Sorry this is a few days late. I seem to be getting lazier as the semester passes.
Last weekend, BU took us on a trip to Lyon. Lyon is famous for one particular thing: it is the capital of gastronomie. In a country known for food, going to the city known for being the best at food is rather thrilling and, as it turned out, delicious.
We left at around 9 Saturday morning, and it only took about an hour to get to Lyon from Grenoble. Lyon is rivals with Marseille for who holds the title of second city in France (no question about what the number one city is). It certainly felt big after cozy Grenoble, and it is definitely more elegant--those shop windows! I swoon and cannot afford. We dropped our bags off and headed off to a guided tour by our very own Patrice. First stop we took a tram type thing up this steep mountain to this very cool church, called Notre Dame de Fourviere. It was built in the late 19th century, after the Franco-Prussian war, as a thank to God for the Germans not invading the city. Obvs not thanking God for France's embarrassing loss--this was not mentioned at all. The church is striking even from afar as it is built in the Byzantine style:
These are the doors to the church. Note the lion--Lyon's symbol (It took me a good while to realize the connection between the name of the city and its symbol. Embarrassing) We unfortunately couldn't go inside the actual church because they were doing construction, which was frustrating, but we did get to go inside the crypt bottom part.
As you can see, its pretty elaborate and not at all like the normal church you encounter in any twon in France. I apologize for the poor quality, but there is only so much one can do without flash.
I also particularly was fascinated by the walls of dedications of soldiers who returned from the front thanking Mary for their survival. The wars feel so much closer to the people here, especially here in eastern France where a lot of WW1 took place.
After wandering around the church we went to the ruins of an old Roman amphitheatre. I don't think I've ever been in one before, and it was rather incredible to see, especially after studying it multiple times in different theatre courses. I could really see how the audience would feel, crammed in to steep stone benches, staring down at the actors in the sunshine. The atmosphere changes things--I felt like reenacting last year's Medea there for sure!
After that, we re-descended and then were free to eat lunch and wander. For lunch I went with a group of other students to a traditional lyonnais bouchon, a term that only refers to these little restaurants in Lyon that serve delicious food. Everything was absolutely divine, especially with the nice Beaujolais. In Lyon they say that there are three rivers: the Saone, the Rhone, and Beaujolais. I am a fan.
After that and wandering around the cute area (and encountering a manifestation, bien sur: this is France), I went to the textile museum. Lyon was for a long time a capital of silk manufacturing, and the beautiful museum has textiles dating back over a thousand years. Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pictures as they are all too delicate but if you are curious here is the website: http://www.musee-des-tissus.com/ I loved this museum of course, being the sewing/costumes fan I am. There are also examples of full costumes from about the 16th century onwards. There was so much elaborate embroidery and beautiful weaving from all over the world; I was in awe! Definitely worth a visit.
For dinner the program took us to the restaurant of one of the most renowned chefs in France: Paul Bocuse. We had a lovely white wine and of course, more Beaujolais. The appetizer was a bread with sausage thing that was super yummy, and for the main course:
I could get used to this.
The next day we started off on a bit of a walking tour around Lyon, going through different neighborhoods. One of my favorite things was this building that is decorated with trompe l'oeil of famous people from Lyon.
NONE OF THAT IS REAL including those little stores at the bottom. SO very cool. Also:
After this we had a quick lunch in a pub and then went to wander around a bit. We discovered this book market thing that had millions of old French books and I may have bought a present for a certain sister there but I'll never tell. I like old book markets, so this made me happy.
We got on the bus and headed off to the museum of the Freres Lumieres, the inventors of cinema. It was a a very nice museum, and a decent tour (in French, with Marie-Eve, our program director, translating) but I was so tired from everything I was not always paying full attention. The house was beautiful in full Art Nouveau style and the old film fragments were absolutely fascinating. I particularly liked the films taken around the turn of the century all over the world--fascinating to see people moving about ordinarily so long ago, when usually you just see the stiff, still portraiture.
After that, bus home! And exhaustion!
This Friday I'm leaving for my week long break where I will be going to Paris, London, and Manchester. I may blog if I find the opportunity, but if not I will speak to you in a bit! A bientot!
Bisous,
Miriam
I like the photo of the lion. Especially because when Judy was about 2 and living in Geneva (before I was born), she referred to two large stone lions (on a bridge, I think?) as "pigs" and my parents called lions "pigs" after that.
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