Christmas in Lyon - Place Carnot and our petite Sapin

While Anna was on a mission to find Hex Bugs in Lyon, she discovered that Place Carnot had been transformed into a little village full of shops(>100 of them). Shops of every description – complete with lights, carols, delicious smells, and a small Christmas tree lot. So as soon as David was well enough, we went there together.

It was fun checking out all the various shops – there was even a Rotary booth with a Santa (Pere Noel) to visit, but he was on lunch break. We bought a small loaf of dark, spiced honey bread with orange in it to enjoy later; it was kind of like fruit cake without all the candied fruit. After looking at all the food booths, we discovered we were getting hungry. So we got a large slice of Alsatian “pizza”; it was really, really similar to one we like to get at Trader Joes. (Or, Trader Joe’s is similar to the real thing.) We also shared a cup of hot red wine with spices – just the right thing to warm us on a very cold day!

Our last stop was the Christmas tree (sapin) lot. Folks here don’t have stands with water for their trees; they just used crossed pieces of wood or small, half logs with a hole drilled for the tree trunk. We chose a small tree that came with the log. The man at the lot, encased the tree and log in a stretchy net to make it easier to carry. Then we left for home. David got the honor of carrying the tree –back through Place Carnot, down Victor Hugo (pedestrian-only street with lots of shops and lots and lots of shoppers), down the stairs to the Metro station, through the turnstile (I put his ticket in for him), on to the A line train, then off the A line and changing on to the B line, then off the train, through to turnstile going out, up the stairs, and a small hike to our apartment. He was very glad we agreed on a small, table-sized tree. Those of you Peanuts fans will understand what we mean when we say it was a “Charlie Brown tree.” But, it looked cute with the decorations Dominique, our land lady, loaned us and fit nicely in our livingroom.



More to come…

Christmas in Lyon - Part 1

Our living room mantle.

This is Anna’s favorite time of the year. She loves shopping for presents for people, decorating our abode, seeing all the displays, hearing and singing carols…all of it. And, Lyon is definitely a fun city at this time of the year! The Fete des Lumieres (see December 12th blog) had kicked off the festivities, and the main streets down town still have the lovely lights that extend overhead from one end of the street to the other. And, of course, merchants and restaurants have decorated their windows, store fronts, and interiors as well.



We had done our Christmas shopping for the US early and got all but one package mailed well before December. That just left shopping for each other and Estelle’s family.


Shopping for Hex Bugs

Here's what Hex Bug Nanos look like.

We asked Estelle what her boys would like for Christmas, and she told us Victor would like Hex Bugs. Huh?? We asked her to spell it and knew no more than we did before. After checking on the web, we found that there are two sizes of Hex Bugs. The larger ones are about the size of the palm of your hand and look like actual insects, spiders, crabs, whatever. The smaller ones are known as Nano Hex Bugs, are about 1” long, and come in a variety of colors. One can also purchase a modular “Habitat” to keep the Nanos somewhat confined. Both the large and small versions move around on their own (like bugs)and react to their environment (change direction when necessary, etc.), and, thankfully, all come with on-off switches. Armed with this information, Anna went in search of Hex Bugs while David was recovering from a bug of his own. “ I lost count of the number of toy stores and electronics stores I tried, but I covered a lot of ground. Most had never heard of Hex Bugs and looked at me as if I had lost my senses, some tried to sell me Xboxes, two stores had people who actually knew what I was looking for (but didn’t have them), and one person told me that ToysRUs had an “exclusive” on them.” Armed with that last bit of information, we ventured out to ToysRUs (at the end of a Tram line, on the outskirts of town). It was snowing, and it took us a while to find the store after we got off the Tram, but it’s hard to miss something as large as a ToysRUs store even if it’s on the other side of a hill. We split up and searched the store without success; then we looked at the display at the end of the row where we were standing. Voila! Hex Bugs, LOTS of Hex Bugs, and even some “habitat” kits. Mission accompIished!

Part 2 to come.

TRABOULES

Traboules features unique to Lyon. They are rather interesting ways to get from point A to point B. The word traboule comes from the Latin “trans ambulare” which, I’m told, means to walk across. They are covered passageways that sometimes link two or more streets or form a stairway down to an alleyway (or up to a building) or even empty out into a lovely courtyard.



Historically, the Canuts, or silk workers, (see blog of September 14th) used traboules to transport their silk while keeping it out of the weather. During WWII the Resistance made good use of this rabbit’s warren of passageways and stairs to move around – you can just imagine how confusing these passageways with multiple levels and doors and directions must have been for any Germans pursuing them.


There are around 230 streets in Lyon with traboules today (see http://www.lyontraboules.net/liste.php for the actual list), and many streets have more than one traboule entrance. More are being discovered all the time. In fact, 31 traboules have been discovered since 1991. Some are not open to the public, but many are. Most of the traboules are in Croix Rousse and Vieux Lyon, two of the older districts in Lyon, and one can follow maps to take a “Traboule Circuit.”


We’ve enjoyed “discovering” and walking through many of them and even eating lunch in a restaurant located in one. Here are some pictures of various traboules for your viewing pleasure.

 This traboule is in Vieux Lyon.  It connects streets and also has small courtyards and house entrances.

 Here's another traboule in Vieux Lyon.  You can see that it has been cleaned and restored.  It is open to the public.

This is one of my favorites!  There are multiple doors at each level and sometimes additional passages branching off from the main one.  This one is Cour des Voraces and is in Croix Rousse.

This one is in Vieux Lyon and will give you an idea of the many levels these passages can have.  The area where the photographer is standing is reached by yet another traboule!

Here's a view of one from below - dizzying, isn't it?

ROOTS 3 (searching for family history in a foreign land)

The Aubry family had always known that it came from France. We had even known (or so we thought), the name of the ancestor who came from France, and the name of the town that he came from. Emile Alphonse Abry [as with many surnames, spelling was changed to make it easier for Americans to pronounce] had come from Hericourt France in the northeast corner of the country in the middle of the 19th century. Turns out this was only partly correct.



After David’s father died last year, he and his sister were cleaning out his condo. They discovered, in a drawer, a copy of an affidavit, done by the Maire [mayor] of Hericourt in April, 1852. The affidavit was for Jean Nicolas Abry and his family [including son Emile], attesting that they were of good standing, were legally married, and also named the children with dates and places of birth. Additionally, it named the parents of Jean Nicolas and his wife Catherine Schlammer, and the days and places of birth of both Jean Nicolas and Catherine. Needless to say, his sister and he were amazed at this discovery. [As a side note, we also learned that Emile’s middle name was not Alphonse, but Adolphe.] They decided that we needed to record some of the family’s history that we knew, as we were now the ‘old folks’ – all relative of course!


Since Anna and David were coming to France, David thought it would be fun to visit the area where the family originated. Prior to this trip north, David discovered that the archives of the Department of Haute-Saone were almost all on line. We also discovered that our French daughter, Estelle, had done her graduate thesis on genealogy!  After discussing French record-keeping methods with her [they kept amazing records!] and begining his research, he pushed the family’s history back to the 17th century, and in the process learned the names of the towns where various ancestors had lived. The family was Protestant, because the area has been part of France only since the 18th century, and the Protestants were ruled by a number of minor Protestant nobility based in Wurtemburg. After France gained control of the area, Protestants lost much of their status as members of the majority. Armed with all this information, we planned our trip north.


There are a number of small villages within 5 miles of Hericourt, where members of the family had lived during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. At the time, these were mostly farming communities, although David’s ancestors tended to be masons, flour millers, clock makers, and forge workers, with an occasional shepherd. Today,like all western societies, people have moved from the land to the cities as less and less labor was required to grow food. The French government has put considerable effort into keeping these small communities viable, and today these towns are inhabited largely by commuters to Belfort, Hericourt, and Montbeliard.


The towns we visited, including Hericourt, a thriving small city of about 11,000, included: Brevilliers, Tremoins, where David’s great-great-great grandfather was born in 1778, Mandrevillars where the Abrys appear to have originated, Couthenans, Eschenans sous Mont-Vaudois, Chagey, the site of an iron and steel forging center in the 16th to the 19th centuries, and Luze where an Abry is currently Maire. We stopped in each town, took pictures, and visited some of the old [mostly abandoned] Protestant churches and cemeteries where we found the older markers to be unreadable due to erosion. Each of the towns had an historical marker telling about the town and its history, especially as the history related to the surrounding area. One of the more interesting items was on the marker at Mandrevillars where it was noted that many Protestant families had emigrated to the US in the middle of the 19th century.

See below for some of the places and sites we visited.

Hericourt, where the family lived before coming to the US in 1852:


Jean Nicolas Abry and family lived on this street, right side, in 1846. We had breakfast at the Patissier on the left side of the picture.











This is Rue de La Voute, or street of the Vault where the family lived in 1851.

Tremoins  - the now disused Protestant church and cemetery where some of David's relatives are buried.













Mandrevillars, where the Abry family appears to have orginated, along with the historical marker noting that a number of Protestant families emigrated to the US in the 19th century.

Eschenan sous-Mont-Vaudois  where we found an Abry family marker.

Fete des Lumieres

In 1643 Lyon’s city council feared the spread of the plague to Lyon, dedicated the city to the Virgin Mary, and resolved to walk up Fourviere hill to the chapel every year if she protected Lyon from the plague. Well, Lyon remained untouched by the plague, and every December 8th people make the pilgrimage up the switchbacks on Fourviere hill to the chapel.



Through the years the chapel was enlarged, and, in 1852, it received a bell-tower. A guilded statue of the Virgin was placed on top of the bell tower on December 8th of that year. The Archbishop of Lyon blessed the statue, and there were to be illuminations in celebration that evening. However, a rain storm hit, and the religious authorities decided to cancel the festival. That’s when the people of Lyon took over. Starting at 6pm, individuals began to place lit votive candles in their windows, and by 8pm the entire city was illuminated. People went into the streets to celebrate and were moved by the strength and spontaneity of the community feeling. This tradition continues on the evening of December 8th to this day. Our landlady and Estelle both loaned us candle holders, and every store around had bags of votive candles for sale. So we, too, had lit votive candles on our window sills facing the street. The effect is quite impressive - it almost looks like people have illuminated strings of pearls in their windows and there is a carnival atmosphere in the streets.


Through the years the celebration began to take a more organized structure. Church dignitaries now lead torch light ascents of Forviere hill each December 8th, and the City of Lyon produces the “Fete des Lumieres” which starts December 8th and ends the 11th. Here are some stats to give you an idea what it has become:


• 4 million visitors


• 80 light projects (see some examples below)


• 8 million votive candles sold in Greater Lyon


• 3.5 million people use public transportation to get around to the displays (rides are free on the 8th, and one can purchase a pass that covers unlimited transportation for each of the other nights)


• City hotels, B&Bs, etc. are full for the 4 days of the Fete


• Bars and restaurants have three times as much business as normal


• There are 400,000 programs broadcast on 14 TV stations, more than 250 newspaper articles, and 11 radio stations involved


• The TGV (fast train) even offered special rates so that folks from Paris could come to Lyon for a few hours and then zip home


There is a fireworks display on the 8th that we were able to enjoy seeing and hearing from our living room. And, there are various lighting displays throughout the city for all the nights of the Fete. The streets are filled with people enjoying the displays and festive atmosphere each night of the Fete. Here are some pictures to give you an idea.

Crowds of people filling the streets.

Fireworks with the "Crayon" lit up to display the number 8 (for December 8th)

ROOTS part 2 (Belfort)

And so we came to spend David’s birthday weekend in Belfort.



Belfort is a lovely city with about 52,700 people and a very impressive history. It is situated in a gap that has been considered strategic since the time of Julius Caesar and even before. It has been under siege and conquered and reconquered many times and still has remnants of the fortifications and walls that have protected the city through the centuries. However, one siege in particular stands out above all the rest.

During the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71, France was swiftly humiliated and crushed by the Prussians.  The Prussians sent an army of 40,000 men against Belfort, expecting the French, outnumbered 3:1, to immediately retreat into the Citadel at Belfort. Under the leadership of Colonel Denfert-Rochereau, the French tenaciously defended the approaches to the city for four, weekls, slowly rerteating into the Citadel.  Belfort held out for a remarkable 103 days – including  in 83 days of continuous bombardment totalling 400,000 rounds from 200 pieces of artillery!  The defenders only marched out after being ordered to do so by the French Government.  When the war ended and the Treaty of Frankfort was signed, Alsace and Lorraine were annexed by Germany – that is all of Alsace EXCEPT Belfort. The town of Belfort remained French. In 1918, after the German defeat in WW I, Alsace and Lorraine became French once more, but the Territoire de Belfort did not join Haut-Rhin and officially became the 90th French department in 1922. The folks of Belfort remain rightfully proud of the town’s freedom and heroic resistance against the Prussian Army. The Citadel retains a commanding view over Belfort and the surrounding area and has become a symbol of the town’s identity, and Colonel Denfert-Rochereau is still revered as a hero not only in Belfort, but in all of France.

Federic-Auguste Bartholdi (sculptor of the Statue of Liberty) was so moved by Belfort’s heroism that he created a huge lion sculpture facing the town at the base of the citadel. The statue is 22 meters long and 11 meters high and built of blocks of red sandstone. Bartholdi described it as “harassed, cornered and terrible in its fury.” It took him eight years to complete and is easily visible from town. The lion has become the official symbol of Belfort and is a part of its city crest. 

We stayed in Le Grand Hôtel du Tonneau d'Or. The hotel first opened its doors in 1902, and, as you can see in these pictures, is a gracious and impressive edifice. The Germans thought so, too, and “requisitioned” it for their use in WWII. The hotel fell into disrepair and closed in 1956 but was renovated and reopened in 1992. The interior is truly lovely as you can see below. The impressive stairway is flanked on both sides with enormous stained glass windows by Jacques Gruber, one of the leaders in the Art Nouveau style and a renowned artist of l'École des Beaux-Arts de Nancy. (Art Nouveau was an artistic movement of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries that relied on the aesthetics of curved lines. It was born as a reaction to industrialization and was a short, powerful, international movement; Louis Comfort Tiffany is probably the best example of an artist of this school in the United States.) Gruber created stained glass windows for the liner Île de France and Galeries Lafayette de Paris among other notable clients. As you can see, there are also sculptures in the entry and on the landing. The hotel is also centrally located which allowed us to park our rental car and walk around town and explore.

David will be continuing our saga…

ROOTS part 1 (AKA Trip North)

We have, no doubt, mentioned that David’s family came to the US from the area in France known as Haute-Saône (Upper Saône river valley). David has been doing a good deal of genealogical research online using records freely available here in France. So it was time to visit the homeland, check out the towns his family once called home, and try to connect some dots.



Haute-Saône is a region that is dotted with a myriad of small towns – some very small. A number of these towns figure into David’s family history. Our goal was to actually visit some of the towns as well as some of the historic sites in those towns. This included finding the Temples (Protestant churches were called temples not eglises) his family had been members of and looking in cemeteries for names in his family. In particular, we wanted to visit Hericourt, Eschanans-sous-Mont-Vaudois, Badevel, Luze, Chagey, Couthenans, Tremoins, Brevilliers, and Mandrevillars. So armed with maps and David’s printouts of family data, and we were on our way.


This was also our first experience renting a car and driving by ourselves in France. All the rental cars have a stick shift so David did all the driving. Our route going north was pretty straight forward: A6 to A36. Coming home we took “roads less traveled” and did a little more sight-seeing.


Below are a map to give you an idea of how Haute-Saône fits into France and a map showing the area in the northern part of Haute-Saône. As you can see the biggest town is Hericourt. Since David’s family actually came from there to the US and it’s a reasonably large town, David tried to find us accommodations there. He came up with a big zero, so we settled for staying in Belfort – just to the East.

 
More to come...

The Flu Shot

Since my body seems to have an affinity for respiratory bugs, I ALWAYS get flu shots. I was pleased to note that many Pharmacies have had signs in the windows saying that they have flu (rhume) shots available. So we just went to our corner pharmacy so I could get a flu shot.



David told them what we wanted, paid for the shot, and they gave us a little box containing the flu shot. What I had been anticipating was something on the order of Bartell’s or Walgreen’s or Safeway pharmacies where they actually GIVE you a shot. Doesn’t look like things work that way in France.


So on the short walk home we discussed what our next steps would be. I told David I was comfortable with him giving me the shot if he thought he could do it. And, that’s what happened. I am now inoculated against all the strains of the rhume the EU has designated for the northern hemisphere, and David has yet another skill to add to his list. He did a great job, too!

SNOW!

It’s been snowing since yesterday afternoon and the current temperature is ~30 degrees F. It is beautiful!



As in Seattle, some things grind to a halt when the white stuff appears. Our corner boulangerie received no deliveries so they had to purchase supplies for today from the Monoprix grocery store around the corner. My favorite C3 (electric bus) and all metro busses are out of service – luckily the underground metro and the trams continue to operate so some people can get around. Estelle is home today since one son’s school is closed, and it really isn’t safe for her to drive in to Lyon for work. And, you can see in the attached pictures that several cars haven’t been moved in a while.


The weather report says this weather will continue until Sunday when is warms up and starts raining. We’ll just have to enjoy it while it’s here. Here are some pictures I just took:

View from our living room.

View of rue Moncey from our living room.

View at intersection of rue Moncey and Cours Lafayette.  The man is walking to our corner boulangerie.

View out of kitchen window.

Street level view in front of our apartment.

Showing the snow in the trees in the park on the corner.