Lyon, la Fin

 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.

Lyon, Continued

Our first nigh in Lyon we ate at Le Petit Bouchon Chez George, one of the oldest school bouchons in town. It's very small, as the name states, and has only one server and one cook. I generally dislike taking photos in restaurants, but I am not against stealing photos from other sites:

These two photos combined show the whole room. 

We sat exactly in the same spot, at the long communal table, with me in the photographer's position and Lia trapped in the middle of the banquette.

photos: http://www.itaste.com/list/restaurant/fr/lyon/au-petit-bouchon-chez-georges.html

 While every tourist trap in town calls itself a bouchon, only about 15 of them are certified authentique.

The food was truly correct, in the French use of the term, meaning not fancy or perfect, but proper and right. We sat next to a group of two Lyonnais couples who were obviously well versed in the local dining traditions. The man to my right would pick out his favorite gratons (crispy pork skin covered in fat, served as a finger food to start the meal) from the communal dish and hand them to me to eat, exclaiming their specific virtues. He liked the extra-crispy ones. We ordered an asparagus salad, gâteau de foie de volaille (a light, quiche-like tart made with chicken livers), lamb chops with red wine and figs, and tablier de sapeur (literally "fireman's apron", in reality a square flap of breaded and fried tripe). We finished with the classic Lyonnais cheese, St-Marcellin. 

The next morning we awoke not needing breakfast. 

We decided that a walk up Fourvière hill would be beneficial to our health. 

up                                                                    down

Into the trees.

The view from the top.

At the top is the Notre Dame de Fourvière Basilica. It was built in the late 1800s, around the same time as Sacre Coeur in Paris. They both share a love of amazing stained glass, tile mosaics and gold, gold, gold. I didn't take any interior photos. I think I was just excited to get on to the Roman ruins. 

A 5 minute walk from the basilica is this:

Fourvière was once a Roman settlement and there are many structures remaining, most notably the large theater (15AD) and the smaller odéon (2nd century) visible on the left. 

top of the main theater

A narrow, stone-paved road ran behind the theater walls.

 On the other side of the road was the town. 

 theater                                               road                           town

Lia on the Roman road

in the remains of the town

the odéon from above

The original marble tiled floor of the orchestra area is still mostly intact. 

Below is a little hint of what the walls would have looked like. 

The brick would have been covered with a thick layer of plaster and then painted.

marble mosaics were used as decorative trim

portions of the theater support columns are still standing

there are several groupings of homeless remains

for Mr Mitchell, examples of Roman baseboard molding

Later that day, back down the hill, we checked out the remains of the Amphitheater of the Three Gauls. It was a popular place to make Christian martyrs, as the sign explains. Ste-Blandine was "hung on a post and exposed as bait for the wild animals that were let loose on her." Read all about it here.

For dinner we visited Le Bouchon de Filles, a newer bouchon run by two women who had previously worked at Café des Fédérations, one of the larger, more popular bouchons in town. Le Bouchon des Filles serves the old school food with a more modern, refined touch. Here is a great review, with more photos, in English: http://kitchen-notebook.blogspot.com/2007/11/le-bouchon-des-filles.html

Lyon Day1

It's Spring Break. Woo! We had some trouble deciding how to get out of Paris this week. Amsterdam: too expensive, Berlin: too far, Cologne: maybe boring. Suddenly, it hit us- let's just go to Lyon and eat until we near death. It's close, relatively cheap and I guess you could say exciting. Lyon is traditionally thought of as the food capital of France. The Frenchiest of French gastronomy. Tons of toques, mountains of Michelin stars. It is especially known for its bouchons, old school food served in an old school environment. Red checked tablecloths, conviviality, friendly waiters, communal dishes of pork rinds, salads made entirely of meat. It's classic stuff, right out of your grand-mère's cookbook: fried tripe, stewed tripe, sausages made of tripe. Pig's feet, pig's head, veal head, lamb brains, lentils, quenelles. The mind reels. This article by Bill Buford sums it up nicely.    

We arrived in Lyon Wednesday afternoon.

 First stop, tourist office.

Place Bellefour. The third largest place in France where, for some reason, they love these sorts of useless, uncomfortable, dusty open spaces. It does provide a good, open view of the hill on the left bank. That's the Fourvière Basilica and Lyon's fake Eiffel Tower visible on top.

Lyon is located at the confluence of two rivers- the Rhone and the Saône. The central part of the city is on a peninsula called the presqu'île ("almost island"). Here is the view of St-Jean Baptiste de Lyon Cathedral, across the Saône.

In the square in front of the cathedral. It was windy.

Interior of the cathedral.

The cathedral is home to an astronomical clock, constructed in the 14th century.

We were there for the 3:00 show.

Later in the day we were at Place des Terreaux, in central Lyon.

Lia and L'Hôtel de Ville.

Le Jardin!

We recently discovered that now that it's spring and the sun is in a more northerly position, we get direct sunlight in our apartment! Not a ton, no, maybe just an hour in certain select locations, but enough to inspire. In celebration, we have obtained a basil plant. For those who have been to the market with us, we got it from the potato stand, where the guy told us that that it should have its drink and fresh air at the same time that Monsieur (I assume he meant Jeff) has his apéro.

So here is Monsieur le Basilic sunbathing before his apéro.

Jardin de Reuilly

One of our first pique-niques in Paris was at the Jardin de Reuilly. Remember? It seems like so long ago. Saturday we returned. After visiting many, many squares and parks in Paris, we've developed favorites for different purposes. Jardin de Reuilly is a strong contender for number 1 in the sitting in the sun, eating, drinking and doing nothing category. So here we go again- a beautiful day, lying on the grass, feelings of calm and well-being. How about another shoddy panoramic photo to illustrate the scene?

from the bridge
I think I'm the shadow in the upper right

Please note our lovely new cheap polyester tablecloth. 

Light and compact, it's always ready when the pique-nique mood strikes.

Le Crépuscule, Parc de Belleville

Eiffel Tower with spotlight

Parc de Belleville is set on a hill in the 20th arrondissement, just south of the larger and more well known Parc des Buttes Chaumont. It is a densely planted series of switchback walkways that work their way up the hill. At the top is le Maison de l'Air, a hands-on museum for kids that focuses on meteorology, pollution and other air-related things. Most importantly, the roof of the museum serves as an excellent viewing deck. It's a popular place all day long, but is an especially nice place to congregate, have a drink and watch the sunset. If you direct your gaze downward, it also serves as a great place to watch the stray cats emerge when the park is closed to humans at dusk.

We stopped by Parc de Belleville last night before our dinner at Le Chapeau Melon(no website, as is the French custom), a wine shop/restaurant that serves an always-changing, market-based three course fixed menu. They'll open any bottle of their entirely small producer, vin nature stock on the shelf for a modest corkage fee. Here is a recent review (in English!) featuring a photo of a mackerel dish we had, plus a bunch of other things we didn't have, because the menu changes so frequently. Dinner was to celebrate the beginning of spring break. On Wednesday we head to Lyon for a four night test of our eating endurance.