A Night at the Museum.... a Lyonnese Version :)

(warning : some nude statues shown in this blog )

So chatting on Face book, my pal Tracy said she planned on going to see the movie

ONE NIGHT THE MUSEUM

this upcoming weekend..

which made me think...

I really ought to share with you

OUR

NIGHT at the Museum

this past Saturday

When the city of Lyon

opened up many of it's Museums

to the Public for FREE viewings...

YES

Free

Saturday NIGHT

from 7pm-1am

you know how penurious we are

how could we pass up

FREE CULTURE?

We have established Free OPERA..

now FREE Museums

This is MY kind of FREE

The first museum we decided to visit was The Roman Gallo Museum...

it is right up the street through a beautiful park, from our Villa Come walk through the Gardens with us

Are these rose archways not beautiful.

Their fragrance was just as sweet....

one simply wanted to linger here...

in the twilight

can you see how the fading sun can change the lighting?

These beautiful purples were swarming with bumble bee's

all too busy and all too quick for me..

I am on the way to the Museum!

O just one more quick stop,

one more quick smell,

one more lingering moment to enjoy this beauty!Who can resist this!

O but I must tarry on my way!Look down and see the blossoms at my very feet!

My how this path has changed in the week or two since I last wandered it..... Look at all the work being done!

They are preparing the Ruins for the Summer festivals..

Here they will carry on the ancient Roman purpose for these amphitheaters..

Here this summer in the evenings shall be

theater, concerts, and performances of many kinds!

Preparation has begun!!

this is a sarcophagus... I don't think I was supposed to take this or the next photo...

ooops

Once we realized this might be a NO PHOTO museum (some are you know !)

I bought a book! So jam packed with finds is this little gem...

And every Thursday is FREE !!

We are SO coming back... Thursdays only

While I hold NO incredibly special place in my heart for Mary...

She WAS the Mama of my Lord Jesus...

It is simply a lovely artistic work too!

Here in this city you will often see such Statutes and Idols carved into the buildings blessing you as you walk about the city...

this is one we passed on our way to the NEXT Museum

Time to march down these stairs!


Gotta grab a bite to eat!
This is my Kebab sandwich wrap...
they all got burgers...
I think they were jealous after they saw mine...
they should have been too
mine ROCKED!

Here is Buddy waiting in Line outside the Art Museum!

Here is Caspian Waiting in Line,
snapping pictures :)

The smiling child

Is he already tired... Well

it is nearly 9:30...

Getting excited!

Photo of the Hotel de Ville all lit up!

We are NEXT in line to go into the museum!!!


I love the carving above the doorway, the columns the grand entry...

some naked nymph playing a flute in the darkened Museum gardens...

one of the more

MODEST

statues

The famous battle depicted above is from ancient Greek Mythology

Perseus versus Medusa

My children brought to my attention that some VERY important items are missing

from THIS artists rendition...

Making it historically inaccurate!

*The shield that Athena gave to Perseus

*The bag to put Medusa's head in & cover her face with

IF

her face were really shown like it is depicted HERE

Perseus would have been turned to stone....

which is why he needed the mirrored shield!

Wow! Such a powerful and seemingly unrealistic pose...
This is supposed to be Hercules and his famous bow.
It is said that only Hercules' friend Philoctetes could pull it back
so Hercules gave it to him,
and legend has it that Philoctetes used it in the battle of Troy.
just some history thanks to Caspian!

This is an interesting sarcophagus of a VERY roman looking man
in the EGYPTIAN section...
????
Marc Antony or some relation?

Princess Ki and I labeled this the

Happy Naked Family

perhaps they are actually a bit dysfunctional...

we will never know...

but somehow we liked this portrait...

A father

with a slightly older boy of maybe 4-6

and a Mother resting on the fathers thigh

while baby, looking under 18 months

crawls under father's leg to suckle mother's milk...

it was a very human and intimate portrait for the stoic Greeks..

it was a bit odd..

and somehow for all their need to be naked

we liked this one :)

sorry if you are offended...

I like that she was a beautiful full figured gal,

who did not have any kind of eating disorder...

She looks NORMAL

and BEAUTIFUL

YEAH someone with clothing on,

praying to Jesus!I wish I had gotten more photo's of these, I will try another time.

They are

as far as we can guess

early "bible tracts"

They are in essence the most intricate, and beautiful etchings,

of the gospel stories, and they were linked together like books...

Walking from Palm Sunday

through the last Supper

to the Crucifixion,

and the resurrection...

amazing, simply amazing, I wanted to cry...

People would carry them around to share the good news...

Pretty wonderful stuff!

And amazing detail in the artistry!

In so much of what we saw,

we observed man seeking either to glorify SELF

or

To Glorify God...

and

as the catechism teaches

"the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever"

.....

trying to glorify...

and definitely Enjoying HIM...

how about you..

that was our one night at the museum!