A Walk Around Croix-Rousse

My friend Gilles Defaix, the co-owner of the house we stayed in on Couzon and a very well-respected fashion photographer in Lyon, took me to the Resistance & Deportation Museum yesterday. It was quite an experience. Many Jews and gypsies from France were rounded up and sent to die in execution camps in Germany and Poland during World War II; all of this with the consent and cooperation of the Vichy government. The resistance movement wreaked as much havoc on the Germans as possible, relying greatly on supplies coming from England. A key leader in this effort was John Moulin, who returned to France from self-exile in England, landing in our future home town of Eygalieres (a real classy looking guy, BTW. Not sure why they haven’t made a movie about him…)

Afterward visiting the museum, I followed a “Resistance Walk” around the Croix-Rousse neighborhood, which was a hot-bed of the resistance. It’s hard to imagine that just a short time ago Nazis were in control, hauling off French citizens and shooting them in the very square where I was standing. I followed the map, but after a while I became turned around and decided to head downhill for a walk on the Rhone River. Now Croix-Rousse is at the very top of a big hill, so as I’m walking down these steep hills, I can’t help but think just how I’m going to get back….

Lyon has a series of steep steps called “montees” that are direct climbs up the hills throughout the city. After a while, I came across one and, since it was in the shade, I gave it a try. A gazillion steps later yielding stunning views, I found myself back at the Place de la Croix-Rousse! If that didn’t give me a heart attack, nothing will….

Bucky

The beginning....

The view midway...

View from the top!