Lyon, Part 2 — le trompe l'oeil

When you're in Lyon, get yourself up to La Croix-Rousse and find the fascinating trompe-l'œil. 

On this visit, yesterday, it was the wrong time of day to get the whole thing into one photo — it was all in shadow. So, all I can do is show you snippets of it:

This neighborhood used to be the silk-manufacturing district of Lyon. The painting on the exterior of this building reflects that history, as well as the ordinary life of today.

When Zach and I were here in 2013, I needed to find an ATM in order to get some French currency. Marie directed us to this "banque" and it wasn't until we were a few feet away that we got the joke — the bank is just a painting on the wall.

Elsewhere in the same neighborhood, we found a few more random bits. Here the "painters" are painted!

Today, Marie took me to a low-income housing project that was built 40 years ago. It's called La Résidence de la Sarra. By 2005 or so, it had become run-down, and a really bad scene. The city put in some serious renovations and added trompe-l'œil to the exterior. 

These exterior walls used to be monochrome and ugly. If you look closely, you can see the details that are painted on — balconies, flower pots, the awning... 

The people who live here are still low-income, still renters, but in the last 10 years the community has taken pride in its unique residence.

Note that in the "window" below, even the lace curtains are painted on. 

We had a happy little conversation with a couple that was just getting into their car in front of those lace curtain windows. The wife was all in black hijab, but wearing makeup and very friendly. When I asked permission to take their photo, the man said emphatically that I could take his photo but not hers. She quickly disappeared into the car. 

I'll end this post with a happier image from this housing project. Here, in what used to be a crime-ridden area, people today can put their clothes out to dry on a line without fear of theft.