Lyon-The Real City

Lyon is the real France.

Although not without its tourists and attractions Lyon, unlike other major European cities, does not seem to cater to them.

Where in Paris most people spoke very good English and there was at least one English speaker in every business, in Lyon it is rather difficult to get around with little or no French.

In this city of both the old and the new, you are assumed to know French. You are almost assumed to be local rather than a tourist.

Lyon is small in the sense that people call out to you on the street and are surprised when you do not know French.

“Oh,” they say and walk away, almost as if nothing else need be said.

Here the youth of the city stand beside tourists, not hiding or avoiding the main center as in some other cities. Instead they break dance on the steps of the Opera House and skateboard along the walks beside the two rivers gliding through Lyon.

The afternoon I arrived I was given a Metro ticket and map and was showed the apartment I was to stay in where I was given a small snack of French cookies. Then, I was let lose on the city.

I walked along the main shopping district admiring fountains and sculptures and the garden of the Musee des Beaux-arts de Lyon near the Opera de Lyon.

As dusk began to settle I crossed one of the two rivers and, in order to not become lost on the Metro, began to walk along the river in the direction I thought the apartment was-it turns out I was wrong.

After about two bridges I realized my mistake and turned around, now heading in the right direction.

It had begun to rain as dusk had begun to fall and although I had not had room for an umbrella in my pack, I was happy for the rain which seemed to suit Lyon.

The gray of the sky and the light haze of the falling drops seemed to bring out the hues of the city.

Peaches and yellows and creams gleamed from the paint of the buildings, making the distinction of the old parts of the city from the new, more modern and grey parts all the more apparent.

I was told that Lyon is much more beautiful in the sun which is a lovely sight to be sure. But after sitting beneath a bridge in the rain, my feet dangling above the river, watching the lights of the city turn on and the colors of the homes shake off the grey of the sky, I must disagree.

The French family I stayed with in Lyon were just as wonderful as the one in Bourg-en-Bresse even offering me a spare key to the apartment and suggesting places to see and things to do.

They encouraged me to see the city and I was even invited to drinks with the university friends of the nephew who had met me at the train station-a group of energetic French youth with wonderful plans for the future and wonderful travel advice.

The next day the daughter of the family and I spoke of travel and life in Lyon through Google Translator. She then showed me a very well done YouTube video her middle brother had made of Lyon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svgEbOF1s6g

The mother of the family was yet another wonderful French mother, making me miss my own with her generosity and teasing with her three children, it did not mater that I did not know what they were saying. Laughter and a mothers love are universal.

I spent much of my four days in Lyon along the river. Here children played and joggers ran, bicyclists meandered by enjoying the views and swans glided past boats turned into restaurants and bars and homes. Some of the boats even had gardens and mailboxes.  

My second and third days in Lyon were calmer weather and with a better handle on the Metro, I traveled into the cities shopping center again and wandered on to what is known as the “Old City”.

Above the city of Lyon sits a cathedral with gardens and trails draping down the hill and sporting astonishing views of the city. The cathedral was so stunning I felt compelled to walk silently through her pews and to sit among the traveling worshipers.

At night the city lit up again and the moon hung above the colored city and cathedral that could be seen by all.

At the foot of a church just below the hill-top cathedral, there sits the remains of what is thought to be one of the oldest churches in all of France.

On one of my last mornings in Lyon I walked to the Parc de la Tete d'Or, my immediate favorite place in Lyon, with its gardens, zoos, lakes, and greenhouses.  

With one last goodbye to this lovely French family who had opened their home to me and one last look at the views of Lyon, I boarded a train to Geneva, Switzerland on my slow way to Italy.

“Come along Life, take my hand, let’s have an adventure together.”

~KrystleLyric