Day 3: Palm Sunday & Vieux Lyon, part 1

For three weeks every March, the gap in Daylight Savings Time (l'heure d'été) between the U.S. and France puts Lyon just six hours ahead of Chicago, instead of the usual seven.  Maybe it is an exaggeration, but the extra hour helped us overcome our jet-lag, and after just two nights sleeping under a warm hospitable French roof, we were feeling great.  We were up and about by 9:00, and we joined our host family around the table for a breakfast of praline escargots (buns) and croissants, with coffee and juice.  We learned that morning of the very popular Nespresso brand of coffee maker.  These are single-serving espresso makers, with a size selection of small, and very small.  Of course, espresso contains about 6 times more caffeine per ounce than American coffee, so we were not lacking in pep, vim, and vigor after just one small cup of Nespresso.  Offer us a second cup, and we are ready to go for the whole day!!  Interestingly, the spokesman for Nespresso in France is American actor George Clooney, and the commercials are in English with subtitles in French.   We watched several of the commercials on YouTube, and they are very entertaining, with Clooney employing his humorous, self-deprecating style.  "What else?"

Our third day in France was Palm Sunday, so we bundled up after breakfast and walked the quarter mile to the local parish, Eglise St Denis, on Rue Henon.  I later discovered that construction on the church began in 1830, the year of another revolution and the overthrow of Charles X.  By 1840, work on the church was finished, and in 1986 it was officially given protected status on the list of historical monuments in Lyon.  As we arrived, we purchased palm branches from school children out front, and then entered the church and tried to find seats together for seven people.  It was quite crowded, being a holy day, but there was no need to worry about seats. 

The priest, M. l'abbé Jérôme Billioud, asked the congregation to exit the church and assemble at the entryway for a special prayer before beginning mass.  As I was one of the last people to leave the church, I found myself at the entrance, just in front of the priest.  I watched him struggle for the attention of his distracted flock, now standing on the sidewalk, as he began the prayer.  And I could also see him handle with aplomb the technical difficulties he was having with his wireless microphone.  The amplification of his prayer would cut in and out for those brief minutes, but as I was standing just next to him, and as I understood only about one third of his words, my enjoyment of the opening prayer was not disturbed by the sound system.  He sprinkled the assembly with holy water, and we filed back into the church.  We had no trouble finding seats together on our return inside.  Catholic masses are virtually the same everywhere, so we followed along with the Palm Sunday passion reading despite not speaking the language.  The mass was longer than usual, and we were told the priest was known for lengthy sermons even on an ordinary Sunday, but we enjoyed the experience.  After mass, as we were leaving, we met some friends of our host family, and had an opportunity to say hello to our architect friend from the soirée the night before.



Mass ended at 11:30, so we took the opportunity to see more of the Croix-Rousse area.  It's a wonderfully charming area, and we stopped to see the best cheese shops, chocolatiers, and butchers.  We came upon Le Gros Caillou, which is symbolic of the Croix-Rousse area.  It is a huge light-colored rock, which is now the centerpiece of a small plaza which shares its name.  The rock is presumed to have come down with the glaciers from the Alps in the distant past.  More recently, it was moved about 100 feet to its current location during construction in 2008.  "Gros Caillou" is French for large pebble.

This plaza marks the eastern most end of the Boulevard de la Croix-Rousse, so we started a westward walk down the boulevard and through the famous outdoor market, which stretches for several blocks.  We strolled this market the day before, but it was closing for the day, so it wasn't a true experience.  On Palm Sunday, we had a more typical experience, as the after-church crowd was out and preparing for their evening meals. 

We continued strolling the market before returning home for lunch.  It was our second day in Lyon, and we were already about to experience the second outstanding local Lyon specialty.  It is called quenelle, and it is a poached oval dumpling, made with a variety of ingredients (meat, fish or chicken, or sometimes vegetarian).  It can be served in a cream sauce, or as with our lunch on Palm Sunday, in a tomato sauce.  Quenelle is a truly flexible dish, and it was delicious.  Our hosts served the quenelle with rice and a bottle of white wine.  We took this opportunity to recharge our batteries and prepare the the afternoon adventure, which would be to go to the historic "Vieux Lyon".

After lunch, we left our home base of the Croix-Rousse and hopped aboard the metro system.  It was a bit of a challenge since metro tickets are fully automated in most places and can only be purchased from a kiosk with a European style "Chip-and-PIN" credit card or with coins (which are not dispensed from the bank machines).  But, once aboard, we found the metro clean, safe and easy.  With seven of us in tow, we rode the train south to the Bellecour stop, and switched lines west to the Vieux Lyon stop.  From there, we boarded the funicular to make the ascent to St. Just, a station up the Fourvière hill and just a short walk to our destination.

By coming up the Fourvière hill, we were digging deep into history.  The city of Lyon was known as Lugdunum in Roman days, and it was far more important than is widely known today.  The Roman city was founded in 43 BC, and was the birthplace of two Roman emperors.  It was originally founded up on this hill, before the population started to migrate down to the riverside in the waning years of the Roman Empire, in the area we now know as Vieux Lyon ("Old Lyon").  We left the funicular station and began a winding path toward our destination.  As we walked, I realized that the brown stone structure we were passing was more than just a centuries old ramshackle hut, but instead it was remnants of a centuries old aqueduct.  Lugdunum had four acqueducts to supply it with water, and the structures we were passing represented some of the largest hydraulic relic of the Roman world after Rome itself.  The relic we were passing was originally one of the longest aqueducts, spanning almost 50 miles.

As we continued down the road past the aqueducts, we came upon what would have been a highlight of Lugdunum in the days of Christ.  The Ancient Theater of Lyon was discovered under an orchard in the first half of the 20th century during an extensive, 46-year archaeological project. 

Emperor Augustus constructed the theatre around the year 15 BC.  Archaeologists estimate that at its peak, the two tiers and upper covered walkway could seat almost 11,000 spectators. The theater is the largest theater found anywhere in Gaul. 

We strolled the upper section, which includes the remains of various rooms, underground passages, drainage ditches, and bars/restaurants.  Then, we explored the theater itself.  Since it is built into the side of the hill, we entered from the top and walked down the steep steps to the stage. 

Originally the view behind the stage would have been blocked by a wall, 90 feet tall.  Today, the wall is gone, and the view is of the Saône River with the Presqu'île behind it.  After exploring the Roman rooms and paths above the theater, and climbing down and up the steep theater steps, we began the short walk down the road from the Roman theater to find the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière.

The Basilica is just a quarter mile down the road from the Roman ruins.  The basilica and the hill on which it sits take their names from the Roman Forum that was once sitting in that location.  The name Fourvière is based on the old French "Forum Vieux".  We passed the rectory on the left side of the road as we approached the church on the right.  The church is big and beautiful with a large gilded statue of Mary on a tower flanking the church. 

It was clear from the photographers and crowd of people inside that this is one of the top tourist sites in Lyon.  It receives 1.5 million visitors per year.  We attempted to enter the church, and got as far as the entry foyer, but there was a mass being celebrated and we did not wish to disturb.  We left the church and circled around the side, when we found the stairs to the lower level.  In the basement of the church was another full-size church.  This one was empty and quiet, so we had a chance to explore and reflect.  The lower level church had a global theme, and there were small shrines to the members of the faith from many different cultures.

As we prepared to leave the church, I was surprised but happy to find a machine that will convert paper Euros to coins.  I don't normally get excited about this type of thing, but the metro system does not accept paper, and the bank machines do not distribute coins.  It had become a problem, but now I had a pocket full of change and was ready for our next stop on our tour of old Lyon.

Day 2: Bienvenue à Lyon, part 2

The benefits of staying with a host family while traveling abroad cannot be overstated -- and they are obvious.  Hotels are perhaps the biggest obstacle between a traveler and the region in which they are traveling.  Hotels attempt to be the great equalizer -- a boundary between where you came from and where you actually are.  They attempt to make one feel "at home".  But, being at home is not why we travel, is it?  So when one has the opportunity to stay with a local family, and to experience the culture first-hand, and to befriend them, and to learn about their struggles and their joys, the choice again is obvious.  But, this arrangement, when possible (and let's face it, this is a rare privilege indeed), comes with a challenge that does not burden those in hotels.  How to properly express appreciation to the host family?

The first thing to admit is you can't.  It may be stressful, but the sooner you realize it the sooner you can get back to enjoying the experience, which is what the host family wants for you anyway.  It is a priceless gift to experience travel in this way, so instead, when faced with this dilemma, I decided to share the modest gift of music.  Almost everyone loves music from an aesthetic perspective, and even those who don't can appreciate music from a cultural and historical perspective.  So, for that reason, I decided to prepare a collection of music from Chicago.  Chicago makes this an easy task, and I decided on a split between Jazz, Blues, Soul/Gospel, and Rock.  I tried to include broad chronological diversity -- from Bix Beiderbecke in the 20's to Kurt Elling from today; from Muddy Waters in the 50's to Buddy Guy from today; from Etta James in the 60's to the Chicago Mass Choir of today; from the Buckinghams of the 60's to Lupe Fiasco of today.  And I included more in between -- Benny Goodman and Quincy Jones, Howlin' Wolf and Koko Taylor, Lou Rawls and The Staple Singers, Cheap Trick and Smashing Pumpkins.  Chicago is blessed to have been home to so many great musicians.

After lunch and the gift exchange on Saturday, we went to explore more of Lyon.  Earlier in the day we explored the views over Lyon from the Croix-Rousse, so now we were to descend the hill to see the Presqu'île up close.  It was about 4:00PM when we left the pétanque players in the park and started making our way down through the streets of Lyon.  The altitude seemed to drop a couple hundred feet as we walked, but it was all downhill -- no problem!  Along the way we passed through a section of the historic silk weavers' district, where they would made silk and process it into beautiful fabric, drapery, and wall hangings.  The silk industry was established in Lyon in the 15th century, and by the 16th century Lyon held a royal monopoly on silk in France.  We had a chance to peek in on an enterprising young couple hard at work rehabbing the ground floor apartment of a former silk workers' loft.  As we continued through the side streets and alleys toward the City Hall at the bottom of the hill, we stumbled onto a classic example of a high rise dedicated to the silk workers.  The staircase was outdoors to allow for ventilation, but it was covered at the top to ensure the silk and materials stayed dry.

We continued on, and reached the base of the Croix-Rousse and meandered further into the city when we suddenly came upon a large public square, called the Place des Terreaux.  We made our way to the middle of the square, past other tourists snapping photos, and took a good look around.  We were standing before the city hall of Lyon.  It is called the Hôtel de Ville in French, which was no small source of confusion as some of our party looked around for the city hall wondering why everyone else was looking at the hotel.  The city hall was grand and impressive, gilded, and flying the flag of Lyon.  The facade, including a relief of Louis XIV, was designed in 1674, and except for a brief period between the revolution and the (temporary) restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, the relief of Louis XIV on horseback has been up there ever since.

Around the back side of the city hall, opposite the Place des Terreaux, we found Lyon's opera house, called the Opéra Nouvel.  It is stunning due to its blend of old and new.  The previous opera house was built in 1831, and by the 1980's it was decided that they would re-build.  The original facade and foyer was retained, while the rest of the building was gutted to build a theater with triple the capacity of the original.  Atop the old facade, the building has a semi-circle cylindrical dome.  And although we were unable to see it for ourselves, our hosts assured us the ceiling is amazing.  We made a mental note to attend the opera on our next visit to Lyon. 
As we started to make our way further south in the Presqu'île section of the city, we were suddenly distracted by a commotion from across the street.  Being in the heart of France, we were surprised to see a store called "Games Workshop", and even more surprised by the growing crowd outside its doors.  I'm not a particularly avid "gamer", but since my son is interested, I was curious to know what was going on.  Had they released a major new title today?  The mystery was solved when we discovered that the crowd had gathered for a big birthday party.

We continued our walking tour of Lyon, heading south toward our final stop for the day.  We arrived in the center of the Presqu'île, to a huge expansive space between the dense buildings.  This is the Place Bellecour, the largest clear square in all of Europe.  Seriously, you can see this pink stone plaza from satellite photos.  There has been a plaza at this space for 400 years.  At one point, in 1792, a guillotine was installed here, though I saw no signs of the guillotine today. 
Instead, I saw a statue of Louis XIV on horseback.  Louis XIV is known as the Sun King, and is the same king we saw in relief on the facade of city hall.  Louis XIV visited Lyon only once, in 1658, which was also the last visit of any French monarch to Lyon.  Perhaps this was the reason for the very public homages to the king.  This statue was first built in 1713, but was used to make cannons during the revolution, and then replaced in 1825 during the Bourbon restoration.  We discovered from our hosts that the statue plays a very practical role as well... it makes for a great meeting place when getting together with friends!

After this long healthy walk, we took the metro to go up the Croix-Rousse hill and back to the neighborhood where we were staying.  We arrived around 7PM, only minutes before friends and neighbors arrived. They were coming for les apéros; a cocktail party with delicious appetizers.  When the first guests arrived, I nearly panicked.  I had spent seven months trying to learn the French language, but over the past 22 hours since we had arrived, I had very little need to put it to the test.  Now, with friends and neighbors arriving, would I be able to communicate with anyone?  I was quickly put at ease, though, as the first couple to arrive were fluent in English and did not even attempt to speak French with me.  I tried to make an effort to use the French I had worked so hard to learn, but I realized that an interesting conversation requires a nuanced and deep vocabulary -- more than just a few memorized phrases about the weather.  Instead, we used English to discuss our travels, their travels, and our common interest in running.  We also met the neighbors, who were really quite funny, but I could only appreciate the humor by observing the reactions of the others at the party.  I then had an opportunity to speak with a good friend of our hosts, and found he is an architect and has done much traveling in his line of work.  I really enjoyed these conversations, and in fact, I found all of our hosts' friends and neighbors to be wonderfully kind and truly interesting people. 

We ate pâté de foie gras with fresh bread, sausage, salmon sashimi, artichokes, and fava beans.  We drank white wine, red wine, limoncello, and manzana (apple liqueur).  We enjoyed a variety of French cheeses, a praline tart and apple crumble.



Photo: ©The French Wench 2012

Praline tart is a specialty of Lyon, and I was lucky enough to find a great photo of one on http://thefrenchwench.com/.  We had gotten so wrapped up in the good conversation and food that we had a minor crisis when we realized we forgot to call in the children before we had finished the dessert.  (Sorry!)   We discussed movies, exercise, travel, and stereotypes about France (ohlala!) and about America (howdy!).  By the end of the evening, after the last of the neighbors and friends had left, the jet-lag had caught up with us and we said good-night.

Day 2: Bienvenue à Lyon, part 1

It seems every great city is built on a river:  Rome is on the Tiber, Paris on the Seine, and Chicago on the Chicago.  Other cities, like New York, are nestled at the confluence of two rivers.  Lyon in southeastern France is such a city. 

Lyon is 60 miles west of the Swiss border, 170 miles north of the Mediterranean Sea, and almost 250 miles south-southeast of Paris.  Two rivers slice through the landscape at Lyon.  Carving almost directly through the center of Lyon is the Rhône River, which comes down from the Rhône Glacier in the nearby Swiss Alps. The Rhône flows blue and clear due to its glacial source, and is considered a "fleuve" because it flows all the way to the sea.  From the western side of the city flows the Saône River.  The Saône comes down from the Vosges Mountains about 200 miles northeast of Lyon.  It flows south between the two large hills of Lyon, when it takes a sudden eastward turn toward the Rhône for nearly a mile before it sudden cuts south again through the heart of the city.  The Saône is called a "rivière" because it doesn't flow directly to the sea, but instead it merges with the Rhône at Lyon.  The color different between the rivers is clear, with the Saône visibly darker due to the sediment collected over its long journey to Lyon. The hill to the west of the Saône is called the Fourvière.  The hill to the east of the Saône is called the Croix-Rousse, and we are spending the week in a neighborhood atop the hill of the Croix-Rousse. 

Detail from La Mur des Canuts 

La Mur des Canuts

We got a late start that Saturday morning, being jet-lagged on our first morning there.  Around 11:00AM, after a quick breakfast and a N'espresso ("What else?") we made our way out the door and onto the streets of Croix-Rousse with our hosts.  We hadn't walked far before we learned that Lyon is well known for its public murals in the trompe-l'œil style.  Trompe-l'œil is a term that means to "trick the eye."  When you see the images, you'll know what they mean -- it is a very realistic style of painting, and the building we passed as we explored the neighborhood was a classic example.  The building was previously a big brick slab without windows.  Today, it appears as a series of attractive buildings with lots of people and greenery.
We continued our southwest walk until we reached the Institution des Chartreux.  Les Chartreux is a Catholic school founded in the early 19th century, and today educates more than 2000 students.  Aside from the local students, it is also a boarding school, with facilities for about 300 student.  As we entered the parking lot, the license plates made it clear that many of those students were from neighboring Switzerland.  We took a quick look at the lunchroom, a classroom, and the school's chapel.  The building was originally a seminary, and the architecture reflected its original purpose. 

We exited out the back door to a spacious courtyard that is perched on the edge of the slope of the Croix-Rousse.  The view looked out over the whole city.  On the right was the upstream view of the Saône.  Looking progressively to the left, the Fourvière hill, and the two visible icons of the hill:  the Tour Métallique and the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière.  Continuing to look left, the downstream run of the Saône, and then the Presqu'île.  It was a fabulous view over the city. 

On our walk back home, we passed through the famous Croix-Rousse outdoor market.  At that late hour, the vendors had started packing up, so we promised ourselves to return later in the week.  We continued on, taking a meandering path through the neighborhood, and passed numerous shops with delicious looking treats in the windows.  The chocolatiers were decorated for the upcoming Easter holiday, and their chocolate eggs were something to behold.  We also passed numerous patisseries, where they sell pastries that look (almost!) too good to eat. 

We arrived home in the early afternoon, and all eight of us sat down to enjoy a delicious meal with chicken, fresh bread, and white wine.  This two hour break was what we needed to recharge our batteries and prepare to tackle the city a second time. 
This time we would walk down a different way, and shortly came upon another scenic view over the over the city at the Jardin de la Grande Côte.  Despite the cloudy day, we joined others assembled at the plaza to take photos and admire the view. 

As we continued our walk on Saturday afternoon, we passed a foursome playing pétanque in a nearby park.  We discussed the game as we walked.  It is similar to bocce, and it is very popular in southern France, especially over summer holidays.  People tend to keep a set of the special pétanque balls in their car because, well, you never know.  As I understood it from our brief conversation is that the goal is basically to get your metal ball very close to the small wooden ball, and also to enjoy Pastis, an anise-flavored liqueur, with your opponents.