A Day in Lyon

This morning (Friday) we caught a taxi from St. Etienne into Lyon and to our hotel. We were meeting with another of Michael’s colleagues for lunch and he wanted to get a few things organized before the meeting, so I did what any good wife would do…..I left him working at the hotel and set out to explore!!!

Our hotel is on a section of land that falls between the Saône River and the Rhône River. Everything that I wanted to see was across the Saône so over I went…..

My first stop was at the Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste. It was another BIG CHURCH!!! Since I have been to many of these in my life, I tend to focus on some of the out-of-the ordinary aspects. Now, these stained-glass windows are pretty normal for a church of this size…..

But I was very surprised to find numerous designs that were much more modern in nature (and much more to my taste)….

I loved this detail in the garment hem of one of the statues…..

…..and the sweet look on the lamb’s face as it looked up toward it’s shepherd and protector…..

I found this donkey in the dark recesses of one of the Apses……

I wonder if he was waiting for the next Christmas nativity scene!!

It was obvious that someone needed to do a bit of dusting…..the white on this wood sculpture is all dust!!!! Although it does make the photo better because the white provides some relief from the dark, dark wood…..

It was fun to “peek behind the curtain” and see “behind the scenes”….

I was surprised to find chairs in the sanctuary but as I looked closer I realized that they were all connected together, even including a kneeler…..

I have always loved these curved seats and, when we were at Oxford Chapel many years ago, I loved thinking about who might have sat in that seat in the earlier years…..

But on these, I noticed a hinge line and was surprised to see that the seats lifted up…..

….and even more surprised to find an intricate carving in a spot that most people would NEVER see…..

As I left the cathedral, I noticed groups of people in cute hats…..

Initially I had a good laugh about their attire, but then I realized that they were going to special areas and playing games…..

….and getting lots of special attention. SOMEONE GET ME A HAT!!!!!

I took a few architectural shots of the cathedral…..

…..and headed back across the river, stopping to enjoy these swans swimming in front of some of the many apartment buildings along the river…….

I returned to the hotel and we met Lillian Camalet who is a manufacturer of a gun rest that Michael has used, reviewed and loves. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Brasserie Le Sud and then as Michael and Lillian…..

….continued to talk, I went out walking again.

Most sights were closed during this early afternoon time period, but I enjoyed my walk anyway, stopping to take a photo of this quilt pattern manhole!!…..

…… this iron work that would be amazing quilting for a border…..

…..and these window sashes, just because I think they look cute…..

It was during this walk that I had my favorite interaction for the day. There was a young woman (probably 30 years old) sitting on a bench by the sidewalk and she called to me and asked a question…..in French!! I replied that I was sorry but didn’t speak French. She asked again and this time pointed to her face. As I was about to walk away, I realized that she had chocolate on her hands and some on her face as well. The light bulb went off and I reached into my purse for a packet of tissues. When I pulled them out, her face lit up and she said “Oui…Oui!!” I walked away with “Merci Boucoup” ringing in my ears and my heart filled because I was able to help her!!!

After Michael finished with his meeting, it was time for us to do some sightseeing together and the goal was La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière…. a huge church on a hill overlooking the old city of Lyon. The hotel concierge told us how to get to the train station for the funicular that would take us up the mountain (because heaven knows we didn’t want to climb it)!!!!

The views of the city were wonderful…..

….and of course we had to take a few selfies…..

The church itself was extremely ornate….

….although I did find one tile pattern…..

…..and one mosaic that I really liked…..

And, of course, here is the requisite photo of arches….

We didn’t spend long in the church, and after one last photo from the outside….

….we were ready to head “home” for the night!!!

Altogether, a VERY successful day!!!