What a beautiful city in which to begin our Toussaint vacation.
Neither my friend, Susy, nor I had ever been to Lyon, so we decided to kick off our travels in the city known for its silk-making tradition which stretches back hundreds of years. We departed from the aptly-named Gare de Lyon on Tuesday morning and arrived in rainy, gray Lyon in the early afternoon. We grabbed our umbrellas and began exploring the city. The city is bisected by two rivers, the Rhône and the Saone. Parts of Lyon reminded us of Paris (especially the fact that a river, or two, runs throughout) but we both agreed that, for the most part, Lyon was cleaner and there was far less noise pollution (i.e. drivers are more patient and don't honk at everyone and everything the way they do in Paris!) The tiny streets in the old part of the city (vieux Lyon) were charming and we were soon exhausted from the amount of walking that we put in on Day 1!
On Wednesday, the sun made an appearance and warmed things up nicely for our only full day in Lyon. We walked over the rivers and into vieux Lyon where we stopped by the workshop of a silk craftsman. We were even able to see all of the equipment in the back of the shop. I have always loved textiles and weaving and hand-made goods, so to see the work up close was thrilling. He gave us a small demonstration of how he made velour out of silk (I always thought it was a form of velvet). He inserted a cord of some other material into the design, passed the weft shuttle around it to secure the threads, and then used a blade to simultaneously free the cord and slice the warp threads, leaving behind a raised relief that didn't destroy the integrity of the strings because they were locked in place. It was amazing to see and I was so captivated that I forgot to ask if I could film it - it was over before I knew it! There were so many silk threads on the machine, too...he told us that each thread was composed of 40 silkworm cocoons! Can you imagine?!
The next site we visited was the beautiful cathédrale de la Fourvière, located at the top of the hill overlooking the city. We could see this church from practically every other location in the city and the white exterior seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. The panoramic views were nothing short of breathtaking, but the interior of the church was more than dazzling. I have visited many churches in Europe over the course of my short life, yet I don't think I've ever seen one as lovely as this. It was highly decorated, but somehow seemed light and airy at the same time. I loved the intricate mosaics, the vibrant colors (Susy loved all the turquoise, her favorite color!) and the stained-glass windows. The sun streamed through each design and projected rainbows of color on the opposite walls - I first noticed that effect in another church I visited in 2008 in the tiny town of St. Paul de Vence in the South of France. It was wonderful to just sit in one of the pews and take it all in.
From there, we wandered into some of the more modern areas of the city and pedestrian walkways lined with shops! The nicer weather brought everyone out in droves and it was nice to be surrounded by all the bustling shoppers. Lyon is also filled with museums galore, but we decided to consider the city itself as a museum and took advantage of the fine weather and took so many pictures of everything around us! We knew it would be impossible to see everything during our short time in Lyon, but now we have some things to look forward to seeing the next time we visit. Check out my pictures of Lyon after the jump...
Paris-->Lyon
(I was an excellent packer, KWC...only 2 bags and a purse for a week away!)
Rainy day in Lyon...
However, the sun eventually decided to come out.
On the banks of the Saone...
Amazing clouds...
Lyonnais street...
Façade of Eglise Saint-Jean...
Astronomical clock...
Reminds me of the one in Prague...
Rose window in Eglise Saint-Jean...
Henri IV and Marie de Medicis were married here...on my birthday (400+ years ago!!!)
Lyon is apparently the French capital for trompe l'oeil...
It's almost that time of year...Just for you, RST(LNE)!
Silk workshop...spinning threads
Tools
Hundreds of spools of silk thread
Gallo-Roman ruins - an ancient theater
We're always ready to take the stage!
Love all the terra-cotta roofs!
Façade of Notre Dame de Fourvière
So majestic...
The golden mosaics were stunning!
It was nice to see the church on a sunny day...
The rainbow effect in Lyon (center of the photo)...
Similar effect in St. Paul de Vence in 2008...
I love that the angels are delivering the church to St. Peter's in Rome!
More trompe l'oeil...
Swans in the Rhône...
An area set aside along the quai of the Rhône for walking, biking, and playing (we saw multiple playgrounds as we walked - this one had awesome slides from the walkway above to the lower level!)
Last bit of trompe l'oeil that I photographed...
Last view of the church on the hill before our departure...those clouds were spectacular!
I'd be lyin'...
if I said I didn't love Lyon. ♥
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