After a relatively short and easy rail trip from Strasbourg, I arrived in Lyon, the culinary capital of France. I am not a gourmand. I cannot afford to be. I was more interested in a museum at the confluence of the two rivers that run parallel to each other through Lyon, the Rhône and the Saône named La Musée des Confluences, appropriately enough; and on a hill high above the city La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvriére as well as the remains of two ancient Roman theatres, located on the same hill only a short walk from the basilica.
The basilica is easily spotted above the Saône, along with a replica of the Eiffel Tower, much scaled down.
My entree into Lyon coincided with the lunch hour, so as soon as I checked into my hotel I walked a few blocks from it to the banks of the Saône, where there were any number of eateries from which to choose. I picked the La Chapelle Cafe
rather nice, where I chose a selection of tapenades, washed down with a glass of tasty côtes du Rhône.
When I finished I hurried across the street just in time to catch a river cruise along the Saône. I find that a bus or river cruise is a great way to get a sense of a city new to me, so I boarded and very much enjoyed the views, as well as the fresh breeze on the river.
One of the first buildings to be seen is the Palace of Justice, aka the courthouse of 24 columns. Why 24? One for each hour of the day, a visual explanation that justice never sleeps - at least so was I told.
From the river, an elegant pedestrian bridge, under which a boat similar to ours waits for another tour group.
Onward then, downriver, via a rather surprising and very colorful buildings, some, like the one below, abandoned and considerably brightened...
...to what I might call "beyond postmodern" -the emerald green structure is home to EuroNews.
I'm not certain what the "tres orange" building below holds, but the high rise at rear right, which at first glance seems still under construction, is complete, an apartment complex with a rooftop pool.
As we approached the confluence of the two rivers, we also approached the museum I wrote of above, seen here lurking in the background
at the confluence we swung around for the return journey, and were offered a quite different view of the Confluence Museum,
which excited me, as I was to tour it on the next day of the trip
Back on land, I headed back to the hotel, and was happily surprised by a large and VERY good street band
Were they welcoming me to the city? Let's just say they were - and why not?
Closer to the hotel I came upon the Theatre des Celestins,
Whose season was just about to begin,
alas not until after I was to leave Lyon.
It had been a very long day for me...or, as I age do I tire more easily and rapidly than before? Whatever the answer, I locked myself in my hotel room, wrote some notes about my day's activities, and slept soundly.
My first destination on the second day of my Lyon stay was the Musée des Confluences. I arrived by a rather groovy tram...
...and when I left the vehicle I was met with yet another fascinating view of the exterior. Look back at the two photos earlier in the post of the exterior - from whichever angle I approached the building, while it seemed clearly the work of the same architect, it also felt like another building entirely.
And now let's take a look inside.
Hello! Even more dramatic than the exterior.
The museum is billed as a Museum of Natural History, but it's not your grandfather's version. While I did find exhibits at the museum that feature skeletons and taxidermy mounts of animals, look at the title of of the first exhibit hall, and the first images within it:
From there, I entered a room called this:
consisting of several egg-shaped seats, each with its own sound system - no headsets required...
This exhibit led to others at the same time unusual and marvelous.
One section, on all sorts of amazing models of bugs, fascinated me.
It also showed me that the curators have a sense of humor - there are bugs and there are... strange bugs of the VW kind:
Several galleries offered limited run special exhibits. This was one of the most colorful
There were also, as noted more usual suspects for a natural history museum, but often inventively shown. Below, the four screens outside the center geometrical constantly changed - four mini-films, always interesting.
A sphinx is not unusual, but this was set beautifully and tastefully.
I also visited an exhibit on the world in headdresses. Two (below), the first of a Chinese mask, the second a Native American headdress were more distinctive some others.
And then there's the top - from the...well, to call it a "roof" doesn't quite get it. There are openings on the topmost level with simple viewing platforms. The views are fine, first of an elegant bridge
next of the backsides of some of the beyond pomo buildings I'd seen on yesterday's cruise:
And a look upriver towards the old city
Last, just above, a view, including a cool looking part of the building, of the triangular park at the very confluence of the two rivers. It was in the park that I ended my visit.
If you ever find yourself in Lyon - and you should - don't miss this excellent museum.
******
From the brave new world presented at the Musée des Confluences, I traveled back in time, to Vieux Lyon, its old town.
As soon as I stepped onto the somewhat hilly, cobbled streets I really felt transported into the past.
I also found the very tiny, very basic, and very delicious Pasta e Basta.
Pasta is all they do, but it is homemade and just about perfetto.
The hostess was very friendly, the atmosphere homey
I am a bit of a theatre geek, at one time a professional actor, and later a professor of Theatre History. So the wee little Guignol (puppet) theatre, just down the street from Pasta e Basta, was my next stop.
Puppet theatre is very common throughout Europe. I've seen examples of it in Italy - next to the theatre in Siracusa, on the eastern coast of Sicily there is even a museum - also in Prague, where you can see Mozart's Don Giovanni performed, puppet-style. This was the first such theatre I'd seen in France, but of course the south of France is infused with an Italian flavor, dating all the way back to ancient Rome.
The City of Lyon thinks enough of "guignol" to honor it on the street [sign] where it lives.
The entrance (above) is unassuming, in fact I passed by it once before I found it.
The theatre inside (above) is intimate, and the audience was wee, in the sense that there were only about 15 people in toto, also in that most of them were little kids. Two or three families sat down front, while three of us, a young Asian couple and myself, kept well back, in the last two rows.
The performance? Short, sweet and slapstick-funny - I had a fine time!
By the time I left the puppet theatre it was already late afternoon. I headed a few blocks away, to one of the main squares in Vieux Lyon, Place Saint-Jean, where the Cathédrale Saint-Jean Baptiste dominates.
As it was a Sunday afternoon the market was installed, and the square was well-populated.
After a quick visit to the modest interior of the cathedral I wandered the markets for a while, then headed back across the River Saone and to my hotel. A good day, in fact a good first two days. More on my visit to Lyon, including my trip to the top of the hill in the photo above, in my next post.
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