les Traboules de la Croix-Rousse

We finally took a walk through some of the traboules in our area by Croix-Paquet and the Croix-Rousse, which is the northern limit of Lyon. Traboules are pedestrian passages that go through buildings and across streets through different parts of the city. They're highlighted in the tourist guides because they look like regular doors to buildings, but if you know which doors to open, they turn into long walkways through courtyards, apartment buildings, and commercial buildings to different parts of the city. Today they're often marked with a little symbol, I think a lion face, but not all are still open to the public. In our area they were originally built for silkworkers so that they could get down to the Presqu'ile, central Lyon, in a straight line without winding down the roads. They were also used in the resistance against the German occupation in World War II. There's a picture above of a giant concrete staircase that's one of the more famous traboules in our area.

There are other markings for tourists all over our neighborhood and north of us, but we haven't yet figured out what they mean. One is an arm making a fist, another is some sort of flower, another is a lion head, and more rare is two eyes.

The last picture in the list is our apartment building. It was one of the original buildings for the silkworkers, which was the main industry for northern Lyon in the 19th century.

First Day Trip

Here is their regional dish, galette, which is different from the galette in Brittany. From a distance it just looks like a pizza, but we ordered it for lunch and it's a big piece of sweet crispy bread with sugar sprinkled on top. That's it! It tastes like a sugar cookie. So our lunch was a pastry and cider. But when in Rome...

This past weekend we finally got out of the less than 10 square miles in which we've been living our lives since August. We headed out to Perouges, a well-preserved medieval town about 15 minutes outside of Lyon by train. It was our first glimpse of the French countryside since we've been here and it felt great to remember that there is a countryside. Here is a basic idea of the town layout: there's one road that runs in a circle with a fortification wall around it, then all other roads lead into the center of the circle. This central circle has two restaurants, one tourist shop, and a tree that was planted during the Revolution of 1792 to commemorate it. The fact that the tree is still there makes it pretty unique to see, also because its branches are being supported by poles that look like candy canes. Even though the town is extremely small and can be seen within 2 hours or less, it's well worth the trip out. I should also note that because we went on a Monday and this is France, it was totally dead. All of the shops were closed and there were no tourists, which is why there are hardly any people in the photos.

Ok, Courtney might have attempted to preserve our dignity by withholding these shots of us clowning around the Hotel de Ville, but I'm putting them up. Also a couple of pics from the apero with C's classmates.

Flowers at the Parc de la Tete d'Or

Here are a few photos taken from the Parc that I neglected to put up. Such beautiful colors! Sadly, it’s getting really cold here and I’m afraid they wont be around much longer this year.

Random

Since the last time we wrote I found a job, so time is getting a little more sparse. But there's just as much as ever to see and do. Above are some random pictures from things we've done.

One night at the Hotel de Ville, the city hosted a function for Amererican students in the city and someone passed the word on to me, so we took advantage of the free drinks and snacks. You usually also have to pay to see the inside of the building, which is incredible, so that was another bonus. Since the event was at night and I don't have a tripod, all of the pictures are too dark, but if you look closely you can get an idea for how grandiose and elaborate the building is.

Above those pictures are two of an area called the Guillotiere, which is at the end of the Rue de Marseille. It's an area with lots of immigrants, oriental patisseries, people hanging out on the street, cafes, and it's always very lively. The pictures show a line of men who are always hanging out in front of the curved building, a student residence. Behind them, close to where I'm taking the picture, there are usually more men and then veiled women with babies in carriages. I have no idea how these people make a living or what they do just in life. There's always something to see, though. It might be one of my favorite streets.

Of course I'm posting more photos of typical Lyon pastries, a random citrus fruit I found at an epicerie from China, which is the size of a cantaloupe, and then a hike we have to take every time we go grocery shopping. It always wears us out, but the view is so beautiful it's worth it. I feel so lucky to be in such a scenic area when doing something mundane like grocery shopping.

Here's one side note: we have this stereotype of French people saying "ooh la la" all the time. It's true! They say it ALL the time, but usually it's more like "oooh la LA la la la la," and it's more out of exasperation.

Et voila! Ca c'est tout!