More re Historic Lyon (with lots of pix - at Marguerite's request)

The first traces of human presence here date back to the iron age, but the Roman founding of Lyon was in the year 43 B.C.  Lyon, the Roman city of Lugdunum, was named the capital of the Three Gauls in the 1st century BC. 

With a history like that, you can be sure it is rich in relics.   It seems almost any excavation site in the area is likely to uncovered an artifact of one kind or another.  The Gallo-Roman Museum contains many of these - inlcluding some, like this tile floor and the mosaic below it, which were removed from excavation sites and reconstructed in the museum.

The museum itself is located on Fourvière hill which is where Lugdunum was actually located.  There are remnants of an aqueduct and other structures, like the Odeum below on the hill.  There is active research and restoration activity going on almost constantly.

Fourvière hill  and the cathedral on it also command a spectacular view of Lyon:

More info and pix later.

Some Fashion Notes

The fashion "norms" have changed since our first visit in Paris.  Things were much more formal then.  And, although Paris, particularly the right bank, remains more fashion conscious than elsewhere in France, even Paris is loosening up a bit.

The most obvious fashion trend in Paris was what we are calling "harem pants."  They have a fitted waist and pant legs that sort of balloon out and then fit tightly around the ankles.  Some are gathered at the ankles; others come to the ankles in soft pleats.  We saw these on lots of women; three looked good in them.  One of those would look great no matter what she wore!  We've seen a few "harem pants" in Lyon but not very many. 

Here, in Lyon, pretty much anything goes.  For men, it's everything from three-piece suits to shorts and a tank top!  Lots of tee shirts and polo shirts and jeans.  Not really very different from Kirkland. 

For women, short skirts or long tops with leggings are still in.  Pants, usually tight pants, are also popular.  In shop windows, the fall looks include short (sort of bolero-style) sweaters over a blouse along with a skirt or slacks.  Not many tight skirts - mostly gathered or pleated and sort of flowing.  Some of the skirts look like they have uneven hems.  Boots remain popular, even in the summer, but those enormous purses are few and far between.

I promise updates, of course.

Food, wine, & those rude French

Already it has been two weeks since we arrived in Lyon! We have eaten, mostly lunches, in a number of small restaurants, sampled 10 or 12 inexpensive, mostly red, bottles of wine, and tried to unwind after five hectic and tumultuous years. Everything has been easy except the last. Oh, well – we’ll just keep practicing.


Most of the wines have been between two and eight euros [about $2.50- $10] and some have been of amazing quality. It should be fun when we occasionally try a more expensive [$20-$40] bottle.


The other day we went to the Museum of the Resistance and Deportation [very heavy stuff – more later]. Before going into the museum, we decided we were hungry and went into a small [15-25 seats w/small patio out back] restaurant. It appeared to be a husband and wife affair, where all the items were listed on a chalk board, no paper menu. There were several items David was not familiar with so when Madame came to take our order, he asked about them in French. She spoke essentially no English and since we were trying to find out about things we knew nothing about, the conversation was difficult. Madame solved it by taking down one of the blackboards and walking us through each item in careful French, with occasional English words thrown in. Everyone was polite, cheerful, and helpful. The food was delicious. A huge salad with melon, artichoke, ham, absolutely fresh lettuce, olives, etc., etc., for Anna, and fish fillet with tomato coulis, dauphinois potatoes, and green beans for David, and three glasses of wine.. Price? All of $23 Euros – about $29. Of, course in France, there is no additional 15-20% tip – one leaves small change behind is the usual method.


Could get tough to leave next year.

Macarons

Among the welcome goodies our Dominique and Roger (our landlords) left for us was a little clear plastic box containing some sort of confection.  There were several different colors - even some that seemed almost metallic.  Certainly nothing we had ever experienced before.  The package said that they were "Macarons" and from Seve in Les Halles Paul Bocuse.

They are AMAZING!  The little pastries on each end are crunchy on the outside with an inside that melts in your mouth.  Then there's the filling...rich, creamy, with intense flavor.  They come in a wide variety of flavors - the ones with caramel in the middle are beyond description!  

We looked for Seve and the macarons last time we were in Les Halles.  It's a fairly large, well-established confectionary with a whole huge case totally devoted to macarons, many, many varieties of macarons (including caramel).  What a beautiful sight!  They cost 1.1 euros each but are so rich that one is a full serving.

Definitely give them a try if you get a chance - you won't be disappointed!

Why we chose LYON

Lyon is one of France's largest cities.  It has a wonderful metro system which makes it very easy to get around and explore all the different neighborhoods.  And, it has restaurants - LOTS of restaurants - everything from little bistros that spill out into the street in Old Town to Paul Bocuse's reknown and pricey restaurant.

It's situated on the banks of the Rhone and Saone rivers and has been a strategic site for trade and commerce since before the Romans arrived and made it their capital of Gaul. And, the climate is very temperate (not as cold and rainy as Paris, for instance).

And, the atmosphere is a little more relaxed than in Paris.  (Don't get us wrong - we love Paris and began this trip to France there, but it's nice to get out to the "real France", too.)

We've been really impressed with the quantity and quality of the food available in markets here.  We have our choice of various types of stores in Lyon.  There's Les Halles with its individual markets specializing in a kind of food (fresh veggies and fruits, or butcher, or bakery, or wine, etc.) where everything is premium quality and sometimes pricey.  Or, Mono Prix, which is similar to a grocery store in the US although the larger Mono Prixs actually resemble the Fred Myer model and carry some of everything.  A small Mono Prix is just across the street and around the corner; Les Halles Paul Bocuse is just a few blocks away. Whichever we choose we will have our choice of lots of great produce.

In fact, rather than make this posting look like War and Peace, we'll talk more about local food in another posting.

Musee des Beaux-Arts

On Monday, August 9th, we wandered around Lyon and ended up at the Musee Des Beaux-Arts. The building itself is very interesting – it’s the 17th century Palais St-Pierre, a former Benedictine convent for the daughters of nobility. (There were only 32 left when they were kicked out due to the Revolution.) When this building was being constructed and later renovated, they found evidence of an even older (Roman) structure.  As you can see, the setting is very lovely and tranquil; you’d never know you are in the middle of Lyon.

The museum contains an amazing range and amount of art. (We were surprised to find that we had spent 3 hours there when we sat down in the museum café in the courtyard for a glass of wine.) Inside we started with the Greeks and Romans (including the last words of Marcus Aurelius) and then moved on rooms devoted to ancient Egypt (artifacts dating back to 1900 BC). From there we went into rooms with much more recent art. There were LOTS of Rodin among other sculptures. And, as we wandered through the rooms and up and down the expansive stairways, we saw paintings dating from about 1320 on to recent times. Here are some of the artists whose works we saw (in no particular order): Raphael, Delacroix, Rembrandt, Reubens (Adoration of the Magi !), Fra Angelico, El Greco, Manet, Sisley, Pissarro, Corot, Rousseau, Renoir, Cezanne, Gaugin, Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Picasso, Modigliani, Chagall, Miro, Dufy, Max Ernst, Mark Toby (thought the Seattle area folks might be interested), and many, many more. [Many paintings were given to the museum by Mme Jacqueline Delubac, an actress, comedienne, and great beauty as well as an art patron. But, that’s another story.]

It Must Be Love...

We have a washing machine in our kitchen so I thought I'd do a small washing. (You can see the washing machine with the round door in this picture.) I followed all of the wordless, picture directions on the door and thought I was good to go. But, the washer wouldn't start.

I called in my resident fixit person/handy man/husband to make it work. Picture him on a stool, in front of the washer door, with manual (in French) in hand, trying to figure out how to make it work. After a while he asked for the French-English dictionary and I heard, "That's what I thought it said" and "But, I did that" and other mutterings. Then, he pushed on the door, it clicked shut, and the washer started. Magic? (BTW-he says he'll never let me forget this one.)

But all is not just fun and games with washing machines, we have been exploring our neighborhood and beyond, and getting acquainted with our home in Lyon. More later.

Backtracking a bit - our arrival in Paris

First of all we agreed that though we will be in France for a year, we would bring only 4 suitcases + my computer bag/purse. (I hear they sell clothes in France...) Anyway, you can imagine that those 4 suitcases were pretty hefty. After we got our visas stamped, we collected our baggage and were on our way. (No stopping for baggage inspection except by a cute dog and his rather stern-looking handler.) We hauled our luggage through the airport to the RER station, David bought our tickets, and we got on the train (dragging our luggage), and were bound for the left bank. We got off at Place St Michel to change to the Metro that would take us to the stop by the Musee D'Orsay, a block or so from our hotel. But, we couldn't find the train! We knew which train it was, but where was it? At that point two very nice young ladies in an information booth told us that train wasn't running and was being serviced. (Actually, this makes sense from the French point of view, because so many people are gone from Paris during August.)

After some consultation, we decided to "just" walk to our hotel (~1 mile or so). But, first we needed to get through the exit kiosk and up to the street. Somehow David managed to get his luggage through (over?) the kiosk and up the stairs. Not me; I got stuck. I mean REALLY stuck. I couldn't reach the little slot to put my ticket in much less the little slot to retrieve it, and there was absolutely NO way my luggage and I were going to squeeze through the kiosk. That's when 3 or 4 wonderful young men came to my rescue. They took care of getting my ticket validated, got my luggage through the kiosk, and responded to my merci beaucoups with de riens and were on their way. (NEVER believe it if someone tells you the French are cold and rude.)

Now "all" we had to do was haul those suitcases that mile or so to our hotel on a hot summer's day. I won't bore you with the details - suffice it to say some ladies I passed were concerned and asked "ca va, madame?". To which I responded (lied?), "oui, merci, ca va bien." By the time we got to our hotel, we were totally wiped. I'm sure we looked equally as bad as we felt. Definitely time to dump the luggage in the room and seek out a nice, cold glass of wine - and LOTS of water.

We took a cab from our hotel to the TGV station when we left.

Ah, Lyon!

We arrived yesterday after three days in Paris at the Hotel Voltaire. This was our third stay at this hotel; it's interesting to see the changes each time. (Free wi-fi now, for instance.)

We undoubtedly have the absolute best landlord and landlady ever! Roger met us at the TGV station and transported us to the apartment where Dominique was waiting for us. Lots of helpful advice and information and wine and other necessities in the frig.

Right now we are just getting settled and wandering around the neighborhood. We'll write more later.

David and Anna