Busy day and lots of photos. Began at Starbucks around 8:15 (they open at 7:30 on weekdays, 8 on Saturday (I think they are closed on Sunday, but I’m not sure – I’m leaving Saturday morning, so I haven’t thought any further than that). There was almost no one there. I am realizing that nothing much gets going around here until 11 a.m. While I was sitting at an outside table drinking my coffee and checking my email, trucks were everywhere and workers were unloading deliveries at all the stores and restaurants around me and workers were hosing down the sidewalks while shop owners threw buckets of water to do the same job. The few other people having coffee were very obviously heading to work or to school. After finishing my coffee, I headed for Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon). I crossed pont Bonaparte and stopped at “my” boulangerie. This time I chose a chicken, olive, and tomato quiche and a chocolate croissant and ate them sitting at one of their outside tables. Just as good as yesterday.

With my hunger satisfied, I headed for rue St. Jean, Old Lyon’s main street. The only people there were the ones hosing down the streets and driving the sweeping machines. Most of the restaurants still had their outside chairs and tables stacked up and their doors still locked. I wandered around and familiarized myself with the streets, going uphill to the end of rue St. Jean and then cutting over to rue du Boeuf and walking downhill to the end of it. I went into the Cathedrale St. Jean, a much plainer church that the Basilique Notre Dame that I visited yesterday. I found one of the traboules at #27 rue St. Jean that connects to #6 rue de Trois Maries, and I took several photos inside and out. At one time Lyon was home to a huge silk industry and the traboules are indoor passageways connecting parallel streets that were used to transport the silk from one processing place to another in inclement weather without damaging the fabric.

I hung around, exploring streets, sitting in the sun, taking photos, until 11, when the Musees Gadagne opened up and I went into the Musee des Marionettes du Monde. As in the Musee Gallo-Romain yesterday, I didn’t read all the texts, nor did I pay attention to the history and the facts. I only looked at all the puppets in a purely visual way and took photos of those that appealed to me in some way. I did photograph some of the text, but it was for the meaning that triggered some insight into my own life and/or work. I left Vieux Lyon around 12:30 and walked back to my hotel, going through the farmers market by the river on my way and taking photos of that, too. After that, I stopped by “my” sandwich shop – les 3 Brioches – and bought a salmon wrap with lettuce, shredded carrot, and…can’t think of what else and I believe I already collaged the wrapper into one of the works I made this evening ( I’m writing this around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening). I took my lunch back to the hotel so I could plug my iPad in. The need to recharge batteries is running my life this week.

I left the hotel again around 2 and headed for place des Terreaux. This plaza has a very dramatic fountain by Bartholdi, the same sculptor who created the Statue of Liberty. Across from this fountain, the Palais Saint-Pierre houses the Fine Art Museum and its monastery garden. I went into the art museum and up to the desk to buy my ticket. The man at the desk told me that the second floor, with all the paintings, was closed (I think he said the sculpture area was also closed). He was speaking French and I was speaking English. I jokingly askedin my native tongue, if the ticket price was discounted because there was so little to see, thinking he wouldn’t even understand me. I don’t know if he did, but he then told me to just go ahead into the next room and up the stairs without paying! I had no idea where he was sending me, but never look a gift horse in the mouth, so off I went. I ended up on the second floor looking at the paintings. There were other people there, too, and several guards. So, I looked at the paintings – mostly very old stuff, with a small selection from the first half of the 20th century – some famous names, but many names that I had never heard before. I have no idea what that bit with the guy at the admission desk was all about, but I didn’t pay any admission…oh well. As I have done all week, I simply took photos of things that appealed to me or had some meaning to me and some possibility of affecting my own work. I won’t put all of them in this post, just a couple.

After leaving the Fine Art Museum, I found rue Romarin and the Atelier de Soierie – a silk printing workshop. When I walked in, a woman greeted me in French. I ran out of my own French really fast and it became apparent that she spoke no English, so she went into the back and asked a young man to come out. His English was very good and he is an art student who does the silk printing to earn some money. Very friendly and informative, I got some photos of the two of them doing some screen printing. Made me want to tie on an apron, roll up my sleeves, and get to work!!

On my way back to the hotel I found a health food store and went in and picked up a few items: yogurt, apples, figs, wheat biscuits. Very tired, I decided to take this picnic back to my hotel room and call it a day. It was around 6 or 6:30. Early by France standards, but I knew that it was finally time to practice what I am on this trip to preach and do a bit of art making. After my picnic I spent some time reading up on Lyon and checking the map and deciding where I will go tomorrow – and I won’t even bother to head out till 11 a.m.!!! Then I pulled out my art supplies and all the stuff I’ve gathered over the last three days here in Lyon, and I started to play. This is far, far, far from my usual way of working. I mostly used postcards that I bought and things that would be trash if I weren’t making collages – my Gabby coffee cup and the labels from my sandwiches, for example. I have included photos of my hotel room desk turned into art studio and the three collages that I have played with. I’m thinking that none of them are finished and I’ll look at them again tomorrow. But I will include them in this post as is.

Feet, feet, feet today. And circles, circles, circles. I am finding art everywhere I go. I am paying particular attention to composing these photos, and to the idea of “found” art, as it is such an important idea in collage. And, most importantly, I am having fun. Some of it is rather silly, but why can’t art be silly?

Hey, Mom – check out the first photo, it is for you!! And, Diane (my sister), check out the second photo. I can no longer bring these to you from the countries I visit, but I can send you photos!! And Denise, no photo for you in this post, but you got the stairway photos in a previous post from my arrival at the hotel on Monday that made me think of Rome. Is David even aware of this blog? I don’t have his email address. And Justin, hmmm…I’ll be on the lookout for a photo for you – Dad, too. All of you, write to me and let me know how everyone is doing!!!!

It’s 11 p.m. and I am beat. I’m going to indulge in a long soak in my very nice tub and get to sleep early – by midnight, I hope. At home that is very late for me! The timing of eating and sleeping here is still throwing me, but I’m having a grand time anyway. I’ll do the photos for this post tomorrow morning. That will be the middle of the night for you, so the post will still be ready to read by the time you wake up. Bonne nuit!!