A Gull on the Sun King's Head

We're in the center of Lyon, on the Place Bellecour--a very large rectangular square, perhaps the largest in Europe (we're seeing only a fraction). Here's the scene large

The statue portrays Louis Quatorze (with a gull on his head), and above is the Basilica of Fourvière, erected in the late 19th century (the same era as Sacré Coeur on Montmartre in Paris). Lyon is absolutely marvelous; this was my first time (Marylee had visited briefly 20 years ago).

After our brief stop at Bellecour this morning, we returned to Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), and visited a number of traboules--the alleys linking the narrow streets, building on our experience there Saturday afternoon.

We took the train back to Paris today (the high-speed TGV, just over two hours), after our three-day visit, and we've sworn to return. For us, Lyon is simply the second city in France, after Paris. It offers a variety of terrain, architecture (including extensive Roman ruins), museums and fascinating neighborhoods.

Edit: I've just changed the title to the above: a good friend sent me an email with that in the subject line (he's not a blipmember), and I can't resist appropriating it.