As this was to be my only full day in Lyon, I thought I should make the most of it. However, I was starting to get tired from this hectic holiday pace, so decided to do relaxing activities.
First stop was the information centre, as I still didn't have a map of the city. I'm always keen to get my hands on a map, as then I don't have to worry about limiting my aimless wandering to avoid getting hopelessly lost. Fortunately for me, the info centre was not too far from my hostel, in the
Place Bellecour, where there was a pretty cool statue of Louis XIV. Also, Wikipedia says it's the third largest square in France: 62 000 m²!
Armed with my trusty map, and a few recommendations from the man in the info centre, I went off to hire a bike, and amuse myself by biking alongside the river. Probably could have just done that all day, really.
Anyway, Sabrina had recommended the Parc de la Tete d'or, so off I went.
The land for this park (17 hectares) was purchased in 1856, work started in 1857, and 5 years later it was finished! The name of the park is 'Park of the Golden Head,' (that is really clumsily translated, but I can't think of a better way, and neither could the people who wrote the English version of the sign that I got this info from); legend has it that a golden replica of Christ's head is buried somewhere within the park grounds.
Going to this park was definitely a good option for a quiet morning, and I could ride the bike I'd hired through it. Given that it's a pretty sizeable park, this is a definite advantage.
While I was on the bike, and on the other side of the river, I thought I might as well explore as much as I could.
A lady who biked past me during this long 'promenade en velo' warned me that bikeriding makes you hungry... and it was indeed lunch time. I decided it was time to treat myself to another proper French meal in a restaurant. And it's always slightly cheaper to do this at lunchtime. So, back to Old Lyon, where I found a nice little resto with a ten euro menu (and the meal is documented in another blog entry, so we won't go into details).
As per usual, a nice big lunch made me feel a bit sleepy. So I had to wake myself up by trekking up the hill to find the Gallo-Roman ampitheatres (2-3 century AD). You wouldn't think you could miss two massive ampitheatres, but I somehow managed to go past the site the first time. I did have a nice bike ride around the top of the hill before I found them, though.
I was fascinated by these ampitheatres... firstly, they certainly knew how to choose the spot for them.
And, they are huge, and old, and complex. I felt like a kid again, as I was sort of compelled to go climbing around all of the different parts, exploring!
It's really amazing to think about how people who lived so long ago managed to construct such amazing (and durable) things. Plus to get the acoustics right. And even to decorate... the marble floor of the 'orchestra' of one of the ampitheatres had several types of marble from several different countries, including Greece and Egypt!
Before the ampitheatre was built, there had been houses and shops in this area, and there were remains dating from the 1st-3rd century AD! Decided to get in the spirit and have a quick look in an ancient shop. Managed not to buy anything.
Was equally impressed with the remains of columns and the slabs of stone with carved lettering.
In fact, as I was still feeling a little bit dopey after my big meal, I decided to settle down on the grass below the ampitheatres and soak up the grandeur/rest my eyes for a bit.
After a bit of a rest, I decided I'd better move before I got so comfy that I went to sleep. However, I didn't have the energy for any more exploring at that particular point, so I just wandered back to the hostel for an internet session.
Old Lyon was the next destination (again), as my tourist map had several points of interest marked, and I decided I should try to visit as many as possible, as well as soaking up the atmosphere of this area.
Got a few of the sights on the map in, but couldn't get to them all. Here are a couple:
The Dugas House (Maison Dugas)
Built for an important family in the early 17th century, on foundations from even earlier.
'The Red Tower' (La Tour Rouge)
This is in the courtyard of the Maison Crible, at 16 rue du Boeuf. It's quite amazing how, behind the facades of these buildings, there can be quite impressive courtyards. A hidden world!
As darkness fell, I decided it was time to get a few more Lyon-by-night photos. Hopped on another hire bike and set off along the riverside, zig-zagging across bridges and making numerous stops in order to take photos.
I was, in fact, extremely disappointed with these photos. Despite my best efforts to set the camera on something so it couldn't move and blur the photo... somehow, I still ended up with blurry photos.
Nevertheless, these give the impression (because it definitely is impressive!).
