Lyon - July 1st to 8th
Lyon is the third-largest city (pop ~550,000) and second-largest urban area (~2.2M) of France. It is located in the country's east-central part at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône. Inhabitants of the city are called Lyonnais. The city is known for its cuisine and gastronomy, and historical and architectural landmarks; part of it is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Lyon was historically an important area for the production and weaving of silk. Lyon played a significant role in the history of cinema: it is where Auguste and Louis Lumière invented the cinematograph. It is also known for its light festival, the Fête des Lumières, which begins every 8 December and lasts for four days, earning Lyon the title of Capital of Lights.
In 43 BC, the Roman Senate ordered the creation of a settlement at the confluence of the Saône and Rhône rivers. The foundation was built on Fourvière hill and became known as Lugdunum. The city became the starting point of the principal Roman roads in the area, and it quickly became the capital of the province, Gallia Lugdunensis. In 843, by the Treaty of Verdun, Lyon went to the Holy Roman Emperor Lothair I. It was later made part of the Kingdom of Arles. Lyon did not come under French control until the 14th century.
During the Renaissance, the city's development was driven by the silk trade, which strengthened its ties to Italy. In 1793, the city was besieged by Revolutionary armies for over two months before surrendering in October. Many buildings were destroyed and more than 2,000 people were executed. A decade later, Napoleon ordered the reconstruction of all the buildings demolished during this period.
During World War II, Lyon was a centre for the occupying Nazi forces, including Klaus Barbie, the infamous "Butcher of Lyon". But the city was also a stronghold of the French Resistance – the many secret passages known as traboules enabled people to escape Gestapo raids. On 3 September 1944, Lyon was liberated by the 1st Free French Division and the Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur. The city is now home to a resistance museum.
Towers Along the Rhône River
We never figured what these were about...
Looking Across the Saône River at the Croix-Rousse Neighborhood
La Croix-Rousse is the name of a neighborhood in Lyon. The name "La Croix-Rousse" ('the russet/red cross') comes from a reddish-brown stone cross erected there in the 16th century.
The appearance of the neighborhood is heavily influenced by the central role that Lyon played in the silk industry in France. The vast majority of buildings in the area feature large vaulted ceilings with exposed wooden rafters. The larger internal height available in these buildings, compared to other areas in Lyon, was necessary for housing the tall silk looms that were operated in the area. Also of note are the traboules of Croix-Rousse. These are covered passageways used by silk merchants to travel and ferry material between buildings while being sheltered from rain.
Mural - Fresque des Lyonnais célèbres (Famous Faces of Lyon Fresco)
See if you can spot all of the Lyon celebrities:
The Emperor Claude, Pierre Puvis de Chavanne & Giovanni Verrazano, Joseph-Marie Jacquard & Philippe de Lassalle, Bertrand Tavernier, St-Irénée, Ste-Blandine, Louise Labé, Maurice Scève, Juliette Récamier, Claude Bourgelat, Pauline Jaricot & Claudine Thévenet, Général-Major Martin & Jean-Baptiste Say, André-Marie Ampère, Laurent Mourguet & Guignol, le Petit Prince et Antoine de St-Exupéry, Antoine de Jussieu & Marcel Mérieux & Claude Bernard, Edouard Herriot & Tony Garnier, Auguste and Louis Lumière, Bernard Pivot, l'abbé Pierre, Bernard Lacombe, Paul Bocuse and Frédéric Dard.
Auguste and Louis Lumière
The Lumière brothers were among the first filmmakers in history. They patented an improved cinematograph, which in contrast to Thomas Edison's "peepshow" kinetoscope allowed simultaneous viewing by multiple parties.
Mural - La Fresque des Canuts (the Silk-Weavers' Wall)
Created by the Cité de la Création in 1987, this trompe-l’oeil painted wall, which extends over a blind façade of 1200 m², is the largest in Europe. Updated for the first time in 1997, it regularly takes into account neighborhood transformations. The inhabitants represented on this facade are also aged. Renovated and updated in 2013, it shows a lively neighborhood, between history and modernity. The wall shows the atmosphere and life of the quarter, typical of the Croix-Rousse plateau, its houses and stairs, with a puppet theatre on the ground-floor and a giant puppet carried by a group of young people. A central staircase makes it possible to climb the hill between the high buildings of the district and gives the whole a striking impression of depth.
Mural - La Fresque des Canuts
Another Woody Reminder
Funny thing... it turns out that Woody really had taken up smoking a pipe while we were gone. However, his preference is a cherrywood Calabash.
Bacchanalia Street Art
#MeToo??
The Song of the Canuts
Canuts were Lyonnais silk workers, often working on Jacquard looms.
More Random Building Art
More Random Building Art
More Random Building Art
We thought that this was pretty clever.
Hanging Out at the Mall in Lyon
Just to get coffee!
Interesting Building #1 Along the Saône River
Interesting Building #2 (Orange) Along the Saône River
Interesting Building #3 (Green) Along the Saône River
The Land of Lost Naked Statues
Love the soccer ball!
Musée des Confluences
The Musée des Confluences is a science centre and anthropology museum which opened on 20 December 2014. It is located at the southern tip of the Presqu'île at the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône. The deconstructivist architectural design is said to resemble a floating crystal cloud of stainless steel and glass.
The four major exhibitions are called "Origins - Stories of the World", "Species - the Web of life", "Societies - Human theatre," and "Eternities - Visions of the beyond". The first exhibition deals with questions of origin, both the Big Bang theory, history of the universe, as well as the birth of life and evolution of especially humans. The second exhibition, "Species", explores the links between humans and animals, and evolution of different species. The third exhibition, "societies" is about human societies and how humans build communities. And finally, "Eternities" deals with the meaning of life, the inevitable death of humans, and how that question has been dealt with in different societies.
We visited the exhibits on death and the big bang. They were both excellent. We would have hit the other exhibits, but we ran out of time.
Musée des Confluences
Looking down, into the museum from the top floor
Musée des Confluences
The museum has a restaurant and an open air pool on the 3rd floor.
Meet (some of) the Absils; Yvan, Sibylle & Zoe
Our friends, the Absils, live near Brussels, Belgium. We were thrilled that they could join us for a couple of days in Lyon! The only sad part was that Martin and Nicolas weren't with them.
We met Yvan at HP about 20 years ago and we've been friends ever since.
We last saw them in August of 2012 when they visited us in Vancouver, and before that we stayed with them in Belgium in 2009. Hopefully we won't have such a long break until we get to see them again!
Flashback #1 - 2009 in Brussels, Belgium
We stayed with the Absil's for a few days in 2009 when the four of us spent 5 weeks in Europe. That's Emmy, Zoe, Audrey and Martin, with Manneken Pis (Little Pisser) in the background. :)
For those of you who don't know, Mannekin Pis is a bronze sculpture in the centre of Brussels, depicting a naked little boy urinating into a fountain's basin. It was designed by Hiëronymus Duquesnoy the Elder and put in place in 1618 or 1619. The current statue is a replica which dates from 1965. The original is kept in the Museum of the City of Brussels. Manneken Pis is the best-known symbol of the people of Brussels. It also embodies their sense of humor and their independence of mind.
Flashback #2 - 2012 in Vancouver, WA
The Absils stayed with us for several days in the 'Couv during their summer vacation in 2012. Nicolas was with them on this trip, so had the whole clan. As you can see, they are big supporters of Oregon sports! The puppies were only 6 months old when they were visiting.
Current Day - Zoe's Timbers Jersey Still Fits!
