Road trip part 2: Lyon

Lyon and I started out on bad terms.

Having settled (I thought) rather well into driving sur le continent, things became somewhat hairy on entering France’s second-largest city* at rush-hour and attempting to navigate the warren of narrow and occasionally vertiginous one-way streets in La Croix-Rousse.

After circling the area several times (sometimes on purpose, sometimes … not) in a vain attempt to find a free space on the street for anything larger than a pedal car, I eventually surrendered, sparing my increasingly frayed nerves any further strain by parking in an extortionately expensive underground car park.

And so I arrived, luggage-laden and heart still racing, at the appointed place and time to take charge of the keys for my inaugural airbnb booking – where I was faced with a totally non English-speaking friend (Cécile) of the owner with the keys to the 3rd floor apartment … and the bottom of a surprisingly steep spiral staircase.

I managed a reasonable, if stilted, conversation with Cécile (due in equal parts to a lack of language ability and actual breath on my part as we ascended), and when we reached the summit the apartment itself was lovely. I just cursed Monsieur Jacquard for having invented a weaving loom so tall it warranted such high ceilings – and hence the precipitous escaliers I was navigating – in these converted workshops. (In fact I cursed the lack of ascenseur at the time and him only later, following a visit to one of the last active workshops in Lyon – wherein I discovered his culpability.)

A series of niggling inconveniences as opposed to out-and-out catastrophe perhaps – but still, so far not the best introduction.

And then it rained.

On day 1 I felt like one of those poor souls you see traipsing around London in their £1 ponchos that let all the water in and make you sweat at the same time because you’re basically wrapping yourself in a plastic bag. Nothing stops that tourist mindset of having to get around all the ‘must-see’s – because you might never be here again, right? And so it was that I trudged resolutely around town: Nikon-pregnant in my trusty pac-a-mac; rain-sodden map in hand.

Thankfully, the ensuing days were much improved and I basked on sun-drenched (though gusty and windswept) streets, walking above the rooftops in Fourvière and passing through hidden ‘traboules’ (passageways) in the old town, discovering the Lyonnais penchant for monumental murals and ever-so-slightly-sinister puppets…

* Strictly speaking, Lyon is the largest conurbation outside of Paris, Marseille being the second largest city proper. (This, for my esteemed editorial colleagues who may feel I’m fudging the facts.)

Sculpture, Museé des Beaux Arts (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Egyptian mummy figurines, Musée des Beaux Arts (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Carved wooden head of Osiris, Museé des Beaux Arts (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Jongleur de Bourges, Museé des Beaux Arts (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Staircase, Museé des Beaux Arts (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Heron (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

View of vieux Lyon across the river Saône © Alison Jordan

Beautiful tree (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Mural (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Mur des Canuts (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Silk threads and samples, Soierie Vivante (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Silk threads, Soierie Vivante (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Jacquard mechanical loom, Soierie Vivante – they’re very tall, you know (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Weaving loom detail, Soierie Vivante (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Partially woven silk trim, Soierie Vivante. In this workshop, they made the trimming for uniforms and religious garments (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Window (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Montée de la Grande Côte (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Fresque des Lyonnais (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Fresque des Lyonnais – and bystanders (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Passerelle Saint-Vincent (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Buildings in vieux Lyon © Alison Jordan

Place du Change (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Stone carving, Museés Gadagne (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Bust of Marianne – symbol of the French Republic, Museés Gadagne (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Revolutionary poster, Museés Gadagne (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

My, what big eyes you have… Puppet, Museés Gadagne (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Puppet, Museés Gadagne (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Guignol. Kind of a French version of Punch, Museés Gadagne (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Sinister puppets, Museés Gadagne (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Spiral staircase inside one of the towers, Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Ceiling detail, Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Ornate ceiling, Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

View from la galerie des Anges, Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Statue of the Virgin Mary, Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Statue of Saint-Michel, Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

View of Lyon from the rooftop of the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Tower detail, Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Stairs to the crypt, Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Café (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Printing press detail, Musée de l’Imprimerie (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Engraved printing blocks and impression, Musée de l’Imprimerie (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Hôtel de Ville (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Fontaine Bartholdi detail (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

View of Pont Lafayette and Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière across the river Rhône (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Traboule de la Tour Rose (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

View of Palais de Justice and Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière from Passerelle du Palais de Justice (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

'The weight of One Self', sculpture (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Madelon. Guignol's wife (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Yet another puppet (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

'Le belvédère et les lanternes de l'île Barbe', art installation (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

What a pair of cocks (Lyon) © Alison Jordan

Ali Claire en France

A sabbatical year of cultural enrichment (/mid-life crisis)

Widgets

Search

Road trip part 2: Lyon

One thought on “Road trip part 2: Lyon”

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Share this:

Related

One thought on “Road trip part 2: Lyon”

Leave a comment Cancel reply