When I arrived at Part-Dieu, I had no idea where to go, but I knew I had forgotten something important, my contact case. After eating a quick bite at "Quick," a European version of McDonald's, I went across the street to the Carrefour, traversing the grande surface (shopping center), which turned out to be the Galleries Lafayettes of Lyon. It turns out that Carrefour did not have the contact case, but rather, the pharmacy, or store with the green cross, did. Found it and went on my way. I took the Metro for the first time and was pleasantly surprised at (1) how clean it was, (2) how relaxed the pace was to actually get in and off the train, and (3) how easy the network was to navigate. I easily arrived at the Vieux Lyon-St. Jean station and then took a cable car, which went up the side of a hill on which stood the Auberge de Jeunesse (youth hostel).
Arriving at the youth hostel was spectacular. I had such a gorgeous view of nearly the entire city of Lyon that is broken up into three sections separated by the Saone and Rhone rivers. Fortunately, for my entire visit, I had great sunny and yet, cool weather. After checking into the hostel and depositing my backpack, I proceeded to go exploring. I did quite a bit of walking through Vieux Lyon, which is filled with Renaissance architecture and beautiful buildings. I took a tour around Mont Fourviere, where I saw the basilica, which is fantastic, a nineteenth century wonder, where on the inside, you can find beautiful mosaics and murals, reminiscent of icons from the Byzantine empire. I was thoroughly impressed by its splendor. After seeing this wonder, I descended down once more to look around Bellecour and Rue de la Republique to find shopping districts and restaurants. I ended up crossing the Saone once more to Vieux Lyon, where I ate at a bouchon, which is a restaurant that serves every single imaginable part of a pig, and I experienced that first-hand. It wasn't all that pleasant, because I didn't know exactly what I was eating. Started my meal with a Salade Lyonnaise, which had meat and eggs and was rather tasty. Then, I had my main course with bread, which was some kind of fat-laced pig with innerd parts that I had trouble eating. I ended up leaving a large portion of it. What I think redeemed my strange experience was having a tarte aux poires at the end that I enjoyed. After dinner, I headed extremely early to the theatre, Le Croiseur. I ended up getting turned around as seems to happen frequently, but I found the place and in plenty of time, almost too much of it.
At the theatre after waiting almost an hour, I finally met Camille and she brought her German friend, who had come all the way from Berlin just to see the play. By the way, the play was by Brecht, "Grand Peur et Misere du 3e Reich," very famous play in Germany apparently. It was translated into French, badly though in some parts according to the German friend, Silvia. I sat next to Silvia in the square, which was the realm where audience members would be in the position to participate or be called upon involuntarily. It was an interesting experience and I had a wonderful time. The play itself was intense with emotional moments, highlighting the emotional trauma of people living in Germany under the Third Reich. I got to read a part of the script as I was called upon, with my best pronunciation yet with my American accent still there. Camille told me afterwards that it was very good pronunciation. The rest was a blur, since the French was difficult to understand. But the massacre on stage at the end was spectacular and sobering seeing the death camp and a flash of light as the end of a truly dramatic play. I liked it so much I had to see it for the final performance on Saturday. Afterwards, I congratulated Camille and talked to Silvia, who has invited me to come to Germany and see the Berlin Philharmoniker (with free tickets from her friends), so I'm planning a visit to Berlin in the next month.
The next day, I got up rather late and went to explore Rue de la Republique, stopping by the Opera house and the Hotel de Ville. I got to see the Roman theatre at Fourviere and then did some shopping in the Bellecour area, where I found something small, taking advantage of the sales that are going on all around France for the month of January. I then met Camille, Johan, and Silvia in Vieux Lyon, where we went to eat at a bouchon for lunch, which was great. I didn't eat much, since it was about 13:30 when we were eating and I already had eaten something. It was pleasant and Johan and Camille took care of the bill. We went walking around, looking at traboules, exploring the steep pathway at Fourviere. Also, a pleasant experience. Afterwards, I headed back for a nap before heading back to the theatre for the final performance. Wonderful, memorable, and I could understand more than what I had before. I also had a completely different viewing angle than before. The group decided to have a party, but I declined the offer, knowing that when they said party, it could mean being up until 4am dancing, getting drunk, etc. I was right. The next morning, Johan told me that they stayed up until that time.
Took my train at 13:30, weaving through the masses at Part-Dieu, fortunately with a ticket that didn't need to be composted or time-stamped. I boarded, having caffeined up with a Starbucks coffee of the day, an espresso, and a double chocolate muffin. I was good to go. Didn't sleep a wink the whole trip back, read my Bible reading, and listened to music. I arrived at 17:06, met Nathy, and headed home.
Let's get back to business, shall we:
This week has started off exceptionally well. I decided to play some fiddle tunes and teach on American folk music for the next two weeks, given the fact that we're already in Anglophone music mode. It's something that comes from my heritage, of which I beam with pride when I play Irish folk tunes. Today (Monday),I played a collection of fiddle tunes, starting with the French Canadian "Vive l'amour," then moving to some more traditional music: "Molly on the Shore," "Swallow's Tale," "Irish Washerwoman," "Turkey in the Straw," and ended with "Ashokan Farewell." I talked about flatfoot dancing, Irish dance/drinking parties (showing a clip from "Titanic") and even played "My Heart Will Go On," for one of my groups! Some of the girls were singing along, not well, mind you, but at least they felt entertained. Feel-good moments. I'm so glad to share my violin-playing with my students. It gives me joy to talk about one of the things that gives me passion, music. I've definitely got a feeling these next two weeks will be fun and enjoyable. Folk music this week, country music the next. For once, I'm not dreading a week after a weekend of traveling. That's something for which I can be thankful.
Just got my schedule from the middle school, which changes this week. Should be interesting and hopefully manageable. Icky middle-schoolers, nonetheless. It takes talent to deal with middle-schoolers. Some of these teachers at the middle school know how to do that, and I admire them. This time, I'm planning on working closely with the teacher responsible so that things can run more smoothly. I trust it will. I keep trusting. Things are going to be fine. :)
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