Lights in Lyon and a reminder of home

Hello everyone! I know it has been a while since I last wrote, but my computer died, making it a bit difficult to do lots of things on the internet. A few weeks ago I went to Lyon for the Fete des Lumieres (sorry, my keyboard doesn't have accents right now) which is an annual holiday event that is only in Lyon. During the day, the city was pretty normal looking, other than a few remnants of what would be happening in the evening. The friends I was with and I walked up to a cathedral on the hill and looked out over the city, and then continued to walk throughout the streets waiting for night when all of the events would take place.

View of the cathedral we walked up to

 

Tree at the restaurant near the cathedral

The nativity set up in the basement of the cathedral in preparation for Christmas

Ruins from when Lyon was inhabited by the Romans. We stopped there on the way down from the cathedral.

 

View of Lyon walking down from the cathedral. Lyon used to be the capitol of France before Paris. 

The crowded streets in Lyon, but not nearly as crowded as they would be 10 hours later.

A band playing music in the streets

A huge statue we stumbled upon while we were walking around.

You will see this later, but it will look different.

A building in Lyon. I like it because it is a new building that you can see the reflection of classical architecture on, so it is kind of new and old architecture.

A Salvation Army brass band playing Christmas tunes in the street. It was freezing out!

As it started to get colder out and the sun began to set, we made it to the Christmas market, much like the one in Grenoble. The stands looked a little different and some of them were selling different items. Of course, there was still vin chaud, roasted chestnuts, and crepes.

Something I found at the market. I'm not really sure what it is either.

Beautifully painted Russian dolls for sale at one of the stands.

Night settled in and the city began to transform into a festival of light, and with that, masses of people. The festival includes various light shows on buildings, fountains, and other pieces of architecture throughout the city. They all happened simultaneously, and we walked (or tried to...there were a ton of people everywhere) around to various shows. There were lit up windmills by the river, TPs, a street of black light where you could write on the wall with chalk, light shows on cathedrals, and so much more. The cathedral that we had visited earlier changed from green to red to blue to purple all evening. 

People in the lite up street just before the light shows began.

The same fountain that I posted a picture of above was completely different at night. The lights changed with the music that was playing. It was actually kind of creepy. The horses had neon green eyes and they would sometimes be engulfed by flames.

A picture of the light show I watched on a cathedral. It also had music, and the show was about the building and rebuilding of the church. Here it is as though there is a ton of ivy on it. I could barely move in the crowd, but it was probably my favorite light show that I saw that night.

Another light show inside a square. It was supposed to be jungle themed.

 Street ally with a black light and a box of chalk on the wall where you could draw or write your name, like I did. You can also see the ceiling of lite-up origami flowers at the end of the ally.

This exhibit was farther from the center and there were not a ton of people. It was also a little creepy. There was a loud audio recording of some man was reading something in what sounded like Latin with a church choir in the background.

The less crowded streets that weren't as central in town. People were selling vin chaud for 1 euro instead of 1.50, closer to the center, and 2 euro in the main square. I met some students playing instruments and selling vin chaud under "prix libre," meaning I could pay whatever I wanted.

  

As the evening came to an end and I was headed back to the bus to Grenoble, I saw a remnant of my home in the northwest United States in a window shop. It is an authentic Native American totem pole that was shipped from Vancouver Island, just north of the San Juan Islands. It was a bit shocking to find a piece of American art, especially from somewhere so close to where I live.

 

Overall, the festival was a bit bizarre, but it reconfirmed my love for France and French culture. 

Tonight is Christmas Eve, so Merry Christmas everyone!