Croix-Rousse (x2)

On Friday, Danielle and I took the metro up to Croix-Rousse, a quartier up on the hill of Lyon. She showed me one of the several mural paintings in the area, which was truly incredible. I don't think I've ever seen one as big and as realistic.

After walking around the area a little, we sat down for lunch and were joined by a few fellow Americans who we ran into while we were on our way up. We finished our little tour at Place Bellevue, enjoying a view of the city!

View of Lyon from Croix-Rousse

Saturday morning, we decided to go back up to Croix-Rousse to check out the big farmers' market. After buying kebabs for brunch, we walked down one of the streets that was lined with an endless stream of vendors on both sides! After a couple hours, we headed back down the hill (me with a new hat and Danielle with some groceries). 

While we were waiting for the metro to arrive, we were approached by 3 young men, who we quickly gathered wanted nothing but trouble. We unsuccessfully tried to avoid them on the metro, but just ended up getting cornered in a quad with an older man and one of the boys from the group of 3. At first, we ignored his efforts to make conversation (we were told by our program advisors that this was the best way to deal with these types of situations). However, after a few minutes, he became much more persistent and started poking Danielle and I, first with the end of a stick he had and then with his hands. That was where we had to draw the line. Trying to tell him to stop proved to be futile so we decided we had to move to avoid being further harassed. I was able to get out of my seat relatively easily, but the boy tried to block my friend from leaving and grabbed her leg as he told her she couldn't move. Thankfully, Danielle was able to force him out of her way and we stood the rest of the metro ride as the boys got up and leered nearby, still trying to talk to us. The worst part about the whole situation was that not a single person on the metro said a word to help us. The car was silent, except for us arguing with the boy who wouldn't leave us alone. I have never been so disappointed in a group of people or, moreover, a society than I was that day. 

When we finally got off the metro to change lines, a kind, elderly woman came up to us to see if we were okay. We expressed our frustration about the apathy of the other passengers and she said, "that's just the way it is".  She explained to us the fear many French have of dealing with young men like the ones on the metro, that instead of trying to protect others, they ignore the problem. We were repulsed by this attitude that condoned the harassment we had to experience. This was the first time I had truly felt unsafe since I have been abroad.

Thankfully, our afternoon turned our day around as we walked along the Saône and found some produce at a small, river-side market. We were able to sit down for an afternoon drink and shop around, putting the metro incident in the back of minds, before heading home for dinner.