Last night my class just got back from our 3-day excursion outside of Paris! We first traveled to Lyon, which is South east-ish of Paris...by a lot more than I thought! It only took us 2 hours by train however. When we got to Lyon we had our first pleasant surprise...we stayed in a nice hotel! Comfy beds, INTERNET, and a private shower! Still not as big or as nice as an American hotel but we were thrilled. We then visited the Lyon Opera House designed by Jean Nouvel. This building was basically an old opera house that was too small and was gutted and redesigned to accommodate the new needs of the Opera house.We had a guided tour for the first time at the Opera House which was definitely a new and interesting experience. I will say that Lyon is a really awesome and very scenic city. The Opera House is a very cool design of an old building that is now updated, but I wasn't as impressed with this building as I was with the Garnier Opera House in Paris. After our guided tour was over, we were free to spend the day exploring Lyon. I quite enjoyed our leisurely day strolling throughout Lyon and finding fun shops to go into. What I enjoyed more was the free breakfast the hotel served the next day. I didn't even care that I had to wake up early, I was just excited for a hot breakfast and COFFEE. After our delicious breakfast we then took a train outside Lyon about a half an hour to stay at a Monastery designed by Le Corbusier. We knew in advance that we had to walk to the Monastery...and that it was 25 minutes walking uphill. Again I'd have to say that I was a trooper, even though I was scared that the walk was going to be worse than what my teacher said it would be. It was worth the climb, however. The view was fantastic and it was amazing to again be able to have the opportunity to see and touch in person a building you studied in a book far away in Milwaukee. As it was a Monastery and the home to about 10 friars, we had to whisper and respect the quietness of their home. We each stayed in a friar's cell that was smaller than my room back in Paris. Overall I enjoyed my stay at La Tourette Monastery a lot more than I thought I would have. I was apprehensive about staying in a cell by myself, but ended up quite liking the solitude and time for reflection. We were served lunch, dinner, then breakfast the next day in their dinning room. The friars even packed us a lunch to go the next day as well! The first day we were there we had a guided tour by the cutest French tour guide I have ever met. She knew TONS about Le Corbusier and even more about the Monastery. After our tour the night we arrived, I had a fun time exploring the expansive fields and woods surrounding the Monastery along with taking pictures and sketching the gorgeous view of the town below. After dinner that night a friar offered to speak with us about the building and about the Dominican order of friars, which is the type of friars living in the monastery. He was a very interesting man who told us how the Dominicans were teachers and you could definitely tell by the way he spoke with us that he loved to teach. The best part of the evening was how he was telling a story so intensely that he gave us the finger! I laughed so hard at this...a friar just gave us the finger! Although it was part of the story, I just had to laugh at the situation I was in. After getting over my fear of sleeping alone in a cell with total silence, I had a decent night of sleep and was excited to see my favorite Le Corbusier piece the next day, the church Notre Dame du Haut at Ronchamp. We took a four hour coach bus ride the next day...on the nicest coach bus I have ever been on! Lets just say I had a comfy ride...despite driving way too fast through way too small of streets! We finally got to the small city of Ronchamp where Le Corbusier (again) designed a small church. We had a few hours at the church to explore, draw, and take pictures. I can't really explain why, but I love this church. It was in the 3rd phase of Le Corbusier's designs and his first religious building (built before the Monastery). It is an extremely sculptural building with punched window openings in a highly irregular pattern. Again, Le Corbusier picks the best spot with the best views to place his buildings on. Even though the church looks so much different from any architecture I have ever seen before, somehow it fit in. It just felt like you took a small house or cottage and warped it a bit. What I'm trying to say is that it felt like it belonged there, as odd-looking as it might be. After our time at the church was up, we took an hour bus ride to the train station and rode a 2 1/2 hour train ride back to Paris. It seemed like we were gone forever...but not gone at all at the same time. I was excited to get back to 'normal.' Today my friends and I took it easy and sat in the park and worked on homework most of the day (rough life, I know). Tomorrow we are going to the Catacombs and maybe some shopping too! Pictures to come! Aur Revoir!
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