La Fourviere et le Theatre Romain

prime view of the city from the Theatre Romain

OK, take 2.... silly computer crashed and lost my entry.
Another fabulous Saturday adventure!! Scottie and I made our way through Vieux Lyon and up the impressive number of stairs up to the hill where La Fourviere overlooks the city. The view from the sommet was well worth the climb, though. It was a glorious sunny afternoon and we had a clear view of Vieux Lyon, the Presqu'ile, the markets and the two rivers. La Fourviere was impressive inside and out- although it certainly can't beat Sacre Coeur in Paris. The inside was covered in mosaics of saints and Bible stories and there were lovely picture windows in vibrant stained glass. There was also a large painting over the doors at the entrance of Lyon, depicted as a young maiden in a funny hat, being covered by Mary's mantle to ward off the cholera epidemic, worker unrest in the silk mills, etc - things that threatened her in the mid 1800s when the basilica was being built. Thought that was pretty cool. We stayed for a while in the basilica and I had a little meditation moment. I think it was good for me.
We fueled up with a mammoth cup of cafe creme each before exploring the ruins of the Roman theater not far from the basilica. That's where the real fun began. We spent the better part of an hour climbing rocks and taking cool pictures. Neither of us could get past the fact that there are actually Roman ruins in Lyon, and so we were both in sort of a state of euphoria for the next hour or so. Scottie phrased it pretty well: "The Roman ruins were like three birthdays worth of fun!"
Next on the agenda: a bit of a nap, then getting ready for the potluck over at the cours de la Liberte apartment. We're all going to have a nice little dinner and some wine before heading over to Maison de la Danse, the performance that the UVA program is paying for us to go see with Barbara. Should be fun! Hope to get into some mischief with the girls, too..... Last night I went over there with Christina. We drank some wine and Julia and Louise made crepes with sugar and Nutella - awesommmmmmme midnight snack, and overall a very fun evening. I needed the sugar boost after seeing Brokeback Mountain! It was an amazing movie but Scottie and I were both overwhelmed after we left the theater. Heather Ledger surpassed all of my expectations - he's certainly come a long way since "10 Things..."!
Ok, over and out. A plus tard!!

Some more pictures....

(and even more on the flickr site)

the stained glass was lovely even from the outside

so i like rooftops.

a gold fish pond at the roman ruins .... who knew?

those silly romans. they probably ate goldfish.