Day 9 in Lyon

[18 April]

It's our final full day in Lyon and we made the most of it -- all the while keeping to our schedule of relaxation and not feeling a need to rush out and do something or see something just to do it or see it.

Susan spent a part of our leisurely morning packing up most of our things, getting ready for our next and final leg of this trip. 

But the day began with bright sun and promised to be one which demanded we be outside. And so out we went.

We walked over to the Place de Republique where a funky band had set up, cranking out music for the better part of the day. But we were off to find two other murals of some renown here in Lyon and to use up our public transport passes. We walked to Cordeliers bus stop and took the C14 to Terreaux Feuillée and walked over to the riverside. From there we walked up the quai in search of the fresque des Lyonnais, which we found after walking right by it.

Fresque des Lyonnais. Also included at ground level is a map identifying all these local celebrities (such as chef Paul Bocuse).

you can see the map and list directly below the title of the fresque

Susan and Paul Bocuse

We then walked back down the quai passing where we gotten off the bus and soon came upon our next quarry, the fresque de Bibliotheque.

From the fresque we made our way back in the direction of the place des Jacobins strolling down the rue Mercière and then through the passage de l'Argue.

A tasteful series of small boutique shops along the Passage de l'Argue.

Five minutes later we were back home and relaxed for a couple of hours before heading back out to soak up the sunshine and the Lyon vibe on Good Friday. 

To do that we meandered our way across the Saône into old Lyon and then into the church of Saint Jean. The church, which was closed the last time we were in this neighborhood, was not only open but packed, mostly with young people. Somewhere the ethereal voice of a woman (we could never actually see her) was singing and offering readings - in French obviously and having to do with the Good Friday holy day.

And we noticed a curious phenomenon: down the side aisles were small clusters of young people waiting to sit and speak with one of the priests; there were probably three or four priests holding such one-on-one sessions on each side of the church.

Leaving the church we continued on rue Saint-Jean in search of Pralus, a pastry shop recommended by one of Susie's blog followers. The street was humming with activity and after a few minutes navigating the uneven cobblestones we found the shop which is famous for its pralines rose and their Praluline. That specialty is a buttery cake studded with crushed pralines. They were flying out the door.

On our way back home we stopped at a small shop selling tartelette écureuil (squirrel) -- a variation on Susie's caramel nut tart. I couldn't pronounce the word for squirrel and said to the young woman behind the counter tartelette squirrel and she knew immediately what I wanted!

Back home we relaxed -- our general mode of living of late -- until later in the evening when we went out in search of an aperitif. We found a brasserie right on the Place des Jacobins where we enjoyed a glass of champagne, our first in France, believe it or not!

toasting a farewell to Lyon 

Leaving the brasserie we made our way back to our neighborhood and Kaia, the place we had eaten on our very first night in the city. 

We sat at the bar, in a nearly empty room and enjoyed a glass of Saint Joseph with our dinner of smashed potatoes and chicken tenders (the same meal I had that very first night). Not necessarily Lyonnais cuisine but delicious nonetheless. And Susie got to work on her French with the staff in the bargain! Friendly young people and the manager remembered us from our first visit to boot!

Eventually it was time to go home and so we did. We enjoyed a couple of slices of squirrel tart and Paul Bocuse red praline tart. Not a bad way to spend our last day in Lyon.

Tomorrow it's off to Annecy for our third and final chapter of this particular travel story.

Day 5 in Lyon

 [14 April]

Located in a former abbey on the Place Terreaux close to the Hôtel de Ville the Musée des Beaux-Arts is quite impressive. There's plenty of art with something to appeal to just about everyone. We spent about an hour-and-a-half focusing primarily on the art that appeals to us (see the photos that follow). In fact, we skipped the entire 1st floor  (antiquities) -- we could only take so much culture in one fell swoop!

The courtyard is a lovely space with its own circle of sculpture and a wonderful place just to hang out.

We also tracked down the most famous of the city's murals, the Fresque des Canuts and ended the day with a walk through vieux Lyon (old Lyon) at the base of the hill overlooking the city (at the top of which is the basilica).

And speaking of photos this post has more than 70 of them!

Musée des Beaux-Arts

Susie at work

the main entrance

Victor Hugo by Louis-Ernest Barrias

We began our tour of the museum by heading down a level to the sculpture wing and found ourselves overwhelmed, and I mean that in a good way. Stunning works of art by sone of the world's greatest artists. 

playwright Henri Becque by Auguste Rodin

I was particularly struck by two pieces that I have seen before, in Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, and one in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The first is by Alfred Boucher:

In the Fields by Alfred Boucher

Ferdinand Barbedienne tomb in Père-Lachaise D53

Perseus and the Gorgon by Laurent-Honoré Marqueste

This next one should look familiar to fans of the Meijer Sculpture Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan:

Eve by Auguste Rodin

The third sculpture that I've seen before in a setting for which it was designed:

Monument aux Morts by Albert Bartholomé

Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, D04

1st Communion by René de Saint-Marceaux

Venus with a Necklace by Aristide Malliol

Lying Bacchante by Denis Foyatier

Odalisque by Jean jacques dit James Pradier

The Nymph of the Siene by Jean-Baptiste Vietty

Juliette Recamier by Joseph Chinard

We then made our way up to the top floor and wandered through the many galleries of paintings from Italy, France and the Low Countries (pays bas) from the 16th-19th centuries.

Portrait of a Madwoman also called The Monomania of Envy by Théodore Géricault

Magdalena Bay Spitzbergen by by François-Auguste Biard (detail)

Antoinette Oudiné by Hippolyte Flandrin

A Soldier healed by a Nun in a cloister by Claudius Jacquand

A French Soldier's Farewell by Michel Genod (detail)

Lavinia Sweeting by Thomas Lawrence

Portrait of a Woman by Palma Vecchio

Young Girl with Blue ribbon by Auguste Renoir

Dancers on the Stage by Edgar Degas

Young Woman among the Flowers by Edouard Manet

Marguerite Gauthier-Lathuille by Edouard Manet

The Entrance of Grand Rue in Argenteuil, Winter by Claude Monet

Rough Sea, Étretat by Claude Monet

Young Peasant Woman from Nice, Celestine by Berthe Morisot

Sailboats at the Harbor, Deauville by Eugène Boudin

Trouville, The Harbor by Eugène Boudin

And we've been across this bridge at least twice:

The Entrance to Guillotière Bridge in Lyon on a Rainy Day by Nicolas Sicard (detail)

A Wedding at a Photographer's Studio by Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret (detail)

Adagio Appassionato by Albert Maignan (detail)

The Reading by Henri Fantin-Latour

Leaving the museum I was struck by the juxtaposition of the museum door to the wonderful Bartholdi fountain across the Place.

Created in 1987 the fresque des Canuts (Mural of the Canuts) covers some 1200 square meters and represents the life and spirit of the Croix-Rousse neighborhood. This must be seen to be believed!

everything you see on the end of this building is trompe-l'oeil

Leaving this truly awesome creation we retraced our steps to the Metro and back home, stopping at our neighborhood boulangerie for a sandwich and a loaf of bread (thinking of breakfast tomorrow). 

After a bit of down time it was back out, this time heading across the river to vieux Lyon. Before reaching the river we passed the Theatre des Celestins.  

Theatre des Celestins

It was a short 5 minutes or so to the Pont Napoléon Bonaparte. Once over the river we were in the heart of old Lyon. (We had been here briefly once before when we came to take the funicular up the hill to the basilica.) 

the Place in front Saint-Jean church

The tiny meandering rue Saint-Jean is home to a wealth of eateries, many touting themselves as genuine Lyonnais  Bouchon, and of course to shops hawking jewelry and various souvenir bric-a-brac. Still, it's a very quiet place to walk once you're away from the crowds on rue Saint-Jean. To do that we slipped through the door at no. 54. . . 

entrance to the traboule at no. 54 rue Saint-Jean

one of the interior courtyards

. . .  and through the shortcut to rue de Boeuf

We followed the street until it met up with rue Saint-Jean which we took back to the Metro, taking our time because we can. 

We sat outside the church for a few minutes to do a little people watching. It was a very short walk to the line D to Place Bellecour and then up rue de la Republique and home.

This evening I prepared cod in a hobo pack (foil packet) with sesame oil, soy sauce and persillade (a delicious mix of dried parsley, shallot and garlic) accompanied by leftover rice and green bean mix.

Tomorrow we hope to take the hop-on/hop-off bus tour around the city and perhaps see one or two other locally famous mural paintings. Oh, and back to Les Halles for a proposed Susie project. 

Stay tuned!