Random Ramblings

I continue to try to catch up with pictures from the near month without the computer needed to post photos, almost done.

We start today with a trip to Lyon's La Croix-Rousse district which was the traditional home of the city's 30,000 silk workers in the 1800s.

I opted to stop in at a small museum that is devoted to the local Canuts, i.e., silk makers.

Silk Machine

I'm not 100% sure what exactly this machine does but it looks impressive.

A silk loom I believe 

Pick your favorite colors 

 Big Spools

 Lots of color choices

 Canut Labor Movement Strife

Labor strife in the silk industry during the 1800s led to this banner that helps immortalize the Canut's slogan Live by Working or Die Fighting. 

The Three Gauls Federal Sanctuary

and Amphitheatre

As you may recall from your World History class, "All Gaul is divided into three parts."

During the Roman Era, the Council of the Gauls would meet here every August 1st. Representatives from over 60 Gaulish towns would gather to discuss any and all problems and successes that had transpired in the previous 12 months.

Nice Hairdo

I like fountains

St. Jean Cathedral in

Vieux Lyon

Pigeon Roost

There is that hairdo again

St. Jean baptizing Jesus 

On this Saturday, the Cathedral's Treasury Rooms were open so I took a look.

Canut work I would guess

Very nice Canut silk work indeed

Ornate, a synonym for Catholic 

Cathedral Tapestry 

Great Shoes 

We are, after all, in the center

of the French silk industry 

Very ornate

Meanwhile, back on the mean streets of Lyon . . .

The French love a

good Merry-Go-Round

Who doesn't when you get right down to it?

Classic French Auto

If you'll recall, I got a chance to stop in Paris for a couple of hours between trains on my return to Lyon from Normandy.

 The iconic Eiffel Tower

It was built in 1889 for the 100th Anniversary of the French Revolution and the spirit of the Industrial Revolution.

The awesome, high volume

fountain that faces the Eiffel Tower 

It is 324 meters/1,050 feet tall

By comparison, the copy in Las Vegas at The Paris Casino is only 165 meters/541 feet tall, about half the size of the real one.

The metal weighs

66,363,653 kilos/7,300 tons

It is also covered by an additional 60 tons of paint.

My artsy view

Beautiful Paris . . .