Travel is joy. Art is passion.
“Tout arrive en France.” ~ François de la Rochefoucauld
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| Classic Sculpture and Painting at Musée des Beaux Arts, Lyon |
Lyon
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| chimney rooftops |
It has been an good week .. very busy adjusting to the changes, getting to my French class at
ESL, surviving
the heat, and getting over a cold which I seemed to have picked up on
the trip. I’m very comfortable with my host family since the have made me feel so at home. We pass in the morning, as many US families, quickly as we go in and out of the kitchen and bathroom. Dinner is around 8pm, usually with Patrice and Agnès since Robin has just finished his school year and passed his finals. He is out often with his friends. (He has also been very occupied creating a special calendar for his best friend, Marie, which is monthly photos of their friends in various artistic poses with unique objects. Very creative!) Dinner is often light with salad, cold vegetables, cold meats, cheese, bread (baguette) and a
touch of wine. Then we chat in the evenings, relaxing as best possible
in the heat until bedtime. I have finally begun adjusting to the
schedule and am out of the jet lag period.
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| Barges on the Rhône |
My ESL class is made up mostly of students of college age or late 20s. The Prof, Jean-Laurent, is wonderful. He has quite a background and is a very energetic teacher using a variety of approaches and sources. My class has students from Germany, Switzerland, Colombia, Brazil, Spain, Bangladesh and the US. The mornings fly by as we work in French. If someone struggles, they seem to default to English rather than their native languages. Jean-Laurent always seems what we’re trying to say (which he can probably figure out from years of such practice). He’s totally encouraging .. even when we’re totally off track. Our first Field Trip to the Basilica was great, although it was stifling
hot, and ended in a small café, second floor, with cool drinks all
around. Many historical sites to be seen and experienced!
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| My ESL class in front of a trompe l'oeil painting of the history of Lyon |
Through the main plaza of the town with it’s large ONLY LYON sign, nicely placed for tourist photos,
then to the funicular for the ride up to the Basilica. In my photos you can see a pack of Che cigarettes that were on the driver’s dashboard - it amazes me how large the Europeans place “SMOKING KILLS” on the packs, but still so many of them smoke ... especially when they’re walking down the sidewalks! And butts are everywhere, stuck in the grooves of water drains and street cracks. Jean-Laurent at one point tried to place the blame of the litter around town on the tourists, but I laughed: “Les touristes? Non!”
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| Class mate in the Greco-Roman ruins |
After the Basilica,
during a trip down the winding paths, we stopped to see the Gallo-Roman
ruins. Ancient walls of a town and it’s amphitheater built (or ordered
built) by Julius Caesar. We in the States often forget how young our
country is ... that anything that is “old” is maybe 300-400 years at the most. But 2000 years old and still being used is an amazing realization! The view of the whole city from this hill is amazing. Red tiled rooftops everywhere, the old city sections at the foot of the hill (St. Paul, St. Georges, St. Jacques) then the Saône and the Rhône just beyond as the city stretches on. Lyon is about eight times the size of Portland, Maine. Below this hill are the tiny streets of the Old Towns of St. Paul, St. Jean, and St. Georges. There are old doors that lead to passageways under the buildings to the next street. At places these tunnels open to the sky and reveal balconies or windows of the apartments above. These are called “traboule”. Useful to the inhabitants, secretive and exciting to me.
[traboules link]
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| traboule |
Cross the Saône to the Croix Rousse section of the city of Lyon, at the foot of that hill, there is a fresco of the famous Lyonnais people. A tromp l’oeil including such greats as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry of "The Little Prince", scientists, adventurers, and various saints. It’s there we had the group photo. Lyon is famous for these building paintings and they are all over the city as a pleasant surprise.
I have tried to get around the city more after classes (which are quite
intense) but the weather has been hovering around 85-92 degrees with a
heavy humidity which keeps some smog trapped over the city. I have
found myself within the older buildings which have thick stone walls
which tend to be cooler. Even our apartment building has walls about a
food thick. The churches and cathedrals are quiet and cool and
beautiful. Such variety of art, sculpture, stonework, mosaics - some
very old, some new. Walking through the ancient cobblestone streets I
notice the details, the things that many people just walk by not
noticing the smaller works of art all around them: doorknobs, windows,
doorways, stonework. Beautiful and expressive each in their own
unobtrusive way.
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| beautiful door knocker |
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| ancient door knocker |
The visit to the Musée des Beaux Arts was pleasant and cool since the sculpture gallery is in the old Abbey there.
The
soirée was in the sculpture garden, with music and special dance
presentation – so I nearly wore my new black dress. But it was about 90
degrees out, so I changed to something lighter and more comfortable. I
thought it would be a formal evening. To my surprise nearly everyone
was dressed very casually, mostly in jeans and t-shirts or cotton
dresses. Later Agnès told me that it is usual for people here. Just as
in Maine .. under-dressed. At the beginning of the evening
the Curator explained about a few of the works then there was a Chamber
trio of two guitars and a cello. Refreshingly peaceful in the ancient
hall. The sculptures fantastic: Rodin, Bourdelle, Maillol, and others.
Saturday morning I took the
Metro to la Croix-Rousse, a hill above Lyon, opposite the Fourvière
(where the Basilica is), that is another quaint part of the city. Early
mornings there is an amazing open-air market with some of the freshest
fruits and meats and cheeses that you will ever find. It is a banquet
for the eyes and the palate. My feet were complaining more and more as I
walk along these streets, but I came home with a wonderful Camembert de
Normandie cheese and fresh black cherries. That night we took a ride by car up to the hills beyond the Park. The tiny towns tucked into the sides of the hills (les Collines) are a mixture of ancient stone homes and modern structures. An ancient hermitage, made of the same stone that has shells inside that I have seen many other areas, commands the area. A storm was passing over Lyon as we looked back toward the city. To me it made the view more spectacular .. the light streaming through breaks in the clouds illuminating the countryside below. The rain cleansed and
cooled the air. At last! We stopped for sushi on the way home and had a
great conversation about life and families and love.
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| view back toward Lyon from the foothills |
Thinking of language and life, it
took me a bit to really understand, the French word for mind is
“esprit”… I kept thinking they meant soul or spirit so the false-friend
word (“faux ami”) kept throwing me off. Often, however, it is the
better word to use (than “mind”) for a more poetic meaning. I do find
that my thinking heads toward Spanish when I cannot come up with a
French phrase, which is not great, because the syntax of French is
actually closer to English although many words are like Spanish.
The French sparrows have
tiny little sharp chirps. There are hundreds of them flying over the
roofs of Lyon. They swoop quickly to capture any insect possible. But
there are so many that from a distance they look like swarms of mingies
over the pond on a warm summer night. No wonder there are very very few
insects here to fly in through the open night windows. These joyful
friends keep us free.
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| antique shuttle cocks from the Flea Market |
Today after breakfast we headed to Le Marché Puces (Flea Market), but this flea market was part such but more of it was like Antique stores - very old items and high quality (and prices) - fun to look at! Back home for lunch and a quick nap (the heat makes it nearly necessary!). They were off to visit friends and family while I took a walk to the Park: Parc de la Tête d’Or. It took about twenty minutes to arrive walking down the Avenu de Maréchal Foch (prounounced
fosche). It is a huge park, free to anyone, with huge trees, so tall and cool and varied. There is a large lake in the center that is the color of the Rhône but intensified: a viridian-cerulean green-blue. I’ve seen the color before in a painting by Frank Benson. It hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston: children standing in a skiff with the light reflecting under the boat in this gorgeous color. Up close at the park the water is very clear, so I am not sure why it has such an amazing color. There is also a zoo in the park with great variety: giraffes, lions,gibbons, tortoises, and many others.
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| Parc Tête d'Or |
It is Sunday and every family seemed to be at the park. The variety of countries represented, although most of the people are French, and the mixed couples is amazing! I think it is wonderful that people from such different cultures can find love despite social objections. The World is such an amazing place. The typical French lovers could also be seen in cozy corners or directly on a bench in the main pathways - making out tremendously. I wonder how they can just kiss for so long ... Children everywhere, some riding ponies (that are led by guides), some on scooters (the tiny ones with four inch wheels - actually even many adults use those here), and tiny babies with their proud parents. Every time I see a tiny baby I think of my coming grandchild at home and, yes, I tear up with joy and pride.
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| Parc Tête d'Or |
Lyon info - city website
[apologies for the
low resolution photos .. these were transferred from an old website and
will be updated to high resolution ASAP]
