Lyon Day 2
Some of our unease with being in France that weekend returned our second morning in Lyon when I read the English language news about the police raids the night before. One the bright side, we mused, we had that many fewer guns and rocket launchers to worry about that day.
However, we were able to reason our way out if it, at least enough to venture out of the hotel to see more of Lyon.
Randy's motivation was that we still had yet to visit the Roman theater.
More after the jump
Actually, the Romans had two theaters on Fourvière Hill. The main theater was built in 15 BC, making in the oldest in Gaul. The smaller Odeon was built next to it at least one hundred years later. After the end of Roman Gaul, they fell into disuse. Most of the excavation of this site was in the twentieth century.
Since we were there on a Monday in November, the area was empty, so we could really test the Roman acoustic design.
Part of a Roman road with its large paving stones was also unearthed around the theaters. At one time it was more like an alley, going between high walls.
The construction of the Odeon, being next to this other larger theater reminded me of contemporary cities, where we often see a a few performance halls near one another or our sports arena built within blocks.
The Romans built this second one for smaller performances.
What was remarkable about the Odeon was that when it was uncovered, the ornate original stage floor was found mostly intact.
Not only was it beautiful, but it was also a show of the strength and wealth of the Roman Empire at the time. The porphyry and marble were brought from places like Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and Tunisia, to here, in Gaul.
Just next to the two theaters were an assortment of Roman stone things lined up. It made me think of Changping's Island of Misfit Relics.
I think Myles enjoyed imagining some sort of Asterix and Obelix misadventure happening here.
Again, it was Monday, so we could not go into the Musée Gallo-Romains.
From there, then, we returned to the Fourvière Basillica to see the interior in day light.
While there has been a church, chapel, or shrine of some sort on Fourvière Hill since the earliest days of Christianity in Lyon (and Roman temples before that), this Basilica was not built until the 19th century, with private money, as a way of giving thanks to Notre Dame for her protection of France and especially Lyon during wars and plagues.
It was certainly a different church with the sunlight streaming in the stained glass and lighting up the mosaic.
The mosaic included scenes from history with a Marian slant: Joan of Arc, The Battle of Lepanto, the consecration of France to the Virgin Mary by King Louis XIII, and the Promulgation of the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Oh, and the candles again. Round and rounds of Hail Mary and candles.
Also at the Basilica we saw some Chinese-language material, as well as Arabic and Japanese.
The basilica is also the center for Catholic Lyon's Chinese outreach. Their logo is the traditional character "愛" ài. In Mainland China we normally use the simplified character 爱 which omits the center character that means heart (心). I pointed this out to the kids, noting to them that the traditional character is easier for me to read because of the heart in the middle. Otherwise, I sometimes confuse "爱" with "要" yào, meaning want. Confusing love and want can be a problem
From the Basilica we rode the funicular back toward the Cathedral again. I wanted to find at least one traboule that would be accessible. The traboule are like secret passages particular to Lyon (and a few other French cities) that were designed to help merchants and manufacturers descend to the river quickly. The earliest traboule were from the fourth century. When the silk industry was growing and at its height in Lyon, the traboule were especially important because the silk could get to the river for shipment in any weather. During the French Resistance in World War II, the traboule were also essential. They exist on both sides of the Saône River.
There are a lot of maps of accessible-to-the-public traboules and the city even has an app to help find them. We came across several, but they were locked. Some of the websites indicated pushing the "service" button would allow access (traboules are now often used by apartment buildings for post delivery and garbage collection, but I was not comfortable trying that. I was afraid I would accidentally ring someone's apartment directly.
At this point we were near the Musée Cinéma et Miniature. Since this was a private museum, it was actually open on a Monday. I must confess I was a bit hesitant, because in my mind it seemed a little like going to a Ripley's (not that there's anything wrong with that), but we had some time to kill before supper, and we didn't want to leave this neighborhood. Dorian had been there a few years back, and rated it highly for seeing with kids, so I decided it wasn't completely like going to a Ripley's. And, besides, it was in France, which always elevates everything, no matter how tacky it might be in our home countries, right?
It was better than I hoped. Of course, Myles and Brigid enjoyed it.
The collections were housed in an historic Renaissance building, the Maison des Avocats.
Among the movie props and sets were several from movies the kids liked.
Props from movies I liked.
And there was a little bit about movie-makingmagic technology.
The uppermost floors of the museum were dedicated to the miniatures which were really cool. I can't imagine what level of obsessive compulsive is required to get the details right.
As we were leaving, I saw an advertisement for the next special exhibit of movie props. Anyone who would make fun of our going to the Musée Cinéma et Miniature would probably envy our visit had we been able to see this. I know it would make the museum high on my list of things to do in Lyon.
Not long after we left the Musée Cinéma et Miniature, we finally (!!) found a well-marked and unlocked traboule.
It still had something of a secret passageway feel to it.
Just before supper, Brigid and I stopped in one of the puppet shops that specifically dealt with Guignol, the local Lyon equivalent of Pulcinella.
The Guignol museum was also closed for Monday, which also meant there were no Guignol shows. However, the young man working in the shop was more than happy to provide Brigid in English with some background. The Guignol was based on a character from Italian Commedia dell'Arte, but also in appearance its creator. Guignol had long hair, like his, because he couldn't afford a hair cut, but he had to wear it tied back because he was a canut, a silk worker in Lyon. Since this guy in the shop was surprised and impressed that Brigid knew how a loom worked, he shared with her the special French onomatopoeic name for the silk loom, bistanclaque. That was by my measure what Brigid would have remembered from any exhibit on Guignol anyway. We purchased Guignol and a companion puppets.
After supper it was time to get back to our hotel since we were leaving for Bordeaux the next morning.
So hard to tear ourselves away from this place.
It may be one year or ten, but we will return to Lyon someday.
However, we were able to reason our way out if it, at least enough to venture out of the hotel to see more of Lyon.
Randy's motivation was that we still had yet to visit the Roman theater.
More after the jump
Actually, the Romans had two theaters on Fourvière Hill. The main theater was built in 15 BC, making in the oldest in Gaul. The smaller Odeon was built next to it at least one hundred years later. After the end of Roman Gaul, they fell into disuse. Most of the excavation of this site was in the twentieth century.
Since we were there on a Monday in November, the area was empty, so we could really test the Roman acoustic design.
Part of a Roman road with its large paving stones was also unearthed around the theaters. At one time it was more like an alley, going between high walls.
The construction of the Odeon, being next to this other larger theater reminded me of contemporary cities, where we often see a a few performance halls near one another or our sports arena built within blocks.
The Romans built this second one for smaller performances.
What was remarkable about the Odeon was that when it was uncovered, the ornate original stage floor was found mostly intact.
Not only was it beautiful, but it was also a show of the strength and wealth of the Roman Empire at the time. The porphyry and marble were brought from places like Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and Tunisia, to here, in Gaul.
Just next to the two theaters were an assortment of Roman stone things lined up. It made me think of Changping's Island of Misfit Relics.
I think Myles enjoyed imagining some sort of Asterix and Obelix misadventure happening here.
Again, it was Monday, so we could not go into the Musée Gallo-Romains.
From there, then, we returned to the Fourvière Basillica to see the interior in day light.
While there has been a church, chapel, or shrine of some sort on Fourvière Hill since the earliest days of Christianity in Lyon (and Roman temples before that), this Basilica was not built until the 19th century, with private money, as a way of giving thanks to Notre Dame for her protection of France and especially Lyon during wars and plagues.
It was certainly a different church with the sunlight streaming in the stained glass and lighting up the mosaic.
The mosaic included scenes from history with a Marian slant: Joan of Arc, The Battle of Lepanto, the consecration of France to the Virgin Mary by King Louis XIII, and the Promulgation of the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Oh, and the candles again. Round and rounds of Hail Mary and candles.
Also at the Basilica we saw some Chinese-language material, as well as Arabic and Japanese.
The basilica is also the center for Catholic Lyon's Chinese outreach. Their logo is the traditional character "愛" ài. In Mainland China we normally use the simplified character 爱 which omits the center character that means heart (心). I pointed this out to the kids, noting to them that the traditional character is easier for me to read because of the heart in the middle. Otherwise, I sometimes confuse "爱" with "要" yào, meaning want. Confusing love and want can be a problem
From the Basilica we rode the funicular back toward the Cathedral again. I wanted to find at least one traboule that would be accessible. The traboule are like secret passages particular to Lyon (and a few other French cities) that were designed to help merchants and manufacturers descend to the river quickly. The earliest traboule were from the fourth century. When the silk industry was growing and at its height in Lyon, the traboule were especially important because the silk could get to the river for shipment in any weather. During the French Resistance in World War II, the traboule were also essential. They exist on both sides of the Saône River.
There are a lot of maps of accessible-to-the-public traboules and the city even has an app to help find them. We came across several, but they were locked. Some of the websites indicated pushing the "service" button would allow access (traboules are now often used by apartment buildings for post delivery and garbage collection, but I was not comfortable trying that. I was afraid I would accidentally ring someone's apartment directly.
At this point we were near the Musée Cinéma et Miniature. Since this was a private museum, it was actually open on a Monday. I must confess I was a bit hesitant, because in my mind it seemed a little like going to a Ripley's (not that there's anything wrong with that), but we had some time to kill before supper, and we didn't want to leave this neighborhood. Dorian had been there a few years back, and rated it highly for seeing with kids, so I decided it wasn't completely like going to a Ripley's. And, besides, it was in France, which always elevates everything, no matter how tacky it might be in our home countries, right?
It was better than I hoped. Of course, Myles and Brigid enjoyed it.
The collections were housed in an historic Renaissance building, the Maison des Avocats.
Among the movie props and sets were several from movies the kids liked.
Props from movies I liked.
And there was a little bit about movie-making
The uppermost floors of the museum were dedicated to the miniatures which were really cool. I can't imagine what level of obsessive compulsive is required to get the details right.
As we were leaving, I saw an advertisement for the next special exhibit of movie props. Anyone who would make fun of our going to the Musée Cinéma et Miniature would probably envy our visit had we been able to see this. I know it would make the museum high on my list of things to do in Lyon.
Not long after we left the Musée Cinéma et Miniature, we finally (!!) found a well-marked and unlocked traboule.
It still had something of a secret passageway feel to it.
Just before supper, Brigid and I stopped in one of the puppet shops that specifically dealt with Guignol, the local Lyon equivalent of Pulcinella.
The Guignol museum was also closed for Monday, which also meant there were no Guignol shows. However, the young man working in the shop was more than happy to provide Brigid in English with some background. The Guignol was based on a character from Italian Commedia dell'Arte, but also in appearance its creator. Guignol had long hair, like his, because he couldn't afford a hair cut, but he had to wear it tied back because he was a canut, a silk worker in Lyon. Since this guy in the shop was surprised and impressed that Brigid knew how a loom worked, he shared with her the special French onomatopoeic name for the silk loom, bistanclaque. That was by my measure what Brigid would have remembered from any exhibit on Guignol anyway. We purchased Guignol and a companion puppets.
After supper it was time to get back to our hotel since we were leaving for Bordeaux the next morning.
So hard to tear ourselves away from this place.
It may be one year or ten, but we will return to Lyon someday.
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