Continuing the Tradition of Revolution

Here are some pictures of the strike/party in Bellecour over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, the party has degenerated into riots, which have been all over the news here and a little in the U.S. Youths have been burning and flipping cars, throwing trash in the streets, and trying to attack the policemen. Now riot police are stationed all over the city and the two groups have been clashing for days. I've been taking pictures of the kids on our street from the safe distance of my apartment, but even on our street 2 cars were burned and someone's smart car was flipped over. Apparently they're using the opportunity of the general strike to show their anger with the government about not having enough jobs, but really I think a lot of them just like causing trouble and thinking that they're a part of some revolution. Of course, when they get violent then other things shut down, like transportation in the center of town, where we live. So when there are riots we also lose transportation.

the flipped car above

Here come the police.

They block the road and make an arrest.

Someone's car still gets burned.

We read in the paper that this helicopter is the police trying to keep track of the rioting kids from above because apparently they're very mobile. This way when the group disbands, the police can still chase and arrest some.
I'm not sure if the smoke is cars burning, tear gas the police were shooting at the kids, or things the kids were setting on fire and throwing at the police. I didn't go anywhere near it.

A French Lesson in Striking

Oh, la vache. How France loves its strikes.
Battles are being fought between the government and the people about the retirement age. Sarkozy wants to increase the age from 60 to I think 65, while of course the majority of the population doesn't want that to happen. Even though it was only moved down to age 60 in the 80s in the first place, people are angry. For the past few weeks, people have been striking everywhere, in every industry, which has given us a good laugh. Two weeks ago, Tom and I walked through Bellecour, the central square of downtown, during one of the first official days for the strike. Organizations against later retirement were out waving banners, yelling into megaphones, and marching to show solidarity. The Communist Party was also out marching. You might be asking yourself what the direct link is between the Communist Party and the retirement age. I've been asking myself the same question, and my answer is to "show solidarity," or really to remind people that they exist. Any excuse is a good one not to work and promote your political cause, so hey, why not?
On Tuesday, a day when grocery stores are usually empty, I decided to do my shopping. Bad idea. I forgot about the strike. Apparently everyone decided to "show solidarity" by not going to work and instead doing something a little more practical, like grocery shopping. Then I walked by Bellecour again to find the same thing, but this time there was a food truck and a band. Why not take the opportunity to have a party?!
Right now outside of our window there was just a small student riot. A handful of riot police pulled up, got out their weapons and armor, and arrested a few people. Again, you might be asking yourself what students have to riot about. They're nowhere near retirement age. Perhaps some of their teachers didn't show up, so they're upset about not being able to go to school. Right.
Any excuse is a good one not to work and to stir up a little trouble, or just to have a party! As the Beastie Boys so eloquently put it, "You've got to fight for your right to paaarty!"

Beginning of Spring (finally)

Most recently we took a trip to the Beaujolais region, only maybe 30 minutes away from Lyon, which is known for its wine. My friend from work, Noelle, and her boyfriend, Theo, drove us out to Theo's mom's house. A ride in a car feels like a luxury now, so just that was exciting, but they cooked a big lunch for us with Quennelle, a traditional Lyonaise dish, we brought along a Charlotte poire cake, and then we were able to walk through another tiny town, Charnay, and through some vineyards. Even though everyone came to the agreement that Beaujolais wine isn't the greatest, we were thrilled to be able to see the region.The newly-planted flowers in the Place Rouville sign make our view even that much better.
Charnay was having its Sunday market, including a vendor selling boudin. This is not at all the same boudin that is sold in Louisiana. The English translation is actually blood sausage. It's one of the very hard-core regional specialties that neither of us have gotten around to trying (and maybe never will). It's basically blood, intestines, and general stuff from the lower half of the pig. This guy had huge coils of it, hot and fresh out of his boiling pot, and people were buying it left and right! The locals love it!

after walking through some vineyards, the view coming back into Charnay

vineyards in the Beaujolais

Tom and I have a bad habit of wearing matching outfits without meaning to.

Though there are a lot of scenic, picturesque villages made of stone in our area of France, one of the distinctive things about Charnay is that the stone has a yellowy-gold color, so when direct sunlight falls on it, it has a warm, goldy color that the other villages don't have.
There are several shops in Lyon selling serious cowby gear and we've always wondered who the clientel is because we never see anyone in Lyon wearing the clothes. Now we've finally found some of them, in Charnay of all places.







Theo's mom's house is situated on a hill right in the middle of vineyards. It's beautiful! From the hill, you can see horses, cows, and hear roosters. It's so close to Lyon but feels so far removed.

Highlights of Winter #2

I discovered a patisserie by our neighborhood making penguin pastries. The icing on them is the closest thing I've found to American icing. It doesn't seem to exist here and is one of the little things I really miss. But this penguin gave me some short-term satisfaction.

a marker of spring: the winter hair half-way gone
the gentleman's mustache, as modeled by Sir Halloran
too bad it only lasted about 10 minutes!

the full winter hair

Tom's mom, Peggy, came to visit us for a week in February right after the semester started. Unfortunately, I took no pictures of people when she was here, only of food, which I didn't realize until later. In any case, it was a great week, fantastic to see someone from home, we had some great meals, saw some museums, and bought a lot of food. When we took her to the Sunday market, a vendor had some tropical fruits, which is extremely unusual, so I was thrilled and bought this one. It's called a dragon fruit and I think it's from Indonesia.



We bought these desserts from a patissiere in Les Halles, an amazing food market right next to my work. It's probably one of the most expensive patisseries in Lyon, which means that we never buy anything from it, but we decided to splurge and try two desserts. It was well worth the money.
One day during the vacation I went to see the Tony Garnier museum with my friend Sabrina. I didn't realize it was an outdoor walking museum. I might have been the coldest I've ever been in my life that day. The temperature was either freezing or below and I was definitely not sufficiently prepared, so it was a quick visit, but still fun, aside from hurting feet and fingers. The museum is a series of murals painted on apartment buildings in a low-income area of Lyon.

Highlights of Winter #1

Wow, it's been a long time. We pretty much went into hibernation during the winter. I'm posting the highlights of the past three months, because aside from what's included, we did a lot of working and staying indoors.
In February Logan and Elise took us to the Jura region of France, around two hours north of Lyon, to visit Elise's family, which was fantastic. We met her mom and dad, who cooked two big meals for us, and they showed us around the area. One night we went into the town and ate at an Italian restaurant where the couple who owned it were also the cook and the wait staff. There were some great walks and some much-needed time away from Lyon.

the famous "squirrel cake" of the Jura

Logan and Elise took us to a cafe where she used to play the piano in high school. It has a fantastic interior and great winter drinks, like vin chaud.

two tiny villages with stunning views

A random photo pre-Jura: one of the few times when the snow stuck in Lyon.