One of our main reasons for visiting Lyon was the Institut Lumière, part of which is a museum dedicated to the Lumière brothers. Auguste and Louis were Lyonnais inventors of much of the technology for producing moving pictures. They made some of the earliest films and also, through the production of projection equipment, film and cameras in their factory, helped to popularize and spread film across the world. Here is Lia at the front door of the old Lumière villa, now home to the museum.
Behind the museum is the old Lumière factory. The original wood frame structure is somewhat visible in the photo below through the windows of the larger glass building that was built to protect it. The new building also has a theater to which we returned the next night for a screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey as part of the Stanley Kubrick retrospective.
At the first motion picture screening in Paris in 1895, the first film shown was called "La Sortie de l'Usine Lumière à Lyon" known in English as "Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory."
Here it is, all 47 second of it.
The courtyard now has glass panels with images of the original workers leaving the factory.
Here we express our honor and respect for these cinematic pioneers.
There was some major excitement across the street from where we had lunch after visiting the museum. Fire! It was terrifying! There were firemen and police and onlookers, all due to an errant cigarette meeting a collection of leaves and garbage under a sidewalk grate. The fireman put it out and shoveled the detritus up onto the sidewalk where I assume someone else was supposed to clean it up. It stank.
The next day we went to the amazing Parc de la Tête d'Or. We love botanical gardens and try to find them in every city we visit. Tête d'Or has a large conservatory building, several smaller greenhouses and a vast outdoor garden area.
After leaving the conservatory, we set out for a walk around the park. I saw what I thought from a distance were groups of people enjoying lovely pique-niques.
Upon closer inspection, they were deer. Or something like deer.
We quickly learned that part of the park is a large open air zoo.
flamingos!
watusi!
pelican!
agitated pelican!
The next day we took the funicular subway train, or la ficelle ("the string") as the Lyonnais call it, up to the Croix Rousse neighborhood. Croix Rousse is set on the hill on the north end of the peninsula. It was for many years the center of Lyon's silk industry. We were going to visit La Maison de Canuts- The Silkworkers Museum. Here is the neighborhood as viewed from the right bank of the Rhone.
Croix Rousse is also known for its traboules, a byzantine collection of stairways and passages that pass through the buildings on the way down (or up) the hill.
The last shot is not in Croix Rousse, but I like the skyway.
I also like whatever this thing is. It was on a landing in a Croix Rousse traboule.
It looks like a very old golf shoe cleaner.
After Croix Rousse, we visited the Musèe des Tissus et Arts Décoratifs (Fabrics and Decorative Art). They do not allow photography due to the fragile nature of the fabric, some of which is about 2000 years old. It was pretty amazing and I recommend it to anyone visiting Lyon. After the Fabric Museum we were too worn out to tackle the Decorative Arts, but I imagine it is impressive as well.
Our last night in Lyon we went out for dinner at Magali et Martin, a restaurant on the higher end of the fancy scale than the bouchons. The chef had worked at several three star joints in Paris before settling in Lyon. It was a great meal- seasonal, elevated and refined Lyonnais cooking. No photos were taken, but the memories of the meal are still clear, which is a strong recommendation.
In conclusion, Lyon rules- great food, interesting sights and history, two rivers, natural beauty, old stuff. Smaller than Paris, with a more relaxed, casual feel- not unlike Minneapolis. We were often struck by how much it felt like home.
The Flower Tree on Place Antonin Poncet.
I ran like hell to get this yellow suit guy in the frame with the sculpture as he walked by.
Our two hour train ride back to Paris lengthened to four (4!). Due to congestion at the terminal, some trains had to stop a little outside of town. Despite official warnings to not open the doors, some 100 people from other waiting trains apparently took early departures and so we then had to wait for room at the station as well as the removal of an impatient horde before ending our journey.
Luckily, I bought a large beer in Lyon.
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