Exploring...Lyon: Festivals!

This weekend Cassandra's parents visited us in Lyon. We all lucked out because there happened to be a wine festival going on right in the square by our house. For 1 Euro you got your own glass and you could sample and taste any wine from each tent. All wines came from the Beaujolais area, in the Rhone Alps region which is close to Lyon.

Cheers!

 And we were lucky enough to see a show put on by Guignol - the famous marionette associated with Lyon. He is a canut, which is a traditional silk worker, from maybe the 18th century when Lyon was a major silk making hub. He was often involved in political satire and skits that represented the hardship canuts faced when the industry began to become more technologically based. Today, the shows aren't so dark, he's just a funny muppet - but I've seen a version up close, he's really creepy looking. 

Our Travels...Paris, Part Two

No post about Paris is complete without a picture of the Eiffel Tower 

Paris is for lovers! Good thing I brought Cazz! lol

rainy weather

On Saturday night we went to the Famous Moulin Rouge! We had a table for 2 and a bottle of Champagne! It was fun to get dressed up, but honestly the show was a bit of a disappointment. The costumes were very French and they lived up to my expectations very flashy and sexy, but the songs and the dance numbers lacked pizzazz. I think I was expecting a more burlesque style show, and what I got was the quality of a Mexican Resort Dance Number. The men were much more talented than the women, and there were a few acts in between to tie over the audience during costumes changes. All in all I'm glad we went but I wouldn't do it again - I think the show has strayed from its traditional roots. 

Ironically, we had planned to eat at a fancy restaurant before the show since we were already dressed up. But we should have booked ahead because on a Saturday night in Paris everything was already booked up for the night. In the end, we were in a rush to make the show so we ended up eating at the fast food burger place, Quick, next door to the Moulin Rouge!!! What a sight we were in Nylons, full makeup and heels, eating cheese burgers and fries! lol We had to laugh at ourselves, it was too ridiculous. 

On our way to the Musee D'Orsay we passed a bridge, covered in locks. We asked around, to find out what was going on, since it seemed out, and we found out that a new tradition has developed over the last 3 years where you purchase a lock, write your name and if you're a couple the name of your sweetheart, lock the lock and toss the key into the river. It's about fate and luck, and if you're single love will find you and if you're not then you secure you're bond with the lock. I made Cassandra do one and I think I'll wait till I'm in Paris next month with Luke to do my own. 

Like I said in the last posted we visited the Sacre Coeur in Montmarte. I lit a candle in the church for my family and friends back at home, hope my prayers are answered!

Montmarte was a really nice area of the city, with lots of cafe's an art market, a mime, and street vendors!

 

And finally... no French trip is complete without some macaroons! We lined up outside La Duree to get a taste of some of Paris' most famous macaroons. We weren't allowed to take pictures outside the boutique  so you'll have to be content with this picture. We got salted caramel and something with marshmallow. But a local directed us to another bakery instead, Piere Hemes, which sold wayyyy better tasting macaroons, so if you're ever in Paris don't bother with the line up at La Duree just head around the corner to Pierre Hermes they're delicious!

 And that's the end of Paris, for now... I'll be back again with mes parents, next weekend, so hopefully I'll get to see everything I missed. The city is so huge that it would take months to really know it, and find all those local hangouts that us tourists aspire to stumble upon!!

Love ale

Our Travels...Paris, Part One

It's the one you've all been waiting for haha! Paris. 

On the first day oh Paris, my sights were set on Notre Dame. We entered the inside of the cathedral and also went up into the turrets to see the famous bell. There is one picture of me in front of the church hunched over - pretending to be Quasimodo. Another fun fact, there was a restaurant just around the corner called Esmeralda  I thought that was hilarious. The view from the top was soo nice!! I'm so glad we did it, and the stain glass windows inside were really breathtaking. A bit of history, the church was actually mean to be torn down at some point to make room for more housing and development, but Victor Hugo's story The Hunchback of Notre Dame produced a gothic revival and the citizens protested to keep the church in place.

We also, visited the Louvre on the Friday we arrived since it was open late. We didn't have a lot of time in the museum but we got to all the highlights like the Mona Lisa, sculpture of Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory we also walked through the Egyptian exhibit - the Louvre has the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts after Cairo. That picture is of a real mummy! All in all it was OK, I'm not really a fan of museums and I don't know anything about art so I'm glad we didn't spend too much time there. 

The other monuments we visited were the Sacre Coeur, the Bastille, the Eiffel Tower, Champs D'Elysee and Arc de Triomphe. Wish we had made it to Versaille but with the bad weather we were slowed down and we didn't end up having the time. :( 

Monument for the French People, the Bastille, put up in memory of the Storming of the Bastille - when Parisian citizens stood up against monarchy and stormed the prison (bastille) in protest. That's cazz and me doing our own version of storming at the tower.

 

It's a shame but after all our sight seeing we weren't left with very much time to shop. We made our way on Monday to an antiques area where we saw some really amazing things, including shops full of piles of vintage Chanel jewellery and 17th century antiques, watches, clothes, etc. We also went to another district to shop in the boutiques where we could find more French designers and less mainstream shops, like on the Champs D'Elysee. We had the most delicious breakfast there in the shopping area because it wasn't very tourist-y. We had a Croque Madam (bread, ham, cheese, egg) , which is a play on the Croque Monsieur (bread, ham cheese). It's so funny because all the different variations have their own name, like a little Croque Family. 

Vintage Shopping in Paris!
This is not the actual fur coat that I was going to buy, the one I liked was nicer!

We went out for a nice dinner one night, and ate at a Michelin Star restaurant called La Tablette. The food was really good and reasonably priced! Good thing Cassandra and I both enjoy a good meal!

The Runway!

October has been a busy month from us. After coming back from Munich we laid low in Lyon, spending the weekend watching Glee lol. Cassandra and I are still only on season 1 but we are addicted. We've gotten a better feel for our city though, we explored during the days and came across a lot of nice shopping and stores, found a favorite cafe (The French Coffee Company) all within a few minute walk from our place!

We spent a day vintage shopping, and met a few young designers who run their own independent shops. Their workshop is above and they put out the clothes as they sew, so most things are one of a kind. Once we got to talking they told us about this street fashion show they were apart of that was being shown last weekend. They told us the location and we went to watch! It was so fun to be a part of and watch the show, we had front row seats in the small court yard, and they served free wine! The boutiques in the alleyway also stayed open late so people mingled and browsed, it was a real social event :)

ps. Sorry for the bad quality pictures, took them on my cellphone