Now, excuse me for a minute whilst I talk history, for anyone that cares! Basically, Lyon was struck by the plague, well, a long time ago, and as the French at the time were a Catholic lot (none of this liberty, equality, fraternity stuff going on) so naturally, they prayed to the Virgin Mary to save the city from everyone dying of the plague. So, when the city was actually saved from the plague, they decided to make a festival for it, hence the light festival that takes place in December. History lesson over!
So, I didn't really know what to expect, after all, how amazing can a light festival be?! Well, in fact it was really fantastic. They had put up a big ferris wheel (kind of like the London Eye, but smaller and more ferris wheel than 'pods'), which went in one of the main places in the city, Place Bellecour. Voici, un photo!
As you can imagine, this festival is pretty important for the city, and particularly for the tourists! I have never seen the city so busy! It was really good to add to the atmosphere, though for those of us living there, it was quite frustrating trying to make your way round places that are normally fairly calm! So, the first night was opening night, and not really knowing what to expect, I went out with some fellow English people and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The opening 'ceremony' started, and there were a few fireworks, a tightrope walker and other 'circus' gymnasts. To be honest, we didn't have the best view, but it looked pretty impressive, if a bit random for a light festival! We were all eager to fit as much in as we could, as it could well be our only time here, so making the most of it was essential. After watching that, we decided to head up to Place des Terreaux, which we heard was a must for the festival, and there seemed to be a lot of people heading that way. We got to see all the Christmas lights en route, and they too were pretty special as Christmas lights go.
At Terreaux we couldn't believe our eyes. When some pensioners asked me what the crowd we were in was heading towards, all I could say was 'I don't know!' Well, here was a show! Basically, there was a light and sound show going on all around us, round the Hotel de Ville (town hall type thing), and Palais St Pierre (containing a huge art museum). The show was based on the fact that 'temps' in French means both time and weather, so there was a big metronome going throughout the whole thing, but the moving images were more weather related. It really was a sight, and I don't quite know how to describe it without it sounding a bit weird! So here's another photo instead!
The second day we decided to do things we hadn't done before, so started at Fourvière, a basilica on top of a hill which has rather become an emblem of the city itself. On top of the hill (probably the most religious focussed part of the city), they had written 'Merci Marie' in lights, as a particular thank you to the Virgin Mary. They's also put light onto the white of the building itself, which made it look really pretty. After that we headed down for the fireworks that were due to happen. We were fairly cold at this point, but were determined to see it through. They were some impressive fireworks! Must have cost a lot of money, but they were amazing!
On the final day, it was just me and Aisling, and we decided to go to Vieux Lyon, the old part of the city. On the last day, many residents put candles in their windows as a special thank you, and people walk up the (big) hill from the Cathedral to Fourvière. After watching another amazing light show on the Cathedral, which was about the building of it, we saw people lighting candles and making their way up the hill. I was almost tempted to join them, but didn't feel like it, and wasn't sure it was really my place to, as I'm not lyonnaise, so don't have a lot to thank Mary for!
It really was a magical festival. I've probably bored you all to death with it all, but hey, I didn't ask you to read it! The festival really kick started my whole Christmas, and the fact that my computer had just stopped working when it was on almost didn't matter, even if I did whinge about it the whole time. Sorry guys!
A+
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