Fête des Lumières

On Friday, Kate, Kim, and I went to Lyon for the Fête des Lumières! We arrived in Lyon in the early evening. We had dinner and hung out with our friends Tony and Flavien. Then we went out to see the different spectacles. 

The Fête des Lumières attracts millions of visitors from all over the world! It really is an amazing festival. It all started in 1852 to celebrate the inauguration of a statue of Mary which was placed at the top of Fourvière hill in Lyon. The people in Lyon lit up the façades of buildings by placing candles on their windowsills (history info thanks to the little festival guide brochure). Today, it has become much more than just candle lights... there are so many wonderful spectacles that are shown on the façades of the buildings! There are basically little short films or light shows going on every few minutes at many different areas of the city. I took a few videos which I will be sure to upload to give y’all an idea of what it is all about. The colors and images in the spectacles were so magical. There were so many people there! Luckily, the organization of the festival was very good. We didn’t have to wait too long to see any spectacle, and the spectacles were shown very frequently (maybe every 10-15 minutes). They also had clearly marked paths showing where to enter and exit the biggest spectacles. The metro was probably the place we had to wait a few minutes, because there was so many people trying to get there at the end of the night. 

Kate and I at the Fête!

So many people everywhere!

On Saturday, we left Flavien and Tony’s place to go get some lunch in Lyon. We went out for lunch at Flam. It was my second time at this restaurant and this time I had a different flam. I had one with ground beef, potatoes, onions, and cheese. For dessert, I got a chocolate banana crumble. It was very good!

Yummy Flam

Delicious crumble

We were lucky that we arrived around 12 or lunch because we were quickly seated. Around 1pm, so many people entered the restaurant! I think there was a group of about 30 people from Spain that came and it seemed like they were a never ending group! I am sure that they had to make a reservation in advance because there was so many of them. 

After lunch, we took the metro to the train station, and we were back in Roanne in the early evening. I was so tired after the days in Lyon, so I went to bed early. I am so glad I got to experience the Fête des Lumières and I hope to come back one day to see it again! :)

On Sunday, I went to mass and talked with the priest again. I hope to meet this polish family that he keeps telling me about soon! Today is a festival in Roanne as well, and it is called Tous en Flamme. Kate and I went out to see what it was all about. There were lots of people out in the square in front of the city hall. There was a marching band that played some music. Then, there was a show where people painted different images. They would paint on what seemed like plastic or something because when they were done, they would just tear it off and start painting something else. It was something that I had never seen before.

Artists in Roanne

One of their paintings

Another painting

It was pretty chilly though, so it was hard to stay out for long. This random lady passed out chocolate candies to us and to other people. It was really nice of her! 

As Kate and I walked back to our apartment, we noticed some more Christmas decorations in another square in town.

Pretty decorations in Roanne

Love all of the Christmas decorations,

Magdalena