An Evening Concert

Our good friends and former landlords, Dominique and Roger, invited us to go to an outdoor concert with them.   The venue was to be the grounds of Villa Monoyer, a large, old home we have all been curious about for some time.  We had peeked at it through its gate as we had walked by, but that was it. As it happens, Dominique's brother is a friend of the owner, and he was kind enough to ask if Dominique, Roger, and a couple of American friends could attend the concert the owner was hosting.  She said yes, Dominique signed us up, printed out our confirmation, and we were good to go.  So, at the appointed hour, we went over to Roger and Dominique's, Roger and David grabbed four folding chairs from their deck, and we walked over.

We were greeted at the gate by the home's owner.  She explained that she lived at the home part of the year and elsewhere for the rest of the time.  The home was actually built in 1902 by her great-grandfather, Ferdinand Monoyer, a noted French Opthamologist who, among other things, invented the Monoyer Chart that continues to be used to test visual acuity today. Here's his original chart.  If you look closely, ignoring the bottom line, then reading upwards from the bottom, Monoyer and Frederick can be seen.

Villa Monoyer is in need of attention but still impressive.  It's surprising to find a house like this with its walled grounds right inside Lyon!

 All photos courtesy of Roger.

After everyone was seated and settled in, our hostess introduced herself, told a bit about the house, and introduced the performer.  We had heard that our hostess opens her place to events from time to time, and that this was a benefit concert for local children's hospitals.

The performer was quite talented and put on a very good show - just singing and accompanying himself on his guitar.  The program consisted primarily of songs by Moustaki, Ferret, and Brassens.  All of us of a "certain age" would feel quite nostalgic hearing this style of song performed.  Just think Pete Seeger, Gordon Lightfoot, Woody Guthrie, Peter, Paul and Mary, the Kingston Trio, etc., etc.  In fact, we were surprised to hear a cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright."  Apparently, "N'y Pense Plus, Tout Est Bien" has been quite popular here and has been covered by several different artists and groups.  The translated lyrics were spot on, by the way.

Enjoying the concert.

(Dominique was in this photo originally, but was

 caught by surprise and wouldn't want her look

 saved for prosterity in this blog.)

So what do you do when a light rain starts, and the outdoor concert isn't over?  Rain isn't good for guitars or performers, for that matter!  Well, a member of the audience jumped up with his umbrella, and the show went on!

Fortunately, the rain stopped, and the concert continued until its end time of 9:00PM.  We chatted with folks a bit while Roger and David packed up the chairs, and we headed back to Roger and Dominique's and then "home."     

Another interesting experience and taste of la belle France!  Thank you, Dominique and Roger!