Saturday late afternoon we headed "up the hill" to visit my other cousin, Sophie, and her husband, Yan. In Lyon, there are two prominent hills. One is called Fourvière, also known as "the hill that prays" because of the large basilica that sits at the top. Sophie and Yan live on the other hill, called Croix-Rousse, or "the hill that works". Croix-Rousse gets its name because of the silk workers that lived and worked on the hill. Another interesting note about the hill, and Lyon in general, involves a network of covered passages called "traboules". These passages allowed the silk to be transported from the workshops to the river. These traboules served a much different purpose during World War II. They are often credited with helping prevent the Germans from taking complete control of the area. If you are visiting Lyon, many of these traboules are now open to the public. Okay, enough history, lets get back to the lights!
So, after walking up what seemed like nearly vertical streets, and climbing stairs on a seemingly never-ending staircase, we arrived at the top of the hill just as the sun was setting. There was a beautiful view of the city, the Saone River, and Fourviere.
The next picture is of the top of a church that Yan told us about. Apparently the church was built, but never used. There was a, shall we say, breakdown in communication. A road was built directly in front of the church, which didn't allow for the originally planned staircase to be built up to the front doors of the church. The church sits empty, with its inaccessible front doors sitting 3 meters above the street level.
We walked past the church on our way back down the hill. This is a horrible photo, but it shows the doors high above the street level!
As it got dark, we walked back to that same lookout to see a garden of huge neon flowers.
Sophie was still recovering from the flu, so after walking us down the hill, they went home and Matthew and I joined the millions that had come to Lyon. Throughout the downtown area, there were several light shows that were projected onto buildings. These "spectacles" had different themes and were all set to music. It was really hard to take pictures of the shows, but here are a few to give you an idea. This particular show's theme had to do with time and the seasons.
Sunday, we had a really nice lunch with my uncle and aunt. We also had the pleasure of meeting one of Colette's cousins, Denis, who tries to come to Lyon each year for la fete. After a great weekend, we took the train back to Clermont.
A big "Thanks!" to Chris and Elodie for letting us stay in their apartment while they were out of town. :)
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