"Ma vie, tout ma vie"

Blimey, I've had quite a day today!

It started at 8.15 this morning when, for the first time in ages, I awoke naturally.
No alarm clock, yay! (I had gone to bed at 10 last night, mind)

So, out I went & got the metro to Gare de Venisseiux which is at the end of the line. It's here where we park the company car. When I'd gotten the metro there was the tiniest hint of snow in the air. by the time I'd resurfaced it had become quite heavy.
I got in the car & started the engine. And just sat.
The following "discussion" then took place...

Legs: Oh no, no! We know what you're thinking!
Brain: Look at the bloody weather, will you.
Legs: We don't care! You said we could have a rest today.
Brain: I know that but...
Legs: Never mind chuffing "but"! A deal's a deal.
Brain: I am not going driving up into a mountain range in this snow. It's not like I really know where I'm going...
Legs: *sighs*
Brain: ...and then there the whole wrong side of the road thing to deal with. I just don't think it's the best thing to do today.
Legs: We don't suppose your gonna take us back to the hotel, are you?
Brain: No, we'll be exploring again
Legs: * muttering to themselves* We hate you
Brain: What was that?
Legs: We said we hate you! We really, really hate you & d'you wanna know what else we hate?
Brain:*pretending not to listen*
Legs:*carrying on regardless* We hate fucking Lyon! Hate it, hate it, HATE IT! We want to go home where your nice to us & the furthest we ever have to walk is to bloody Tesco.
Brian: Tough shit guys, I make the desicions round here so button it & lets go
Legs: *muttering again* Bastard!

So back to the station we went, where I had a new problem to deal with. I had no change for the ticket machine. Merde!
As there was nothing at all open to get some change from, I had little choice but to get on the metro sans ticket.
The journey seemed to take much longer than normal as I watched every station for signs of inspectors. Time for some tunes. I put humbert on his My Top Rated playlist (just songs deemed to be worthy of 4 or 5 stars) and rode with the fear.

The masses against the classes - Manic street preachers
Getaway - The music
Blood - Editors

I got off at Guillotiere feeling pretty low. It wasn't even 10 yet. What was going to do all day on my own? So I started walking.
Sometimes I wonder if my beloved I-pod has some sort of direct link to my soul for just as I started crossing the bridge over the Rhone this happened...
The scientist - Coldplay
Readers with good memories will know that I have a strong relationship with this song. Here I was, hundreds of miles from all the folks I care about, in the snow, on a Sunday morning wondering what on earth I was gonna do with myself all day. As the song reached it's climax I found myself almost crying, I'm not sure I'd ever felt so alone.
I can be such a silly emotional bugger sometimes.

7th wave - JJ72
Inverse Midas - Mansun

I trudged on towards Bellacour feeling pretty shitty.
Now say what you like about McDonalds but they know how to do breakfast. I went in, stuffed my face & came back out feeling much better. Right, I said to myself, I'm going up to that building on the hill. So I started walking again...

Speed of sound - Coldplay (which I always find really uplifting)
John the revelator - Depeche Mode
The international language of screaming - Super furry animals

By now I had passed the cathedral de Saint Jean & had started my ascent. Of course, I was still armed with the camera so I stopped to take a picture of this...


Just after I'd clicked I discovered that the fella you can see at the bottom of the shot had just crashed into a line of parked cars!
His front end was a mess but nothing like the state of the poor Peugeot 206 that had taken the brunt of the collision. The line of cars were all parked quite close together & the impact had pushed the 206 into the next car & that one into the next & so on for about 5 or 6 cars.
Poor monsiuer!

My steep climb continued when much to my surprise I found a Roman ampitheatre...

Which was nice!
Then I managed to evade the gaze of the " kids who were snowballing people from behind a wall. Pity the poor lady who didn't. She got clobbered!

All this had been soundtracked by these babies...

I travel - Simple minds (how tres appropriate)
How you see the world No.2 - Coldplay
Stay together - Suede
Step into my world - Hurricane #1
Forgotten sons - Marillion
Only - Nine inch nails

During "Only" I finally got there.

There, is the Notre-Dame de Fourvière basilica & for the next couple of hours I stopped my I-pod and marvelled. I'm afraid I have run out of Superlatives to describe what I saw. I can only do it justice by saying that this magnificient church coupled with the astounding view of the city is right up there with Niagara Falls as the finest sight my eyes have ever seen.

I took many photos, as you can imagine, but sadly the snowclouds over the city made some of the shots a little murky...

















I didn't actually go in the main part of the church as there was a service taking place. I did go into the crypt though where I was struck by this wonderful mosaic. Again no religious signifance for me but as a work of art? Would divine be an appropriate word?




There's that grimace again, eh?


The view photo's aren't that great but I'm gonna go back up there sometime as there is an observation tower in the church that you can go up, just not on Sundays!

The open space you can just make out in the centre of the picture is Bellacour, by the way.



Now then, the girl who took this picture for me saw right through my cod-french & announced that she spoke English. Hurrah!
She was from New Zealand. We chatted for a few minutes & I commented on how nice it was to be able to converse fully with someone. During our conversation she told me she had been to a modern art exhibition that was very interesting & had lots of interactive things to do.
Excellent, I needed something to do.

I bid my Kiwi friend goodbye (she was a most odd looking creature, by the way) and found, to the unbridled joy of my legs, that there was a metro station! They were even further pleased when I bought a day ticket which allowed me the freedom of the city's marvellous transport system for the day.

Pod back on then as by 3 different metro lines, some walking and a bus I made my way to La Succhierre, an old sugar factory close to where the 2 mighty rivers converge...

In my other world - Martin L.Gore
Parachutes - Coldplay
Like spinning plates (live) - Radiohead
Suffer well - Depeche Mode
Blue Monday - New order
Up the junction - Squeeze
Born of frustration - James
It doesn't matter - Depeche Mode
Distant sun - Crowded house
Smells like teen spirit - Nirvana
Left to my own devices - Pet shop boys
Sing - Travis
Cheer up, you miserable fuck - David Ford

It was really snowing by now, I tell thee

See!

So, I dashed into the place, paid my 10 euros (she never warned me about that) & opended my mind.

The first "piece" was probably my favourite. I walked through this door & into a space that was filled with a green fog. It literally took away my sense of sight. I then proceeded to shuffle around in the bright (hey you can't call it dark!) for 5 minutes till I eventually found the exit door. A fine start, I thought. I'm gonna enjoy this.

I then queued about 30 minutes to experience the next piece behind a group of American philosophy students who were, naturally, talking shit. As is the nature of philosophy. Can you tell I'm a scientific type?
Anyway, when I got to the exhibit I found it to be a large room half full of pink balloons.
It's called Half the air in a given space & it's by Martin Creed, who I am only noting because he comes from my own home town of Wakefield.
Fancy that!

Now you'd think that walking through a big white room half full of pink balloons would be fun, right?
In actual fact it was kinda gross as the balloons all had lots of other peoples hair on them. Eeew!

Other than 2 exceptions I thought the rest of the exhibition was mostly plop.
One was a room full of percussion instruments that people were encouraged to play. One little dude of 5 or 6 was having a great old time bashing away on the drum kit, he had to be dragged awat my his father in the end. I wanted to have a go but I didn't.
The other one was compelling rather than good. Called Flying Rats it was a large cage containing about 200 pigeons and a playground complete with 50 model children all engaged in playing (as you would as a kid in a playground). Here's the thing though, the kids were all modelled out of birdfood. Over the course of the exhibition (some 3 months) the pigeons are slowly devouring the "kids". Disturbing but kind of captivating too.

I came out of the building feeling a little let down but quite some time had passed.
What now?
If you look at the 2nd picture of me, you will see through the mist central France's only skyscraper. Well, that's where I went next & for the first time I got to use the tram

Bleach - Easyworld
Walking in my shoes - Depeche Mode
In my place - Coldplay
Kiss of life - Supergrass
U16 Girls - Travis


I arrived but found there was no public access to the building. Bugger.

Next to it was a shopping centre which I thought I'd have a nose around. It was open but all the shops were shut. There was still lots of people in it though, including a large number of what I can only assume are Lyonnais chavs.

At the bottom of everything - Bright eyes
Special - Garbage
Walking in my shoes (live) - Dave Gahan (don't think my legs didn't notice the irony of that coming on again!)
Hyper music - Muse
Apple blossom - The White Stripes
Gave up - Nine inch nails
Is yesterday, tomorrow, today? - Stereophonics
Time is running out - Muse

Which brought me directly to here via the tramway.

So far it's taken me 2 & a half hours blogging this, but it is so, so worth it!

Tomorrow; I am indeed going to see Coldplay at la halle Tony Garnier with Goldfrapp supporting. Tickets for Coldplay in a hall 2 days before the event? You don't get that back home!!

Well done to Scully who guessed it right literally within seconds of me posting & to Spins who nailed the details. Now as both you ladies are coming to the UK next year, how's about I give you Flashy's special prize then? *raises eyebrows*

Just kidding girls, would you like the post or the prezzie in the post?
Let me know.

I won't be posting tomorrow but one last thing before I go...

When I spotted the Coldplay posters I saw another curious gig advert. remember St. Etienne, the band named after the french football team (which is just outside Lyon, fact fans)? Well, soon the people of Lyon will surely be flocking to see...
ASTONVILLA

I shit you not!

Au revoir!