La Piscine

The pool

We went back to the PISCINE D’ETE (pool of the summer) along the Rhone yesterday.  Being a Wednesday (kids are either out of school all day or they just go in the morning) the pool was again packed.  This time they actually looked in our backpacks and saw that we had clothing in the backpacks, so they made us go back in and put our clothes in lockers before we could come out.  It is so strange how particular they are on that.

Very Hot in Lyon

It cooled off a little yesterday.  Still pretty warm in the apartment (not to mention the metro!).  I had my end of class test.  We tested for the full 3 hours!  The first hour was reading comprehension.  The second was listening comprehension (my weak point).  The third hour was writing (my strength).  We’ll get our results on Thursday.  It turns out that the beginner class is actually 2 months-long, so Doug won’t have a test. 

After classes we got our daily baguette and had lunch.  It looked like it might rain, so we ended up just staying in, reading, and taking it easy before church.  After church we picked up our 2^nd baguette of the day and had baked spaghetti and salad for supper. 

Today the big semi-annual sales start in France.  Law prohibits clearance sales except during the big sales twice a year (once in Jan-Feb, once in June-July).  So, we made a quick trip before school to Galeries Layfayette to pick up a couple of souvenirs we knew we wanted to get.

Croix Rousse

Yesterday was hot so we were tempted to return to the pool, but we still wanted to see Croix Rousse, an area of town we hadn’t been to before.  The walking tour for Croix Rousse was REALLY long, so we just picked a few things to see:

-Place Croix-Rousse- the best patisserie in all of Lyon is in Place Croix-Rousse… unfortunately, it was closed L

-Gros Caillou (“Big Stone”)- local legend holds it to be the petrified heart of a merciless Lyon bailiff… it is also thought that this block of stone was transported by a glceri from the Jura region of France during the ice age.  It was discovered in 1890 when the funicular railway tunnel was being dug.  This was much less impressive in person than we had imagined.

-Villemanzy Gardens- the book said that there would be incredible views of the whole city from here.  Evidently the book was written before the trees were so high… there really wasn’t much of a view.

-Place Colbert/ Cour des Voraces- really cool stairway… this is where there were silk-worker revolts in the early 1800’s

-Church of Saint Polycarpe- impressive outside, but it was locked… another let-down.

-Lyonnais Fresco- 800 square meters of “trompe-l’oeil”… 24 famous characters “born between the Rhone and the Saone” including St. Irenaeus, the Lumiere brothers, Antoine de Sainte Exupery, and more.

It was still really hot when we got back to the apartment, so we went down to the mall and walked around in the air conditioning for a while.

Doug doesn’t think he can take anymore of the heat… only a few more days and we’ll be heading to Paris where we will stay in an air conditioned hotel J

Liz

Sunday at the park

Yesterday afternoon we went to the park and did the “velo-bateau” (bike-boat).  It was fun… we pedaled our way around the little island in the middle of the park.  Speaking of bikes, we are so sad that we haven’t been able to do the Velo’v bike program in Lyon!  You have to have a French bankcard in order to use the bikes.  But, we have made a reservation to do the Fat Tire Bike Tour of Versailles while we are in Paris!  We are really looking forward to it.  Anyway, back to the park, there is an island in the middle with a big monument with tons of names of Lyonnais who died in WWI and WWII.  We hadn’t figured out how to get to the island, but we found out you actually have to go under the lake in a tunnel.  In addition to the boat-ride and going to the island, we also got yummy ice cream cones that tasted like the Gelato we had last summer in Nice.  So, a very, very HOT, but fun day!

Thursday through the weekend

Thursday it was sunny again!!!  I ran in the park before class again.  After school we decided to take advantage of the pretty weather, so we went up to the top of Fourvriere Hill (highest point in Lyon) and did another walking tour. 

We saw:

Fouvriere Basilica

Lyon’s oldest cemetery, Loyasse, Lyon’s equivalent to Paris’ Pere Lachaise

Roman aqueducts

Roman theaters, discovered in 1933

Five Roman tombs, discovered in 1885

Doug’s favorite, the Church of St. Irenaeus (early church father)… the crypt contains his tomb

Roman baths

 

Thursday night we had Matt and Laura over for supper.  We had a hearty salad from one of the recipe books Pamela loaned us, goat-cheese toasts, pasta from the other recipe book, herb roasted potatoes, and peach cobbler.

 

Friday I ran again- 4 days in a row!  After school, my class had a picnic by the Rhone river to close our cuisine unit.  It was really great weather and fun. 

 

When I got home, Doug and I went back and sat by the Rhone for a long time.  We also went and looked at the big pool by the Rhone.  It wasn’t very much to get in- just 2.40 euros a person.  BUT, American style male swimwear (swimshorts) were STRICTLY FORBIDDEN, as it is for some reason deemed unsanitary to wear these in pools in France.  Doug will elaborate on this more later…

 

For supper we went out to Chez Mounier, a very reasonably priced Lyonnais restaurant.  It was great!  We walked around the Opera house/ Hotel de Ville afterwards (the whole area is lit up at night)

 

Saturday morning we did a run to Carrefour run and got breakfast at the Brioche Doree at the mall and checked e-mail.  We also went to Decathlon so Doug could get appropriate swimwear for the pool.

 

We ate lunch and then went to the pool… interesting process- you have to wear your swimsuit ONLY to be allowed in the pool area.  I tried to go in with my cover-up tank top and skirt over my swimsuit… this is evidently strictly forbidden and considered unsanitary.  Anyway, once we finally got to the pool it was nice.  It was so hot today!  The pool ended up getting pretty crowded while we were there.   I think there were a thousand people there by the time we left.  It was crazy!

 

Yesterday was Fete de la Musique, a national celebration.  We went out about 7 and stayed out til 11.  There were bands everywhere!  We walked around Bellecour, Place des Jacobins, Vieux Lyon, and Hotel de Ville. 

 

This morning church was a sauna!  I was burning up the whole time and the sermon was extra-long.  We are tempted to go back to the pool today, but it would probably be even more swamped than yesterday.  So, after e-mails we are going to go to the park and see if we can rent a peddle/paddle boat. 

 

Wednesday...

Yesterday after lunch we did a walking tour of Presqu’ile North (the area between the Rhone and the Saone rivers).  It was sunny all afternoon!

Some highlights:

Opera House

Bartholdi Fountain

Hotel de Ville

Musee de Beaux Arts

Saint Nizier Church (one of the oldest in Lyon, built in 1400s)

Jacobins fountain

Celestins Theatre

 

We also browsed a kitchen/home store, Cote Maison, AND, we found an Emile Henry store!

 

We cleaned the apartment a little bit since we are having company tonight… we invited an American couple over for supper.  They are in Lyon for 6 months while the husband is working on his PhD in engineering.

 

We also made a run to Carrefour so we wouldn’t have to do it today.

Sunshine!

Finally it is sunny!  Yesterday we had a couple hour of sun in the afternoon.  We ran and walked at the park... trying to find how to get to this neat looking island in the middle of the lake.  We think that you have to go under the water, but the gates were closed.  We treated the Hendrixes to supper last night after church.  We went to a seafood restaurant.  Doug can now check "eating mussels" off his list of things to do in France.  I had a couple, too.  I was pleasantly surprised!  

We're going to go eat lunch now and take advantage of the sunny afternoon.  We may go get a frappuccino... Starbucks is opening their second location in Lyon today.  According to the free newspaper that you get on the metro, the Lyon location that opened 6 months ago has been Starbuck's most successful store in all of Europe.  They are now "aggressively accelerating" their plans for placement in the Rhone-Alpes region.  Anyway, Doug is hungry, got to go.

Liz

Rainy Monday

Yesterday it rained ALL DAY LONG.  Yuck!  We stayed at the A.F. for a while after our classes to use the internet, then we came back to the apartment for lunch.  We walked to the mall to get groceries and looked in a couple stores also- du Bruit Dans La Cuisine (kind of like Williams-Sonoma/ Sur La Table), Decathlon (the sporting goods store), and Decitre (big bookstore).  We also got a “gouter” at Paul.  Doug got his new favorite, moelleux au chocolate (basically a brownie), and I got a tartelette aux framboises.  Then we went to Carrefour… always an adventure… always crowded…

 

For supper, I tried a recipe out of a cookbook Pamela loaned me.  The cookbook is a compilation of recipes from Nashville restaurants.  I made a Sunset Grill pasta recipe.  It turned out pretty good!

Even More Bruges

Church of the Holy Blood - Where I, Douglas, venerated the holy blood of Jesus Christ.  

Another view from the bell tower on Market Square.

View of the canals. 

Man playing weird instrument.

Square in Bruges with horses. 

More Bruges

Lots of swans in the canals.

Liz getting ready to ride the canals.

An almost disaster in Bruges...

A 30 minute tour...

Bruges

Bell Tower on the Market Square in Bruges.

Michelangelo's Madonna and Child in the Church of Our Lady

Family owned chocolate shop

View from top of bell tower to Church of Our Lady.  

More Brussels

Liz in front of the Atomium.

Train station in Brussels

Door to the basilica.

Getting waffles on the street in Brussels

Doug eating his waffle.  

Brussels

First impression of Brussels

Mannekin-Pis, the mascot of Brussels

The Bundys took us here to get dessert waffles.

Fourth largest catholic church in the world. 

Grand Place in Brussels

Avignon

In front of Avignon's city gates 

Courtyard in the Palace of the Popes

Palace of the Popes

Pont d'Avignon

Pont d'Avignon and Palace of the Popes

Amphitheater in Arles

Arles' Saturday market is the largest in France...

Ancient city wall in Arles

In courtyard painted by Van Gogh

Pictures from Lyon and Arles

Doug and Liz in front of St. Jean

 Bartholdi Fountain

In Arles...Terrasse cafe painted by Van Gogh

En Belgique

Belgium…

When we first arrived at the Brussels Midi train station Thursday afternoon, we were a little stressed out because the Bundys were picking us up from Central station and things weren’t marked as clearly as in France.  We ended up finding a metro map and we took the metro from Midi to Central.  The Bundys’ apartment is only a 3-minute walk from Central.  It is a really pretty apartment!  They had fixed dinner for us, which was delicious!  They then took us out to see the famous Mannekin Pis statue, the Grande Place (main town square with the Hotel de Ville, etc), and we got Belgium Waffles for dessert.  We went to sleep around 11 and it was still light outside! 

Friday Doug and I took a train to Bruges.  It was rainy and very cold when we first got there, so we were thankful for our fleeces!  It ended up clearing up and although cold, it was a pretty day.  We saw lots of neat things in Bruges including:

-The Church of our Lady, which houses a Madonna and Child sculpture by Michelangelo… it his only work to have left Italy during his lifetime.

-The Basilica of the Holy Blood- this was an interesting experience… you could go up and touch a vile that (I’m skeptical about this) holds a remnant of Jesus’ blood, brought back from the Holy Lands during the Crusades.

-The Bell Tower- we climbed 366 narrow, steep stairs to get to the top!

-lunch at Le Pain Quotidien- Mom had told us about this… it was very good!

-Dumon- a family owned chocolate shop… very neat!  We ate a box of chocolates before the day was over!

-Canal tour- we took a little boat-ride around Bruges… very fun!

When we returned from Bruges, the Bundys were so generous to take us out to dinner at a yummy French restaurant near the square.  Afterwards we walked over to the Grande Place where there was a cultural festival of some sort going on.  We returned to the Bundys apartment for espresso and hot chocolate.

Saturday we went to see the Atomium (huge metal structure in the shape of an atom).  It turns out that the metro stop is quite a way from the actual attraction.  So, we got out of the metro, took a few pictures and then got back on the metro.  I told Doug that it was about as much time as Jenny and I had spent looking at the Mona Lisa.

We then went to the Basilica, which is the 4^th largest Catholic church in the world.  Although HUGE, it is not very decorative.

We returned to Grande Place for lunch at a quaint sandwich restaurant and browsing of more chocolate shops including Leonidas (where Rick Steves says the locals go), Galler (famous for their 85% cocoa), and Elisabeth (we got waffles here).

Then it was back to Lyon… so, our overall impressions of Belgium: dirty, crowded, cold, overcast… but cheaper than France, and interesting history and cultural experiences… and Heather’s parents were wonderful!!! J

Yesterday morning was the monthly potluck at the Lyon church.  We brought baked spaghetti and peach cobbler and both seemed to be popular.

Yesterday afternoon we just rested… we have been doing so much so we needed a day to recover!

Not sure yet where our next adventure will be… maybe Geneva, maybe back to Provence (I’ve heard Aix-en-Provence is pretty!).

Liz

En Belgique

Belgium…

When we first arrived at the Brussels Midi train station Thursday afternoon, we were a little stressed out because the Bundys were picking us up from Central station and things weren’t marked as clearly as in France.  We ended up finding a metro map and we took the metro from Midi to Central.  The Bundys’ apartment is only a 3-minute walk from Central.  It is a really pretty apartment!  They had fixed dinner for us, which was delicious!  They then took us out to see the famous Mannekin Pis statue, the Grande Place (main town square with the Hotel de Ville, etc), and we got Belgium Waffles for dessert.  We went to sleep around 11 and it was still light outside! 

Friday Doug and I took a train to Bruges.  It was rainy and very cold when we first got there, so we were thankful for our fleeces!  It ended up clearing up and although cold, it was a pretty day.  We saw lots of neat things in Bruges including:

-The Church of our Lady, which houses a Madonna and Child sculpture by Michelangelo… it his only work to have left Italy during his lifetime.

-The Basilica of the Holy Blood- this was an interesting experience… you could go up and touch a vile that (I’m skeptical about this) holds a remnant of Jesus’ blood, brought back from the Holy Lands during the Crusades.

-The Bell Tower- we climbed 366 narrow, steep stairs to get to the top!

-lunch at Le Pain Quotidien- Mom had told us about this… it was very good!

-Dumon- a family owned chocolate shop… very neat!  We ate a box of chocolates before the day was over!

-Canal tour- we took a little boat-ride around Bruges… very fun!

When we returned from Bruges, the Bundys were so generous to take us out to dinner at a yummy French restaurant near the square.  Afterwards we walked over to the Grande Place where there was a cultural festival of some sort going on.  We returned to the Bundys apartment for espresso and hot chocolate.

Saturday we went to see the Atomium (huge metal structure in the shape of an atom).  It turns out that the metro stop is quite a way from the actual attraction.  So, we got out of the metro, took a few pictures and then got back on the metro.  I told Doug that it was about as much time as Jenny and I had spent looking at the Mona Lisa.

We then went to the Basilica, which is the 4^th largest Catholic church in the world.  Although HUGE, it is not very decorative.

We returned to Grande Place for lunch at a quaint sandwich restaurant and browsing of more chocolate shops including Leonidas (where Rick Steves says the locals go), Galler (famous for their 85% cocoa), and Elisabeth (we got waffles here).

Then it was back to Lyon… so, our overall impressions of Belgium: dirty, crowded, cold, overcast… but cheaper than France, and interesting history and cultural experiences… and Heather’s parents were wonderful!!! J

Yesterday morning was the monthly potluck at the Lyon church.  We brought baked spaghetti and peach cobbler and both seemed to be popular.

Yesterday afternoon we just rested… we have been doing so much so we needed a day to recover!

Not sure yet where our next adventure will be… maybe Geneva, maybe back to Provence (I’ve heard Aix-en-Provence is pretty!).

Liz

Tuesday, Wednesday

Tuesday after class we went to the SNCF (Societe Nationale de Chemin Fer… which means National Railway System) boutique and bought tickets to Brussels.  We then walked to Les Halles, an indoor market where the finest chefs of Lyon shop.  Unfortunately, most of the stalls are only open in the morning.  We then explored our area of town a little more, and walked to a little park by the river.  We got a gouter from an artisan boulangerie on the way back.  

Tuesday night was church and after church, Arlin and Pamela took us out to eat at their favorite Pakistani restaurant.  They have gotten to know the owners pretty well over the last 10 or so years since they started going there.  It was interesting… lots of meat!

Yesterday we went to Carrefour for groceries and both got a fleece from Decathlon (the French equivalent of REI).  It is supposed to be cold in Brussels this weekend!

Vieux Lyon Walking Tour

Yesterday afternoon we headed to Carrefour for groceries… a lot of groceries!  Again, Jessi, we used the Baggu and it was great!  After we got back and put everything away, we used a book Pamela loaned us to do a walking tour of Vieux Lyon (oldest part of the city).

 

The tour says “2 hours/ 2 hours 30 minutes,” so as we are young and in pretty good shape, we thought it would take us only an hour and 45 minutes or so (especially since we had already seen some of the sites).  But no… after 3.5 hours, we were finally on the metro home.  After walking all day Friday, Saturday, quite a bit Sunday, and all afternoon today, my feet are sore (even with wearing my Chacos!).  

Some of the highlights from our Vieux Lyon tour include…

 

-Saint Jean Cathedral- built in 12^th and 14^th centuries

-The Choir School- dates from 1200… the oldest non-religious mediaeval building in Lyon

-The Archaelogical Garden- includes a 4^th century baptistry

-Traboules- tunnels built to connect buildings to keep silk from getting wet… Lyon was the silk capital of France… 300 Traboules still exist in Lyon

-Saint Paul Church- built in 9^th century

-Saint Georges Church- built in 1844 by the same man who would later build Fourviere Basilica in Lyon

We also saw LOTS of old buildings that used to be houses of prominent families in Lyon.  We saw the “Tour Rose” (pink tower) that has evidently been in several movies… pictures to come soon.  Liz

Big weekend!

This has been a fun but exhausting weekend!

Friday we took a train to Arles.  We saw the Roman theater, amphitheater, very old churches, places where Van Gogh painted (including the Cafe Terrasse where we ate supper!), and saw the biggest market in France Saturday morning.  It was very fun.  Rick Steves' description of the bed and breakfast was very accurate ("funky but spacious rooms").  The room we stayed in was the "Yellow Room."  It had the most random collection of things in it (including and "under the sea" themed toilet seat and lid).  One interesting thing about our room... it did not lock from the inside or outside.  So, it was a little strange to leave the hotel with our door unlocked, as well as go to sleep with the door unlocked.  But it was okay.

Saturday we explored Arles some and then took a train to Avignon.  There we had a very yummy lunch and then toured the Palace of the Popes and the Pont d'Avignon/ St. Benezit Bridge.   We then took a train back to Lyon.

This morning we had church and then ate lunch at a Haitian couple's house (Ekel and Myrlande).  It was a delicious 4 course meal.

THEN, we stopped at our apt. to pick up the laptop so we could get on internet in Bellecour.  We came to Bellecour to the "Fete Consulaire," which is a big yearly festival in which a bunch of different countries are represented.  Each country has a tent with food/pamphlets/art from their country.  We peeked in the US tent to see how our country was represented.  It was kind of random... there were posters for Oregon, Wisconsin, and Texas, and the American representatives were painting United States flags on adults hands and children's faces.  

Now we are at McDo's profiting from their free Wi-Fi.

We'll put up pictures of Arles and Avignon soon!

Liz

Unseasonably cold weather

Well it is freezing this morning... not literally, but cold and wet and not very fun.  Everyone has been telling us that this is very strange weather and usually it is much warmer at this time of year.  Hopefully it will warm up soon!

This afternoon we are going to Arles.  We got train tickets a few days ago.  We are staying at a bed and breakfast in Arles tonight (www.cuisineprovencale.com) and then tomorrow we will go to Avignon on our way back to Lyon.

The Harding group leaves today for Paris.  Wednesday afternoon we went to the church building for their mini-VBS there (got lots of good ideas for SXM!), and yesterday we went to the Hendrixes house to hang out some.

Got to go to class now... Liz

A Friend.

This is a friend I found on the way to school this morning.  Life is hard in the big city...

Two days of class...

Doug and I both really like our classes.  Today I only had 6 people in my class... one woman from Ukraine, a girl from Colombia, a girl from China, a woman from Turkey, and an older man (at least 60) from Germany.  The man from Germany is really big and really loud... but funny.  

Doug is evidently very advanced for his class... he had been doing some studying on his own, so he has already mastered the basics that they are now covering.  He can write about the students in his class later.

Sunday and Monday afternoons we went to Bellecour, the area of town with lots of students, universities, etc.  This afternoon we went to the big park (Parc de la Tete d'Or) and looked at the animals in the zoo in the middle of the park.  We ended up walking around the park for about an hour and a half and still didn't get to see all of it.  

Tonight is church... they do church on Tuesday nights here.   Since younger kids don't have school on Wednesday, it makes it easier for families to not have to rush home on Tuesdays to get everyone to bed early.  A group from Harding is in town this week, so I guess we will see them tonight.  We are looking forward to meeting the famous Robert McCready... we have heard so much about him from people in France and SXM.

Liz

Even more pictures...

                    

View from our appartement

Another view from appartement

Fountain in Bellecour (more bars in more places)

Street of restaurants where locals eat.

My wife in front of a fountain in Bellecour. 

Appartement Pictures

Here are some pictures of our appartement.