to my broken French to make a whole conversation. I found that a nod, a smile and a “Bonjour” could make an elderly lady smile at the Parc. And I found I could give directions to someone even more clueless than me.

“Do you like food?” She asked, knowing the answer before I spoke, as my eyes gazed through every patisserie window. “Come to the markets on Wednesday and Saturday, and let Evie pick you out some strawberries that burst in your mouth. Come to Halles de Paul Bocuse and feast on the terrines, cheeses, and sausages. Come to Le Coq en Pâte and have the perfect two-hour lunch.”

“Do you like really good public transit?” She asked, taking a chance on a very non-romantic subject. “Explore the city, even the suburbs, on the Metro, trams, and funiculars. Do some honest walking and fall in love with your quads again.”

And I am hooked. Oh, I know she’s not perfect, what city is? Her streets get fouled by everyone’s dogs, her narrow streets can become sound-canyons when motorcycles or trucks rumble through. And way, way too many people smoke.

But, seriously, Lyon is wonderful. We leave tomorrow, but if she’ll wait for me, I promise I’ll be back.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Another Caffeinated Adventure

May 25

Dear Liza,

The other day, Bridgett and I set out on a simple quest. I wanted a new Journal to use when the one I am using fills up, which will be in a week or so.

Being a diligent art supply shopper, Bridgett had done the research and knew the closest shop to try. We walked across the Rhône just past the Lyon Opera House, to Géant. There we found an 8.5 by 11 inch, spiral bound, multi-media quality journal that will hold my next batch of memories, clippings, and art doodlings.

By then, it was after 10 a.m., and we needed snacks. Loutsa Coffee was just a few blocks away by the Saône, and they had carrot cake and espresso for me and blackberry cheesecake and café crème for Bridgett.

We decided NOT to have a big adventure that day, just a small walk across the Saône to St. Paul’s, the only church in the Old Town that we hadn’t been into yet. We wound through the medieval streets and found it, set low, where ‘ground level’ was in the year 549, when it was built. Yes, that three digit number is a year.

It is showing its age, but is mostly in good repair. It wasn’t open when we were there, but Mass schedules were posted, so it is still in use. The history here goes very deep.

We were disappointed at not getting to see the inside, but knew there would be other things to see. We figured we would walk to the next bridge, cross back over, and head for home.

That didn’t happen.

Because we looked up. Straight above us, built into the bedrock of the butte that forms The Hill that Prays, were Roman arches, bridges and walls.

“We’ve got to go up there!” I’m sure the caffeine and sugar from our yummy snack affected our judgement, but all that history was RIGHT THERE!

Of course there were stairs, and I stopped every now and then to breathe and to greet the running fanatics who were doing laps up and down. The shade and modern handrails set into the Roman wall were a godsend.

We kept seeing ancient walls and arches, either used as foundations, or quietly left in the undergrowth. For a modern-day kid from Southern California, this was special.

When we got to the top, we were pretty close to the place we had NOT been heading to, the Loyasse Cemetery. This wonderful old necropolis, kept secret by its inconvenient location and its ban on photography (I took this picture from outside the wall) was as lovely as the Père La Chaisse in Paris, and lot less messy and crowded. We spent an hour wandering in the perfect silence of the hilltop.

As usually happens at this point in an adventure, having reached the top, we realized how hungry we were and needed to head toward sustenance.

We followed staircases heading straight down and tiny roads that wound between steep walls.

We stopped at a tiny grocery for cheese, fruit, and an emergency back-up Snickers bar, and ate on a bench by the road, feeling pretty good about our adventure. Further down, we nearly tripped over another chunk of Rome, five burial monuments erected around 27 A.D.

Romans, all over the place! Leaving giant carved bits of their lives and culture. Amazing.

When we got home, Bridgett’s AppleWatch said we had walked 7.59 miles and gone up 27 flights of stairs. So far, that’s a record. Tomorrow, we rest a bit.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Jazz in Lyon

May 27

Dear Liza,

Your Grandpa Nelson is the best Idea Guy. And the other day, he came up with another doozy. Specifically, “How would you feel about going out to hear some Jazz?”

“Yes, please!”

“The Hot Club de Leon is just over on the Presqu’ile, if you like.”

There were logistics, of course. The show we wanted to see, the Jam Swing, was free, but only to people with l’adhésion annuelle. That means an Annual Pass. Could we get an Annual Pass? How much were they?

As we boarded the metro for the few stops to the right neighborhood, we practiced. “Bonsoir, madam. Nous voudrions une l’adhésion annuelle, mais nous habitons en les États Unis. C’est possible?”

When we felt ready, we headed into the still-empty hallway, down the ancient stone stairs and around several sharp turns to the Hot Club de Leon. Since we were way early, there was time to explain ourselves, and the folks were very accommodating to our broken French. We were pleased with the answer, “Bien sûr,” and the price. Six euros a piece for an evening of live jazz.

We got drinks and found some padded spots on the stair-step seating, next to wall because leaning is nice for older backs. We enjoyed people-watching as the musicians came in and got set up. Folks came in and greeted friends (some with two kisses, some with three).

When the music started and the crowd grew, the tiny dance floor became a standing room only crowd floor. Our view of the stage almost disappeared, but the music was so amazing we didn’t care. The joy of hearing really good musicians weave their jazz magic with saxophone, guitar, drums and stand up bass had us bouncing in our seats.

Young folks danced and bounced as well, clearly loving these old jazz standards that were written before their grandparents were born.

As the evening went along, regulars were called up from the crowd to join the Jam. Some came up joyfully, but one young man was so nervous he had trouble getting started! But once he heard the applause, he was confident and ran the set.

When our backs were tired and our ears were full, we headed up the stairs and walked back home through the streets of Lyon.

The lights on the river were magical, reminding us of all the beauty we have seen here.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Filling up My Travel Journal

May 25

Dear Liza,

When I travel, I walk miles every day and take way too many photographs. And since I know I won’t remember everything, I write and draw and collage into my travel journal. Here is the page that shows our train ride journey from Charles de Gaul Airport to Lyon.

I try to write with accuracy about where we go and what we see, and how I feel about it. But my art …. Is somewhat less accurate.

And that’s okay! Sometimes I work from my photos, trying to make things look just right…

.

And sometimes it’s more of an impressionist collage sort of thing, like this page filled with coffee bags.

And MAPS!! I love maps, and they help me make sense of what I saw and where I was. Our long hike up the Croix-Rousse neighborhood ended up looking like a board game.

And then I feel the need to sketch some more. It’s my book, after all, isn’t it?

The problem (is it a problem? Or an opportunity?) is that my Journal is filling up fast. I will need another in a week or so. Do I get the same size? This one is 8.5 by 11 inches, and I like having the big pages to play with. Since I don’t carry it with me, it’s not really cumbersome.

I’m sure Bridgett will help me find an art store that will help me solve my dilemma.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Seeing the Lumière(s)

May 22

Dear Liza,

We have been in Lyon almost a month now, and finally did the last thing on our “Must See” list. I am so glad we did!

Most folks who are interested in movies have heard of Louis and Auguste Lumière, the brothers who actually invented moving pictures. They were born and raised, and made their fortunes, right here in Lyon, and we got to visit their house.

Besides displaying the turn of the century opulence and style of the family, the museum put the brothers’ work in context with other related inventions by Kodak, Eastman and Disney. Did you know that August Lumière actually met Walt Disney? Walt thanked Monsieur Lumière for his work, which had made Walt’s work and fortune possible.

There were old zoetropes and other pre-movie attempts at showing movement, and even the very first cinematograph, or movie projector.

There were also snippets of the 1,000 short films made in the first ten years of the movie era, all of which were made by the Lumière company.

They sent camera crews all over the world to film the Sphinx in Egypt and Sumo wrestlers in Japan, as well as simpler scenes of children at the park or men playing cards.

The Lumière brothers’ work in the science of film and radiography, color printing and entertainment, were an example of how training, hard work, and an understanding of popular culture can change the world.

Another day well spent in Lyon!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Back up the Hill that Prays Part 2

May 21

Dear Liza,

After a life-saving snack of cake and coffee at the Café Bacatá , Bridgett and I headed back to the museum, while Grandpa Nelson headed back towards home.

As with every museum in Lyon, the Museum of Marionette Arts was more than I imagined. It covered centuries of puppetry from all over the world, and how people have created marionettes from almost any material.

Wood, bone, cloth, clay, papier-mâché and even plastic bags can become animated characters, given a proper puppeteer.

The displays were delightfully thorough and creative.

We enjoyed old TV footage of a very French take on The Muppets (political satire, but my French isn’t good enough to know exactly about what).

After the museum, we headed off to see more of the Old Town. Some lovely old churches were closed, so we decided to head back UP the hill and find the Roman baths that we had overlooked on our visit to the Roman Theater.

So we went up, up lanes and up stairways, ramps, and alleys. Fortunately, a light drizzle started and kept us cooled off. See that red tower in the top of the picture? When we got to that building, we were almost there.

And after covering the same block five times, we found them, tucked behind apartment blocks with tiny “Propertie Privé” signs. Les Thermes Antiques, where Romans in the early 100s AD came to soak and socialize. A bit the worse for 2000 years of wear and tear, but amazing, anyway.

And, having come, seen, and photographed, we headed back down the hill.

All the streets and stairs were friendlier going down, and in no time we were at the Rhône, skipping on the fun promenades and crossing bridges dedicated to famous Ecumenical philosophers.

The last 46 steps of any journey are the hardest, the steps up to our apartment from street level. But what a day! History, puppetry, physical challenges, cake, espresso, a little rain, and a lot of fun.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Back Up the Hill That Prays Part 1

May 19

Dear Liza,

Lyon keeps surprising me! The other day we intended to have a simple museum visit and ended up climbing twenty flights of stairs! And right back up the Hill That Prays.

Let me start from the beginning.

The Musée de la Histoire de Lyon is housed in a Renaissance-era mansion in Old Town called the Gadagne. This museum is not on the hill, but on the flat by the River Saône.

The museum is spread over five floors of the mansion, with wonderful exhibits that tell the story of Lyon from pre-history to recent years.

There were, to put it mildly, STAIRS. These Renaissance standard, stone-carved spiral things went up and up… when I finally stopped to take this picture, we were on the next to the top floor.

The graphic at the top shows all the spiral stairs, but they look cuter than they feel.

But the exhibits are top notch, with sophisticated projections showing how the rivers Rhône and Saône caused the city to develop as it did over the millennia.

There was also an extensive history of the silk manufacture and lives of the workers.

This history of silk workers rights continued into the WWII era, with worker’s and women’s rights campaigns. It was fascinating to see what I think of as current events played out in a history museum.

By the time we had reached the current day, we needed some sustenance. We took the elevator down (whew!) and met Grandpa Nelson at a nearby café.

More on that, and the continuing adventure, tomorrow!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Day and Night in Lyon

May 17

Dear Liza,

We have been so active during the day here in Lyon that we are worn out by evening, and make an early night of it. But this past weekend was the European Night of the Museums, and every museum was open, free, from 6:30 until 10:30.

You know we had to get some of that!

But first, it was a pretty, sunny day, and a walk was called for. Auntie Bridgett and I wanted a short stretch of the legs before resting up for the long evening, so we explored some new corners of Parc de la Tête d’Or.

This small, humid greenhouse had incredible jungle growth.

Huge leaves, bright blooms and bizarre shapes were hanging and sprouting all over! it was amazing.

Once evening came, we took the A line metro to Place Bellecour and walked to a place Grandpa Nelson had seen, Café Française.

It looked nice, but their terrace was crowded, smoky, and we sat for 30 minutes without seeing a waiter. We like leisurely French service, but this was ridiculous.

So we headed a few streets off the main drag and found Aperothéque, with fewer people, a cool interior, and waiters who acknowledged our presence. Their food was good, too.

And finally, to the main attraction! We started with the Museum of Printing, which was full but pleasantly orderly. Housed in a Renaissance mansion that used to be Lyon’s City Hall, the museum tracks developments in printing from carved wood blocks to moveable type and its effect on religious reform, to multi-colored computer printing. It was reading-intensive, but well done and fascinating.

We were feeling a bit foot sore, but a delightful walk through bustling pedestrian streets got us to the Fine Arts Museum.

I didn’t take many pictures inside the Museum, because there were so many people coming and going so quickly, I felt like I just needed to hold on! Here is a lovely marble bust of August Rodin, looking as concerned about the crush as I was! We didn’t stay long.

Once we found peace and space outside in the Place Terreaux, we saw our first sunset in Lyon and made our way back across the bridge and home.

This is a wonderful city, day and night!

Love,

Grandma Judy

More Tête d’Or

May 16

Dear Liza,

One of the best things about having a long stay in a wonderful city like Lyon is that you can visit your favorite places more than once.

We have been back to the Parc de la Tête d’Or four times, and keep finding new things! Miniature golf. Free Range deer. Climby ropey things.

And today, we found the Buvette de l’Observitoire, where they serve all sorts of lunches, desserts, and drinks. Auntie Bridgett and I shared a ricotta chou sucré, where ricotta cheese and pistachio cream are blended together and put inside a sweet bun. SO good! I also enjoyed a cider and Grandpa Nelson had some rosé.

We also found several new ways to get lost on the way to the Orangerie, discovering a bunch of peony beds that are blooming like crazy.

There was also some crazy turtle convention going on in one of the ponds.

By the time we got home, we had walked more than five miles…. And we do this A LOT. We could walk the park every day all summer and see something different every day.

117 hectares is a lot of park!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Finding the Families at Lyon’s Gallo-Roman Muséum

May 14

Dear Liza,

Once they got settled in, the Roman Empire was in Lyon for a long time. For 368 years, from 43 AD to 411 AD, the Roman Empire built and ran Lyon, which was then called Lugdunum.

It’s no wonder, when the Empire fell and the Roman army left, that a lot of stuff was left laying around.

Great piles of that stuff has been collected by folks who came later, from Medieval farmers to modern archeologists, and put into this wonderful, modern Musée at Lyon.

The museum itself is a wonder. Built right into the back wall of the cliff that houses the amphitheater, it spirals down, leaving only the entrance and a few windows to give it away. Artifacts are arranged by era and type, so we can see the progression in ceramics, jewelry making, and glass work.

We get to see the variety of religious articles, from tiny pocket divinities to greater than life sized statues that Romans looked to for comfort and protection.

And the floors. I told you there would be floors, didn’t I? Many of the houses of Lyon, once they were properly excavated, were found to have these magnificent mosaic floors.

I actually got emotional, sitting right there, touching a floor that Roman moms played with their babies on, that dogs ran across, that people hugged and cried and celebrated on. These weren’t characters in a stone fresco. They were humans, making their way through life.

We kept spiraling our way down, learning about how people moved around the Empire, from Turkey and Spain, Germany and Iraq, to make the Empire diverse and powerful.

And when we reached the end, we were at the bottom of the Amphitheater, and just walked across the stage and down the road into town. From the ancient everyday world to the modern everyday world.

Amazing.

Love,

Grandma Judy