The PB Murals: The Vieux Lyon Wall

Vieux Lyon (meaning Old Lyon) is the oldest part of the city, dating to at least Roman times. In 942, Lyon became part of the Kingdom of Burgundy, and later, in 1307, became part of the Kingdom of France. 

This photo (above) of La Place de la Trinité was my inspiration for this wall

The remarkably charming buildings in this part of Lyon are plaster colored in the wonderful pink, peach & ochre tones you see here. Medieval and renaissance architectural details abound here. The streets are cobblestone.

The organ grinder with his limonaire (crank organ music box or hurdy gurdy), similar to the one played and celebrated at PB Bistro, is a common site in Lyon. Many still keep a traditional little monkey as their sidekick. He attracts customers and collects donations, and I suppose, is the organ grinder's best pal. 

I gave my organ grinder (picture on right) the look of a gitan (gypsy) with his purple vest and yellow silk neckerchief with red polka dots. (See my two most popular posts, ever - both on French gypsies here and here.)

At PB Bistro - the wonderfully entertaining William (pronounced weel-YAHM), playing the limonaire during a recent upbeat evening

The sidewalk dining bistro scene is typical of such settings, all over France. The charcuterie platter with mustard, cornichons and sliced baguette is commonly enjoyed in Lyon. I decided to put university students at the bistro table in the mural, as a reminiscence of my own student days in France. We felt we were so sophisticated and grown-up, drinking wine for lunch and eating such amazing foods, and the truth is...I still believe we were!

The blackboard has a menu du jour that would be seen at many a Lyonnais bistro, including Bugnes de Lyon (miniature beignets). This particular menu was dreamed up for me by Pascaline, Philippe's maman.

The chef (who bears a slight resemblance to PB's own Philippe Rispoli) is standing in front of a Bouchon Lyonnais, a sort of restaurant typical of and specific to Lyon. Bouchons are bistros, serving traditional cuisine lyonnaise, such as homemade sausages, duck pâté, and other charcuteries, fish quenelles (dumplings), coq au vin, chicken stuffed with morels, and other hearty foods.

The épicerie is a grocery store which carries fresh produce and dairy products. As in this picture, épiceries display their products out on the sidewalk in all but the most inclement weather.

The baker represents both a boulanger (breads chef) and a pâtissier (pastry chef), both of whom are so important to the daily life of French citizens... and to the customers and staff at PB!  As in France, the French bakers at PB Boulangerie are there all night, every night, baking everything fresh for the next morning.

Above, just a small hint of the outstanding pastries and breads displayed at PB Boulangerie.

The PB Murals: The Wine Cellar Wall

Naturellement, wine is a big part of life in and around Lyon, as the city is located between two of France's most productive wine regions - Burgundy and the Rhône valley. This cave (cellar) shows barrels of Beaujolais being aged, and the vigneron (winemaker) tasting a barrel sample, just to see how the wine is progressing (which he needs to do quite frequently, of course!)

Jack and I have met many such characters over the years - passionate about their wines and willing to share them with anyone who is likely to appreciate them. We have passed many happy hours in conversation with red-nosed and -cheeked winemakers, tasting samples from their barrels as early in the day as breakfast. Imagine - this is what they do every day!

For the story in the murals, I imagine that this winemaker is a family friend of Philippe's, and wears his PB Boulangerie Bistro apron with pride and great memories of his trip to Cape Cod.

The wooden cases of wine in front of the cave represent a variety of French wines, including some of France’s most highly prized selections.  The Pétrus is from Bordeaux in western France, but the Louis Jadot and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are from Burgundy, north of Lyon, while Châteauneuf-du-Pape is from the Rhône valley, south of Lyon.

I have had the good fortune to have tasted all of these wines, over the years, at various different meals. I was once served a Château Pétrus from 1955. (Our host had wanted to serve something from my birth year, but 1956 was a lousy year for French wines, and he had no wines from that year in his cellar...I reminded him that I had been conceived in 1955!) Known as the world's most expensive wine, I like to think I really did enjoy it for all it was worth.

The antique bottle of crème de Cassis is here because this wonderful black currant liqueur comes from Dijon, just North of Lyon. This is the special ingredient in a Kir cocktail, which also originated in this area. I adore crème de Cassis liqueur, and have made it several times at home. In fact, for many years, I had a black lab named Kir.

The very elegant mademoiselle can be clearly identified as a Parisienne, by her chic Chanel style clothing, Hermès birkin handbag and impossibly high heels. She is walking Chef Philippe’s dog, Krusty, a French black cocker spaniel.

The real Krusty (above) is totally adorable!

The PB Murals: The River Scene Wall

Lyon is a beautiful, historic city that lies in the East of France, at the meeting of two sumptuous regions of France: Beaujolais, Burgundy and the Rhône-Alpes. Situated at the confluence of the Saône & Rhône rivers, this river scene is typical of so many in the city. 

L'Hôtel Dieu, the long building pictured here, on the opposite side of the river, dates to medieval times and served as a hospital from 1184 until 2010 (over 800 years!) In fact, Chef Philippe's mother was born there. L'Hôtel Dieu is located on Presqu'Ile, which literally means "almost an island", since it is the piece of land located between the Saône & Rhône rivers, just before they merge.

A lovely French stamp, from 1939, depicting almost the same scene I painted

L'Hôtel Dieu at night

The church on the hill, Notre-Dame de Fourvière, is a well-known fixture in the skyline of Lyon. 

The structure that looks like the Eiffel Tower is currently a television tower, and not open to the public. Known as la tour métallique de Fourvière, it was constructed in 1914 for the Exposition Universelle of Lyon and originally had a restaurant at the top, accessed by elevator. It is really quite similar to the Eiffel tower in some ways, in that it is a beautiful example of early 20th century industrial modern construction.

There are many more buildings dotting the hillside between L'Hôtel Dieu and Notre-Dame de Fourvière, but I left them out of the mural in order to highlight just a few landmarks.

Looking down at L'Hôtel Dieu from Fourvière hill, you see many red tile roofs, a building material first introduced to this area by the Romans who settled on Fourvière hill around 43BC.



Many péniches (river barges) are docked along the quays, some of which have been turned into delightful restaurants.

Montgolfières (hot-air balloons) are frequently spotted over the rolling hills of this gorgeous area, giving tourists views of the famous vineyards of Bourgogne and the Côtes du Rhône, as well as the Alps to the East.

Two photos (above) from Original Travel, offering balloon trips over Lyon and the surrounding countryside