Lyon Impressions
My first impression of lyon is ice grey and blue – modern and clean. The tram outside lyon part dieu provided a quick way to view the city – I saw book shops, hair salons, bakeries, tall and wide apartment buildings in cream, yellow and earthy red that made me want to jump out the tram and visit! But I remembered my luggage and had to stay put.
After setting down my luggage, I set out to walk to vieux-lyon, the old town. Bought my first croissant and chocolate brioche, which were excellent, bought house-made white peach juice and checked out the local grocery stores.
I then crossed the Saone river on a bright red bridge under the toasty sun and observed the waters. The pastel colours of houses and churches smudged into the clear green-blue water like an impressionist painting. The stretch of light grey slabs on the banks of the river provided locals with a running track and places to sit – I can imagine how many people would enjoy a pleasant afternoon here!
The most prominent structure in old town is the Cathédrale Saint-Jean, the facade fairly intricate but entering, you will marvel at its size. High bowed ceiling and gorgeous purple and orange lights filtering down through the colourful windows. The carved marble staircases were just beautiful, and the lighting guides you to the sombre painting of bible stories on the walls.
The 1-hour city tour starts at 2pm, where we wove through the secret passageways – or short-cuts – that are conceiled within the apartments. Ground level is pedestrian, yet upper levels are residential – there are 300 such passageways within the city, and the government struck an agreement with the owners for 50 of them to be open to the public. You can pop into one of these and emerge to the next street without having to go around the swathes of blocks. The old town is bustling with restaurants, and all the best artisinal shops lyon has to offer – multitudinal types of craft shops and ateliers.
In the later afternoon, I embarked on a walk to Croix -derousse – and what a climb to the top of the hill on the city! Silk weavers moved from the lower banks of old town to this place, as space was too scarce in Veiux lyon, and they needed high ceilings to be able to weave patterns and host their lumes.
I had the pleasure of visiting a small museum put together at la maison de canuts displaying the machinery and tools silk weavers used in the past. There are now only 9 weavers in Lyon, but there used to be 30,000 in the past! Much like a music box that sings with a punch card, the high lume uses various patterned cards to print different patterns. The patterns were rich, tight and vibrant, and shows just how different western silk is interpreted compared to Chinese silk.
The artist
On my climb to the croix-derousee, I met an artist painting the buildings in lyon in vibrant colours. We started chatting about her work and life in Lyon.
She was English! And had moved here 33 years ago, started her studio 16 years ago. Her shop was perched on quite the hill and I marvelled how it offered a great view to the city which manifested in her paintings.
It was very lovely to talk to a practising artist and as more people entered her shop I took my leave.
Perhaps I shall visit you again when I come through Lyon the next time.
Oh, I will recognise you and say hi! She smiled, I never forget a face!
The Food
The last thing to do before wrapping up the day is reserving and dining at a local bouchon with the special label: « bouchons authentiques Lyonnais »
Pictures:
x
x
x
I surprisingly enjoyed the egg, bacon in red-wine reduction, it was warm, toasting and very homey. The crab and fish meat was very rich and reminded me of curry and they even served me rice! The silky cheese served with shallots at the end is a cool dessert and quite lovely as a finish.
I took a bus home as my feet were fairly tired – definitely wear comfortable walking shoes when you visit lyon!