Merci Marie

This past Saturday, Emily and I spent the day in Lyon. It was the final day of celebrations for the Fête des Lumières. It was freezing and Emily had been kind of sick since the day before, but we had fun.

View of Lyon from the colline

In all honesty, I've heard multiple stories about the origins of Le Fête des Lumières and I can't really tell you which is the real one, but it is a celebration unique to Lyon and it commemorates the Virgen Marie. Originally, the Fête was celebrated only on the 8th of December (the Feast of the Immaculate Conception), but since many Lyonnais recognized its economic potential, it now is a 4 day long celebration. Traditionally on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception the Lyon city-dwellers would light candles and put them in their windows (hence the name 'Festival of Lights'), but with the arrival of modern technology and great expectations, the city of Lyon now puts up more than an average number of Christmas lights and puts on numerous light shows every night during the Festival, starting at 6pm. They also put up posters with a picture of the Virgin Mary that say "merci Marie." During these few days, and especially on the weekend days, the city is busy and packed. I wouldn't recommend going if you are claustrophobic or agoraphobic.

Cathedral light show

During our time in Lyon, we also got the chance to visit the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Cathedral St. Jean, Vieux Lyon, and Le Basilisque Notre Dame de Fourvière, which rests on top of the hill by the edge of the city. The basilica is large and absolutely gorgeous inside. Definitely worth a visit.

Marie

Facts about Lyon:
-the 2nd largest city in France in terms of population (after Paris)
-the 3rd largest city in France in terms of size (after Paris and Marseille)
-has 2 rivers running through it: the Saône and the Rhône
-is considered by some the cuisine capital of France. Emily's host mom made her quenelle, a Lyonnais specialité, before she went. She said it reminded her of cheese enchiladas, but not spicy
-it has one of the largest shopping malls in Europe

It's a fun city to visit. It's big. It has the feeling of being old with an interesting past, but in many ways it's just like a lot of other French cities.