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
Dear Liza 