Street art in Lyons

Lyons was our last trip abroad, pre-pandemic in February 2020. It seems so long ago in some ways, but also still quite fresh in my memory. Maybe because it was our last trip abroad, maybe because it was such a great trip - and most likely because just thinking about it makes me feel full up, the food everywhere in Lyons was so, so good and also for our mad dash through the airport to make sure we didn’t miss the plane. We didn’t, but it was way closer than either of us liked.

Lyons was a pretty city, and we covered a lot of it on foot. We walk a lot when we’re away anyway, but it was also much needed exercise after sampling, no eating, plenty of glorious food. I don’t think I’ve ever been so full, for so long. And it was full of street art, each with a very different feel. It’s a tough one, but I think these roses are my favourite - they’re on an unassuming part of a building, between two drainpipes with a gargoyle perhaps showing his displeasure.

The cat chasing a butterfly came a close second though. With the neon graffiti alongside it, both were eyecatching in different ways.

This one shouts uber cool, though the partir ou mourir (leave or die) grave stone brings another dimension. The yellow shapes behind look like they’re part of a different addition to the wall, but also they do highlight and enhance the overall look, who knows?

And to prove there were all different styles, this rather strange shaped protrusion onto the pavement was decorated quite differently. With the spring like flowers, and the three hearts to the left. And that’s without mentioning the sculpture which is part of the building. Completely intriguing.

The final piece of artwork I’m sharing was just stunning, and in a most unusual spot. They were on one side of a stepped area, a prolonged stepped area which seemed to be never ending and definitely needed something to distract you from the steps. So many steps! I took full advantage of a photo stop!

I love it when a city has unexpected finds like this, don’t you?

Lyon, lunch and loos

We were fortunate to have a final trip abroad before the madness of 2020 kicked in, you’ll remember that we went for a few days in Lyon where I think we ate at least twice our body weight while we were there. I’m not kidding, the food was gorgeous and it was definitely a gastro trip, so much so that looking back it’s a surprise we could actually run through the airport. The incentive of potentially missing our flight must have helped.

When we’re away MOH always scours the area for good restaurants, and his searches rarely disappoint. One day we decided to head out for lunch instead of an evening meal, and the plan was to head for an authentic ‘bouchon lyonnais’. He settled on the Café Comptoir Abel and we set off on foot - well it was the least we could do, but in truth barely scratched the surface of any calories we were about to consume.

The red and white table cloths and traditional wooden furniture are typical of an authentic ‘bouchon lyonnais’ along with the typical dishes of Lyon. Once we arrived at our destination we knew exactly what the website meant. Even the walls in the corridors we were led through were red and white checked.

And it was a glorious setting. Just look at the top of that bar.

Unusually I even managed to remember to snap pictures of our food, or our starters at least. MOH opted for the salad lyonnaise, while I went for the saucisson chaud aux lentilles, which was lovely but huge - we could have shared it. I’m pretty sure chicken supreme followed, but usual service resumed and no photos exist.

But still, that bar - I got a closer look. Every time I look at these photos I see something new.

It’s only now that I’ve realised that an old cigarette machine has been repurposed as a miniatures cabinet. It’s a great use of a vintage piece, especially if everything else is lost.

On our way to our table I’d spotted these stairs, but it was only later that I learnt the loos were up them. And you know I wouldn’t miss a look at those.

They didn’t disappoint, though I’m not sure what face I’m pulling in the photo below.

And as you’d expect, it was so very French. It’s been a bit of a bathroom filled week. Our rearranged bathroom refresh took place this week, and it didn’t go quite to plan, but that’s for another post, another day.

Shops of Lyon

We are one of the fortunate ones who managed to get away, albeit briefly, before the first lockdown back in March. For Valentines weekend we headed for a few nights in Lyon - you might remember that getting back was more stressful than it needed to be as we almost missed the flight. Even now, just typing this, I’m reliving the feelings that brought - we will never cut it so fine again for a flight. Given this year, it will be a fair while before we go anywhere near a flight, I’m sure, but even so.

Lyon was lovely though. We did the usual thing of arriving ‘close enough’ to our hotel and then wandering, or rather, marching through the streets in search of where we were staying. I say marching, as at the start of a break, somehow we always walk much more quickly, by the end and when it’s time to leave everything is a bit more leisurely. More so than normal it would seem on this break, ahem.

I’d booked a hotel in the old part of town and so we walked past these shops many times - it was no hardship at all really, though.

I wanted to peer into each and every one of them. Perhaps this one especially…

Even those which were no longer in use and full of faded glory drew my attention.

Sometimes it was the content more than than the shopfront that caught my eye.

I still haven’t worked out the significance of those human figures, but if they had a price tag on then I’d be more than interested in acquiring them. And isn’t it peculiar, this is probably the closest I’ve got to browsing shops this year, but it’s something I’m missing - even though it’s not something I do a lot! Probably linked to the fact that we can’t at the moment, and absence making the heart grow fonder as the saying goes. Though I’m sure I’d also hate wandering around a packed shopping area too.