Wanderings in L'Arbresle

For one of our exploration trips we chose a small, but very old, village nearby – L’Arbresle.



The site has been inhabited since prehistoric times, but its current attraction is a picturesque setting and an impressive collection of very old structures. Included are Renaissance houses, a church dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries with lovely stained glass, vestiges of the town’s wall, and the castle keep from the 11th century.


Situated on a hillside above a small river, the town with the church and surrounding structures presents an impressive site.

Skyline of the Church and related Structures

Except for the locals, we mostly had the town to ourselves as we wandered the narrow, steep streets, looking at all the sites. Many of the streets were undergoing repair during the off season, so we often had to pick our way around barricades and obstacles, but there was nothing that presented a real problem.

The 11th Century Keep or Donjon

The Plaque on the Remnant of the town wall explaining that it was built in 1060

 The only real downside was that our lunch in a local brasserie was not as great as we have come to expect – only good, and not spectacular. However, this was more than compensated by our discovery of the shop of Jean-Christophe Bouche, the local chocolatier. His products were true works of art. The place reminded us very much of the French film ‘Chocolat’, with Juliet Binoche and Johnny Depp. [If you’ve never seen it, you should] Madam in the shop was very ‘gentil et agreeable’, and could have been in the movie. The chocolats, of course, were merveilleuse!

Church from the other side of town



Inside of the church



One of the Stained Glass Windows

As a final note, while in town we discovered a Mystery!  It seems that one of the town's most prominent native sons, although not mentioned as such on the town's website, was Pierre-Marie Durand, who died at 89 in 1951, leaving the town 150 million francs.  It seems he made his money in the pre-war years in the electrical utility business in southern France.  After the war he somehow ran afoul of the law by moving money out of the country.  He avoided significant jail time by dint of his involvement with the Resistance and by agreeing to forfeit 500 million francs to the government. We have researched and cannot find reliable details on this.  Our guess is that France had strict post-war currency control laws and M. Durand feared that a communist takeover would result in the loss of all his assets.  Therefore, he moved a portion out of the country.

There is a memorial to the town's benefactor, with a picture of Anna in front of it.

Anna and M. Durand

Fashion Update

(All the men in the reading audience may want to zone out for this one.)



Here’s a promised update re fashion and a little info about the semi-annual Solde.


First of all, historically the French government has sanctioned 2 sale periods a year – one in the winter and one in the summer. Each sale period (Solde) lasts for a specific period of time, and then in the “old days” there would be no more sales and discounted items until the next official Solde. Kind of hard to understand as Americans since we are used to sales whenever the merchants want to have one without permission from the government. Well now, because of the current economic conditions (every cloud DOES have a silver lining!), the French government is allowing merchants to have sales whenever they want to. And, the really good news is that the traditional Solde periods are still observed also! I mention this because I happily took advantage of the winter Solde and bought an LBD, a lovely, lined wool jumper, a dress with patchwork pattern, and a bright colored top.


Now on to fashion trends…I’m seeing a lot of very colorful coats, dresses, skirts, and tops in patchwork patterns. Hard to explain so here are some pix I’ve pulled from the web to show you some examples.

Pretty cool, huh? The patchwork pattern dress I bought is not as bright as these examples – mostly shades of blacks and grays with some red accents here and there. But, the bright colored top is just that! Patchwork patterned with lots of bright colors. Great fun!


The stores are bringing out their spring stuff now so I’ll be giving you another update in a while.

A Day Trip to Vienne

In which David and Anna discover lots more Roman history and edifices just 20 minutes from Lyon…


In addition to our four-day and longer trips while in France, we have started renting a car for the day and exploring the countryside near Lyon. One such recent daytrip was a short drive south to the town of Vienne.

Vienne is one of the 117 towns and regions in France to earn the inclusion in the “Towns and Regions of art and history.” This august title is conferred by France’s Ministry for Culture and Communication on local communities that take the measures necessary to keep their local heritage alive and flourishing. (The award of this title also conveys a certain amount of authenticity to visitors and some resources to the community.) You may remember our commenting on the many Roman artifacts and structures in Lyon itself. Well, we were amazed at what we saw in Vienne.

Signs of human habitation dating back as far as the 5th century BC have been found in Vienne. Then the Allobroge Gauls moved in around the 3rd century BC and made it their capital. The Romans followed and made it their regional center until the Gauls got to be so much of a problem that the Romans moved north to Lyon. During their occupation the Romans built some amazing edifices – equally amazing is the condition of these buildings today.


Armed with hand-held audio guides and following the bronze markers in the path, we followed the 3 ½ kilometer (a little over 2 miles) long “Heritage Path.”


Here are a few of the notable stops on the path:


• The Temple of Augustus and Livia. Imagine walking down a bustling city street, turning a corner and seeing a rather imposing Roman Temple! This one was built in two phases – first in 20-10 BC and then in 40 AD. They were doing some work on it while we were there, but it is in amazingly good condition.

• The Roman Theater. This was on a city street up the hill and a bit off the beaten path. It’s one of the biggest theaters in the Roman world and has a diameter of 130 meters (~142 yds). It is still in use today – notably for an annual international Jazz festival each July. It has seen an amazing list of talented musicians and singers (Ella Fitzgerald and Diana Krall among them).

I couldn't get a decent picture, so I got this one off the web.

• St. Maurice’s Cathedral. Vienne got her first bishop in the 3rd century AD. The present cathedral actually stands on the site of the original cathedral, bapistry, and bishop’s residence. Emperor Julian attended the celebration of Epiphany here in 361. (For those of you who may be interested, there seem to be two versions of St. Maurice’s story. It is agreed that Maurice was one of the Christians in the Roman army under Maximianus. One story has it that Maurice was killed because he refused to slaughter fellow Christians; another says that Maurice was killed because he refused to participate in pagan ceremonies.)

• There are too many sites to feature here. In fact, there are 20 on the audio tour. But, we wanted to give you a taste of Vienne.


And, speaking of tastes…we, of course, made sure to enjoy a leisurely lunch in a very pleasant, local restaurant. And, as usual, we were the only tourists in the place. (It’s off season.) We both chose a yummy dish of pork in mustard sauce from the listed specials of the day. The food, local wine, and service were excellent, and we were able to enjoy a view of the square outside from our window table.  Here's a photo we took of the restaurant. 


More daytrips to follow.



Reception at the Hotel de Ville de Lyon

In which David and Anna, after only six months in France, become intimate with the political power elite of Lyon....



We received in the mail a formal, written invitation to a joint reception, held by Accueil des Villes Francaises [AVF], of which we are members and have spoken of before, and the Mayor’s Office, to be held in the Hotel de Ville, or City Hall of Lyon. Scheduled for the evening of January 27, 2011, and its purpose was to formally welcome newcomers to the Lyon area. The Hotel de Ville, a sumptuously appointed building that we had toured during the Annual Days of Patrimony, hosted the event in a huge reception hall with enormous chandeliers, and walls and ceiling covered in paintings, gilding, and sculptures. English-language guided tours were provided, enabling us to learn more about the City, its government, and the building.

France’s political system, while similar to the US, has some fascinating differences. One is the fact that a person can hold several offices at the same time. For instance, the Parti-Socialiste Maire of Lyon, Gerard Colomb, is also a Senator in the national legislature. This makes him a powerful and influential person in the region because he wields power and influence on a local, regional, and national level. From a US point of view, one could argue that having one person hold multiple offices concentrates too much power in a few hands, and makes it difficult for others to successfully run for office. The French seem to feel that a person can be more effective if he/she is influential and powerful in multiple spheres.

The Hotel de Ville de Lyon.

Following the tour, there were short speeches by the Mayor’s Adjoint [Adjutant], and by Pascale Bidoli, President of the Regional AVF branch, a charming, elegant, capable Frenchwoman. [Unfortunately, M. Colomb, Le Senateur-Maire, as he is formally known, did not appear.] The speeches were followed by an elegantly catered hors d’oeuvres buffet with sparkling wine poured by unformed servers.


See below for more pix.

The Reception Hall, taken earlier

Fireplace in the Reception Hall





Grand Staircase leading up to the Reception Hall

Lunch at the Brasserie Georges

The Brasserie Georges is very well known restaurant in Lyon and has been around, in the same location, since 1836. The restaurant is noted for its choucroutes (sauerkrauts) and other traditional dishes although its menu contains a wide range of dishes. It is a huge restaurant with a rich history! Previous diners include Jacques Brel, Colette, Anatole France, Tony Garnier, the Lumiere brothers, Mistinguett, Auguste Rodin, Jean-Paul Sartes, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Maurice Utrillo, Paul Verlane, Emile Zola, Edith Piaf, and many other noteworthy people.



Anna had the opportunity to have lunch there recently with some friends from AVF. Most had “Choucroutes Royale” (sauerkraut with boiled potatoes, Strasbourg and Frankfurter sausages, and smoked pork belly) with an Alsatian white wine. We finished off our meal by sharing a giant Baked Alaska, a specialty of the house that must be ordered at the beginning of the meal. It came complete with sparklers. Absolutely delicious!


Periodically, the lights would dim and the staff would parade out with a flaming Baked Alaska for a birthday celebration. At that point all the diners would all burst into applause to salute to birthday person. Great fun!


David is interested in having the Brasserie Georges experience so it looks like another meal is in the offing.


Here are some pictures Anna’s friend Mei took at lunch:

View toward the front of the restaurant taken from our booth.

Our waiter preparing our plates.

Choucroutes Royale

Part of our Baked Alaska

Le Palais des Papes à Avignon

Because of factional strife in Rome, Pope Clement V decided to move the papal court to Avignon in 1309. And, where the Pope went, Rome went with him. So you could say that Rome was in Avignon until Urban V moved back to Rome, Italy in 1377 (or until 1403, if you count the time of the “anti-popes” when two men at a time claimed the title of pope).  Obviously, they would need a place to live.



The palace itself started out as a relatively modest building. Pope Benedict XII did some remodeling and additions from 1334-1342 and built the simple Palais Vieux (Old Palace). Then Clement VI made a lot of additions from 1342-1352, added four wings and ten towers (some more than 164 feet high), and built the more flamboyant Palais Neuf (New Palace). Thus, this enormous palace was built in less than twenty years, which in itself is amazing. The Palais des Papes is the biggest gothic palace in Europe and covers an area of about 148,000 square feet or four acres.


The palace served as a fortress as well as a residence for the pope and the papal court. The fortifications were needed to defend the residents and the luxurious trappings from rogue bands of mercenaries and anyone else who might attack. Unfortunately, all the furnishings and works of art were destroyed or looted following the Revolution in 1789, and the palace later served as a prison, barracks, and warehouse.

This huge edifice still dominates the old, walled city of Avignon. There has been a great deal of restoration to the facility, and, although it is largely empty, it was very impressive to tour. Equipped with audio guides describing various rooms and features, we spent around three hours touring most of the 25 rooms currently open to visitors. But, enough history – here are some pictures:

We couldn't get it all in with our camera, so here is a professional photo taken from the city side.

And, here's a view a night from the river side.  You also get a view of the city wall in this picture.



One of the courtyards.  (Note the lovely blue sky.)



Since Anna has a thing for gargoyles, she had to take this picture of one at the palace.

The Grand Chapel.






(Side note to GG and anyone else keeping track of bises - in this part of the country, we observed greetings with  three kisses - right, left, right.)

And, now Back to the Bridge!

Sur le Pont d’Avignon…

Sur le pont d’Avignon,

       L’on y danse, l’on y danse,

Sur le pont d’Avignon,

      L’on y danse tous en rond

On Sunday we stayed in Avignon and visited two places – the famous bridge of song and painting, and the Palais des Papes.


The Pont D’Avignon is (or was) the only stone bridge across the Rhone between Lyon and the Mediterranean. The Romans had a bridge at this site, but the current bridge was built in the 12th century and destroyed during the religious wars in 1226 and later rebuilt. As the Rhone is a large river with powerful spring floods, the bridge was often damaged by floods, and then rebuilt. It was finally abandoned in the 17th century. What we see today is the remainder that projects into the river from Avignon. It is of course kept in good repair as it has become a symbol of the city.

Anna and the Famous Bridge

The original versions of the song celebrated the mutual respect between people of various trades and professions and involved acknowledging and saluting each during the course of the song. The song could have an unlimited number of verses depending on how many groups you wanted to acknowledge. Originally the song celebrated the fact that the people of Avignon would gather on the far shore and dance under [sous] the bridge. Over time ‘sous’ was replaced by ‘sur’ or ‘on’. The bridge is narrow, so dancing in a group would be difficult, but David and Anna nevertheless essayed a few steps ‘Sur le Pont’, to the general amusement of the rest of the tourists..

Looking Back at Avignon from the Bridge

Avignon's Wall with Gate from Bridge

Another shot of the Wall from the Bridge