Let there be light!

Every year in December, the city of Lyon has a Festival of Lights or “Fetes des Lumieres” in order to give thanks to Mary, the mother of Jesus. During the plague in the 1640’s, the city leaders prayed to Mary that Lyon be spared. She obviously listened, as the city was indeed spared much of the misery and devastation that tortured Europe. On the 8th of December, people throughout the area traditionally put candles in their windows, and a few days prior, the city puts on a huge show of lights.

On a whim, we decided to take advantage of our close proximity (and the fast train!) to journey to Lyon to see this spectacular event. We arrived early enough to do a bit of shopping (of course!) and to lunch at our favorite pizza joint, Pizza Pino. After fabulous pizzas, we set out. The girls needed new coats and I needed new boots. Bucky left us for a while accomplish secret Christmas tasks!

Just before sunset, we met up with our friends Emmanuelle and Josepha Defaix and Josepha’s friend, Clara, in Vieux Lyon. Emmanuelle was our tour guide…And what a tour it was! I had no idea just how magnificent the festival was going to be…Each of the main squares hosts a “projection” comprised of sophisticated animations, all created to fit the shape and size of the “screens” which are churches, municipal buildings and museums. They even displayed the lit art on a huge Ferris wheel in Place Bellecour. Most of the streets were lit up as well, with strategically placed illuminated objects-de-art.

After spending most of the night in awe, we hopped back on the TGV and returned home at about 1am. Wow, what a night!!


The girls in thier new coats.

One of the many street scenes.


Street art.

Hotel de Ville

The illuminated garden.

Musee des Beaux Arts

The illumintaed Rhone with the Ferris wheel in the distance.

The giant Ferris wheel with Poseidon!