Tag: Travel

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

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

Up to The Hill That Prays Part 1

May 11

Dear Liza,

We headed up, finally, to visit a place we have seen every day we have been in Lyon.

The Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere stands on the top of the hill west of Lyon, and is visible from most of the city. But to get there, we took the A line Metro, then walked across a bridge, then took a funicular train almost straight up to the top of the hill.

Since the funicular is part of the transit system, we just used our regular bus cards!

It was easy to find the church… it’s huge! Also, there was a pretty steady stream of tourist buses and school groups heading in that direction.

Before we went inside, we walked around to the bell tower, which is on top of the chapel that was built here originally, in the late 1700s.

After a few years the sanctuary here became so popular, (having up to 12 masses a day to keep up) the diocese realized they needed a bigger church. The Basilica was finished in 1875, though it was designed to look much older.

The inside of the church is the most decorated, detailed, carved, painted and mosaic-ed place I have ever seen. As we sat on the wooden pews, hundreds more people filed in. Unfortunately, the buzz of the crowd, punctuated by the inevitable shrieks and giggles of school groups, made for a less-than-reverential experience.

We stepped out and walked around the courtyard, enjoying the views of the city from the overlook, and had lunch at the lovely cafe.

About this time Grandpa Nelson got worn out, and headed home. Auntie Bridgett and I decided to stick around for the second part of our adventure.

More about that tomorrow.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Romans in Lyon

May 8

Dear Liza,

One of the things that has fascinated me about Lyon is its history… ancient history. There is evidence of folks living and celebrating here as early as the Iron Age, and when the Roman Empire expanded into this area in 43 BC, they named it Lugdunum.

I have seen some Roman foundations at the Cluny Museum in Paris, which is built on a ancient Roman bath. Still, I wanted to see some actual, outside, “sitting around for more than 2,000 years” ruins.

In Lyon, the Romans their city built high above the Sâone River for defense and sanitation. To get to the Amphitheater of the Three Gauls, we crossed the Rhône, and up some narrow, steep lanes. Slowly, we gained altitude, every now and then catching a glimpse of the city spreading out below us.

On the final push to the hilltop, we found about sixty of them, all painted and pretty, and all going straight up. Oh, my aching quads!

And then, right in the middle of a neighborhood, there it was. The ruins, sitting out in the sun and rain since the year 19 A.D., were there. But they were fenced off. The ancient arena is being used for some city celebration later this month. It was cool, in a way, that those ancient stones being sat on by modern folks.

But I didn’t get to be one of them. Sigh. But history teaches us perspective, right? I know there are OTHER Roman ruins in town, and I know how to get there. An adventure for another day.

Of course, there were stairs going down, too…. But I don’t mind them so much.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Musée des Beaux-Arts

May 6

Dear Liza,

When we get to any city, of course we find the art museum. In France, these are called Les Musées des Beaux-Arts. So the other day, we set out for an arty adventure.

The Musée in Lyon is on the Presqu’île, the peninsula that is formed where the Rhône River and the Saône River both run south for a bit before converging. We crossed the Rhône on the Pont Morand and walked right into the middle of the city!

Le Musée is on a wide plaza called Le Place Terreaux, which also has the Hotel de Ville, or City Hall. The first thing that catches your eye is this magnificent, roaring, complicated fountain. Sculpted by August Bertholdi (who also did the Statue of Liberty), it shows France as a woman, riding a chariot pulled by four wild, energetic horses.

The horses represent the four great rivers of France, the Rhône, the Loire, Seine, and the Garrone, with France controlling them in a gushing, turbulent flood. We walked around and around, amazed at the details.

The building that houses the Musée is hundreds of years old and is as beautiful as the art inside. The first staircase is topped with statues that represent the Beatitudes ( “Blessed are they that …” verses from Luke in the New Testament), and were so interesting that it took us twenty minutes to get past them!

I won’t try and tell you about all the art, just let you know that their oldest item is from an early Egyptian dynasty thousands of years ago, and their newest is some crazy ceramics from the early 2000s.

Of course, I loved the paintings, but the variety of sculpture really knocked me out. This tall fairy like person, called Abandoned Psyche, was beautiful, sad and sweet.

This wind-swept figure is called Power of the Will and shows how we all feel sometimes, just standing as straight as we can in the winds of circumstances.

And on our way out, I found the one sculpture I would take home if I could. This slightly larger than life sized dog, resting sweetly, waiting for whatever adventure comes next. I can imagine he would be very satisfying to pet, after a long crazy day.

Because he’s a good dog.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Le Parc de la Tête d’Or

May 1

Dear Liza,

Once we had breakfast, we were ready for adventure. Grandpa Nelson had seen that the local zoo (you know he loves zoos) was at the parc just a few blocks north of us. The guidebook we had about Lyon didn’t mention it, but it looked interesting, so we wandered over.

On the way, we discovered lots of folks out selling these little bunches of flowers, called Muguettes de bois, for May Day. I bought one each for Grandpa and Bridgett, and we figured two tiny bouquets were enough to keep track of at a big park.

Since the First of May is a national holiday in France, lots and lots of people were heading to the park… families, toddlers on scoot bikes, small groups of friends… all carrying baskets, bags, even small take-away boxes from local restaurants, and blankets. I wondered what part of the park the picnic grounds were in.

It turns out, the whole park is a picnic area! It was different than in the States… no tables, barbecues, or stacked up cases of beer. No radios or other artificial music, just friends and families eating and relaxing together.

Every family on the move seemed to have a soccer ball they were slowly kicking along, scooters, or bikes. I loved how even with hundreds of people gathering, it was peaceful and quiet… less hollering parents or wailing children.

We walked through some greenhouses that protect exotic plants from Lyo ‘s cold winters, andSoon found the Zoo! Again, there were differences … the enclosures were greener, more overgrown, less tidy and raked. In other words, more like a natural habitat. Also, animals that are compatible were enclosed together. It was nice to see them hanging out!

We kept wandering and found the cafe at precisely the time I was getting hungry ( funny how that works). The cafe was right on the small lake, sheltered by Plane trees that have been here, doing just this job, for a hundred years or more.

There was also a goose who seemed to be posing for pictures on this set of steps! People would come by, their children would have a moment with the goose, and then they would part ways. It was wonderful.

Continuing through the park we saw Victorian greenhouses for the tropical plants, which varied in temperature from a bit sultry to absolutely sauna-like. We didn’t stay long, or we would have been poached!

And just about the time we were running out of energy, we had walked our way around the park and back to the entrance. Back through the neighborhood and to our apartment on Rue Cuvier.

Le Parc de la Tête d’Or is a jewel, and shame on the guidebook for leaving it out!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Lyon, at Long Last!

April 30

Dear Liza,

After an early flight from Portland to Seattle, a delayed flight from Seattle to Paris and a beautiful train ride south, we arrived in Sunny Lyon.

We spent our first night at the Hotel Edmund W., since our apartment wasn’t ready for us yet. This is a wonderfully old fashioned place, with an elevator just big enough for the three suitcases and Grandpa Nelson. Bridgett and I took the stairs. Good exercise!

After we settled in, Bridgett and I walked to the Rhône River, just about a mile away. We found a lovely garden with an old, classic fountain, celebrating the “people of Lyon“. Hard to argue with that. Cherubs and lions spitting spigots of water were all the rage a few hundred years ago.

We sat in the shade and enjoyed watching old guys playing pétanque, (a sort of bowling game) and folks walking by with kids, dogs, and bags of groceries. The People Show!

As so often happens, we managed to walk too far, always wanting to see ‘just one more thing”, and the heat almost got the better of us. A bottle of lemonade, then a cool bistro called “Les Bons Copains” for dinner, saved us. Delicious, life preserving cassoulet and croque monsieur !

That night, none of us slept well. Jet lag wanted us to awake at two in the morning, but exhaustion wanted us to sleep. Oy.

The next morning, once we all agreed we weren’t going to sleep anymore, we walked back toward the train station to Café Millet for pastries, coffee, and Fromage Blanche. This creamy stuff is a cross between yogurt and crémé fraîche. Incredibly yummy!

Once we were fed and caffeinated, we were ready for our adventure of the day; a visit to a garden with a strange name. I’ll you about that tomorrow

Love,

Grandma Judy

Tiny Art Finished!

Der Liza,

That delightful tin box of art (the Time Capsule that I started with Ruthie Inman a few weeks ago) is finished!

It took a few days to finish up the accordion folded cards inside, and another day to get the box covered, but I really like it.

Since it is mostly about travel, I covered it, inside and out, with maps collected over the years. Mod Podge is a good adhesive for this.

I included bits from London, Copenhagen, France, Leiden, and “the castle-iest castle in Denmark”. There is even a bit from the book I made for you, “Adventure Grandma”.

Every time I look at it, I remember, and I smile.

The cards fold up nicely, but are a very tight fit in the tin. To get them out without damage, I laid in a ribbon to pull on and pop them out. It works great!

looking forward to my next adventure!

Love,

Grandma Judy

More Tiny Art

Dear Liza,

Every time I get together with the ZOOM Art group with Ruthie Inman, I get so full of ideas I could pop.

This past week she showed up these: tiny, accordion folded books that fit in a little tiny box. The samples she showed were people’s’ interpretations of their high school years, with black and white photos and bits and pieces from the fifties for illustrations.



I had a good time in high school. I met Grandpa Nelson there, and Ruthie. I learned a lot about who I am and what I believe in, on the way to becoming who I am. But it was just four years out of 69, and I didn’t want to make a whole art project about it.

First, we cut some heavy paper so it fit into the little Altoid tin. Then we made little hinges from paper and joined the cards together like an accordion.

I decided to start my “Time Capsule” in the 1950s, when I was born. Some old ads and papers worked nicely. Then came the 1960s with the Beatles. I had to rework my High School years because the colors weren’t cohesive with the others. In the re-do, the horse stands for our Mustang mascot .

Since I got married right out of school, the kids came next. Sticking with the vintage ads, I showed our girl and boy….

And started in on the adventures! Traveling to France, learning French, and getting out in the world. I like how it folds up!

I am trying to choose colors that are cohesive so it looks like they belong together. Bridgett tells me this is color theory, which I have always rebelled against. Oh well.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Tuba Christmas and More!

Dear Liza,

The day after our anniversary celebration, we headed downtown to see all the pretties and hustle and bustle. Our first target was the Tuba Christmas at Pioneer Square, which is called The Living Room. This concert involves more than a hundred folks, ages 11 to 89, playing low brass instruments, like tuba, sousaphone, baritone, and euphonium.

This concert is so popular, we could only find spots to stand on the level above and hear the concert, rather than see it. Still, it was lovely. The music swells up and bounces off the buildings as pigeons fly around.

Around the corner and down the block we found some Dickensian carolers. Beautiful costumes and sweet four part harmonies made it really feel like Christmas, with smiling crowds and busy traffic.

Further along, we found Director Park. During the summer, the fountain here is great for splashing, but today it is better for running and climbing. Also at the park were cozy fire pits,

our old friend Jay Ringer playing music on his pocket trumpet and melodium,

and some young men making s’mores with Graham crackers, marshmallows and blow torches. Not surprisingly, they were exactly what we needed on this chilly day.

In the small building in the park was a whole shop of goodies from our local artist Mike Bennett. Stuffties, stickers, glasses, and lots of other delightful things were selling very well.

About this time, we realized that, even with the s’mores, we were pooped and ready to head home. We walked down Alder to the bus stop to catch the magic 15.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Grandma Judy