I know what my favorite memory from Lyon will be, and I've just barely left. The Notre Dame basilica de Fourviere is on the edge of a high hill, visible almost everywhere in Lyon. I was in the city on a Sunday, which means church services and choirs singing. And sing they did. I think the location of the church atop the hill allowed their voices to carry. I heard them crossing the bridge way below, at the Soane river! It was like being serenaded during my walk down and through old town. Awesome. The church, only about 100 years old, is gorgeous. It has mosaics of biblical scenes, which use gold pieces for things like halos, meaning the mosaic sparkles. the surrounding area also offers a great view of Lyon.
Nearby are Roman theatre ruins, which are still used for their original purpose- concerts! REM, among others, have played there. The ruins are called Theatres Gallo-Romains and are in amazing condition. There are even remnants of the town behind the theatre, as well as a main road.
Lyon has been compared to Paris for it's similarities- river through town that splits (it has an island), neighbourhoods numbered, and that it used to be the capital and is, in fact, older than Paris. It even has a satellite tower near the basilica that mimics the Eiffel tower lol. The city itself does look a little like Paris, but it is much less busy (no lines yay!) and the metro is awesome (and roomy!)
Lyon is known for it's silk industry. Unfortunately all of it's silk making tours were closed Sunday. Instead I headed to Place de Terreaux where lots of people were beheaded in the past (see what I did there?) This is where the theatre and the beautiful hotel de ville is. Not to mention an amazing fountain.....
I went to the musee des beaux-arts here, which is housed in Palais St Pierre. It was a nice museum with everything from huge Egyptian temple entryways, to a bedroom set and Renoir & Picasso paintings. The autoguide was informative too. It's nice to go beyond just seeing and appreciating (..or not appreciating) the art.
Near my hotel there was a Sunday market which had some unusual items for sale... Like mattresses... And puppies. Lol very odd but some cute puppies! Breeders, I'm hoping. There is also a massive square in 2e called place Bellecour with another statue of Louis... Who knows what number lol. Seriously though, I don't think I've seen a bigger square.
Sunday night I ate dinner in old town near St Jean church, a church that had some biblical stained glass windows replaced by the Nazi's with non- biblical ones. Unfortunately all the stained glass they highlighted on info signs were biblical sigh. The church also has an amazing clock and calendar. The calendar is hand written and has years 1950-2000 something. Anyway it was beautiful and intricate. Very impressive.
Back to dinner. I ate at a place suggested by my guidebook. I had a meal "unique to Lyon" of, basically, steak fondue. They brought a pot of boiling marinade and I cooked the steak, then dipped it into 1 of 3 mayo sauces they provided. That, along with the potatoes, was very good. The place also makes crepes outside as a fast food option for people, so I got to watch some crepe making for a while. Man I'm going to miss France... I had an expresso and croissant this morning too. One last hurrah lol. Luckily I am flying out of Paris, so I'll still have one more midnight in Paris ;)
Well I'm going to stop being nostalgic- I did just leave. Off to Switzerland. A first for me!!
Later!
Ranelle