Lyon - the Essence of France

Tonight, we are in Lyon.

Incredible facts... France (in 2011) produced 38 million metric tons of wheat... more than Australia... who produced 27 million metric tons. Today, we drove through corn fields and sunflower fields... using very fertile soil and yielding high tonnage per hectare. I guess, France would only have to have a small fraction of the area growing wheat... compared to Australian acreage... but it just doesn't sound right. The only saving grace is that while Australia exports most of its wheat crop... France eats theirs... and has to import some as well.

We have been in France for only 3 days... and already acknowledge the superiority of French bread. I don't know what they do that is different from (say) Italy or Croatia or Greece... but they do something different that gives extra flavour... perhaps they have secret varieties of wheat that not only crop with better tonnage per acre... but also tastes better.

Walking around Lyon tonight, it seemed that the French have taken many aspects of food production and turned it into an art form. Drinking wine is a spiritual experience... patisseries have to look like living objects and priced to match... fruit needs to be displayed individually... under spotlight... next will be the inclusion of surround sound. Most of this arty-farty affectation leaves me bewildered... except when it comes to bread... where the French actually do deliver the magic.

Lyon has this competitive thing going with Paris. It seems like the Gauls and the Franks haven't quite settled the pecking order. In Roman times (45 AD) Lyon had the upper hand... Agrippa and Caesar liked the cut of Lyon and used the area as their administration centre. When the Romans withdrew, Paris and Lyon were parts of different countries. It was only in the 14th century that Lyon was captured by the Franks. Lyon seems to be proud of its WWII history... where it was a centre for the occupying German forces... but also as a stronghold of resistance. The resistant fighters organised traboules (secret passages) through houses which enabled the local people to escape Gestapo raids. The city is now home to a resistance museum.

We are in Lyon for a few days where we hope to see more closely a city so rich in history.