Lyon weekend for the Festival of Lights / Cooking moussaka

Vanessa Zhâ & Olivier Poels 07:10, 03 December 2023

This morning we're going for a walk in Lyon, which will live to the rhythm of its Festival of Lights from Thursday

... for 4 exceptional evenings! As you know, the Festival of Lights has been a real institution for more than 20 years. Let's set the scene: 32 artistic creations that animate 29 heritage sites. It is one of the world's great references in terms of cultural events highlighted. And it's also a springboard for French and international artists.

But above all, it is a popular festival: the people of Lyon are very attached to it. If we go back to the origin of this festival, we land in the 17th century: in 1643, Lyon was hit by the Plague. All the inhabitants rely on the Virgin Mary. And that's when the miracle happens. They therefore decided to pay tribute to him by mounting a Virgin at the top of the Fourvière district. And to celebrate it every September 8th.

September 8th?! Didn't 8 December instead?

AHHH no! The date has changed. What for? Well, on the day of the inauguration on September 8, 1652, the weather was not at the rendezvous, it was postponed to December 8th, rebelotte still postponed... but to thank the Virgin Mary all the same, the Lyonnais decided to put candles in their windows to share this moment of gratitude together. And that's why the people of Lyon still light up Lumignons in their windows every December 8th.

And it's a great opportunity to discover Lyon by wandering from site to site, which ones do you recommend to immerse us in history?

The Place des Terreaux, central. It is surrounded by the Town Hall, the Palais St Pierre - the Museum of Fine Arts - and the Bartholdi Fountain. Fontaine which was originally created for Bordeaux: And double inclination because it will celebrate the cinema of the Lumière brothers. Their catalogue of 1408 original films has been included in UNESCO's Memory of the World International Register since 2005. It's the artist Bruno Ribeiro who will take over their legendary films by bringing them back to life in a fantasized way thanks to AI His show is called Cellulo/D Hang on: "The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station" will take on the air of a western, it unfolds in 3D, and takes on the air of a cartoon.

And then the next day, we're obviously going to go to the Lumière Museum to discover the process of the invention of cinema.

Your addresses?

The Hôtel de Verdun 1882, which is located on the Presqu'ile de Lyon, 2 steps from Place Bellecour. One of Lyon's historic mansions.

The moussaka

Mussaka, a dish of Greek origin??? Not at all! The dish originated in the Balkans (present-day Albania, Kossovo), before traveling and evolving (there are many moussaka recipes). Its name comes from the Arabic mousaqqa'a which means fresh, as the dish is historically eaten cold.

There are many versions: in Turkey: peppers / Lebanon: chickpeas / Greece: eggplant and lamb meat.

A Greek chef is responsible for the modern and popular version of moussaka: Nikolaos Tselementes, who in 1910 came up with the idea of adding béchamel. Author of the founding book of modern Greek cuisine, his recipe has gone around the world.

The easy moussaka recipe:

Cut the aubergines into 0.5 cm thick slices and drain them with coarse salt / grill the aubergine tench in olive oil and let them rest on a paper towel / cut the potatoes into slices and sauté them for 10 to 10 min / assemble the moussaka by alternating layers of meat, aubergine, potatoes, of tomato coulis and finish with a nice layer of béchamel / Bake for 20 minutes in an oven at 200° and brown the top.