Jour 2 Lyon: Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste

One of the nicest things about visiting Europe is the churches. Even if you aren't a religious person, you can't deny the beauty and impressiveness of these structures that have been around for centuries. America's just full of new stuff. Even the old stuff is pretty new, especially compared to the old stuff in Europe so I'm just really excited about European architecture in general.

After stuffing our faces at Marché Saint Antoine, we headed across the River Saône. It was maybe a five minute leisurely stroll before we arrived at Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste.

Our route brought us in to the back of the cathedral. This cathedral is also known as Lyon Cathedral and it's dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. The cathedral took more than four centuries to build and was completed in 1476 (see what I mean by "old?"). The ruins in the "backyard" are actually the remains of three churches that existed on the land prior to the Lyon Cathedral. I love that little detail because it adds to the history of an already historical structure.

We took some time to hang out in the ruins because fun. Fun, that's why.

This was the funniest of the three or four jumping shots my sister snapped of me. I look like I think I'm a bird.

As we made our way around the Cathedral to the square out front, we caught a glimpse of Notre Dame de Fourviere (which I will be sharing here soon).

The church has a mixed style of Gothic and Roman, which makes for a v. ornate, beautifully decorated structure.

The stained glass is also to cry for.

I think spirituality transcends the lines and rules of religion. So, even if you don't consider yourself to be a religious person, you can be spiritual and you can come to a place like this and experience beauty, love, peace, and all that warm-fuzzy stuff.

I mean, how gorgeous is that? And how impressive is it that humans built this structure with their hands, way back before electricity was even invented. When I think about it, I'm always like, "Oh my God," (ha! Pun intended).

And how cute is that little open doorway/window up in the center? "Tres cute" is the correct answer. We definitely enjoyed this church but I think I might've had a bit more fun at Notre Dame de Fourviere so come back for that!

Oh, so a little aside about hand washing in fountains. Over the course of our entire France trip, we came across several fountains and watched locals (and tourists) washing their hands and at one point, filling their water bottles. We came to love these fountains but for some reason, we could never find one when we really, really needed one. That's just life, I suppose.

xoxo.