European Culture: The Way of the Pigeon

The pigeons in Europe seem very different than in the United States. For one there is more of a variety in colors. Especially in Turin where there was a mixture of whites, blacks, browns, and greys. The pigeons in Lyon showed off the colorful neck feathers that shined with blues and greens. Having a wide range of colors, patterns, and sizes. This was very different from what I was used to seeing in the United States. Seeing that most of the pigeons from the area look relatively the same, maybe with some minor differences.

 

Culture Difference

 There are many differences in European and American culture. One of the ones that surprised me though was the difference in coffee. In Europe the coffee seems more fresh than in America where most coffees have a slight burnt taste from the brewing. In Europe they also do not have iced coffee and espresso drinks. Out of all of the places that had coffee that I have been here, only one had an iced coffee. Many people here also seem to enjoy very strong coffee, dinking black coffee or just espresso by itself. Overall, I think I enjoy the coffee more in Europe because it seems to be better quality and is more aromatic, although I do miss my iced drinks.

-Makenna

Lumiere Museum

 I really enjoyed the Lumiere museum. For starters I liked that it was housed in the father’s “castle”. Besides being an art in its own right, I feel that it provides the necessary ambiance for the content inside. You get to feel that you are actually in the time period of these creations and discoveries. The focus on the family too in the museum added nice context. Through this, you were able to see some of their motivations that fueled their interest in cinema/videography and how their family ties influenced how they went about marketing and presenting their products to the public. My favorite part was the room with the color photography. Our guide talked about how expensive the dyes were to procure so most people of the time didn’t have access to them. Seeing a family of that time period so well documented was amazing and unique. Overall, it was a great experience.

- Morgan

European Culture

 While there are many differences between European culture and American, one of the key differences I have noticed is with the restaurant industry and culture. In America, the wait staff is constantly by you and asking questions and once you are done you are rushed out the door. In Italy and France, once your orders are taken, you are basically left alone. You can also take pretty much as much time as you can at these establishments. For example, one of our nights in Lyon, we spent two hours at a restaurant, well after we were done eating. There is more emphasis put on the experience. They don’t want to bother you and leave you to enjoy your company. While in America, the waitstaff is working for tips so they are constantly by you and trying to get a higher turn around. They are different but equally delightful experiences.

-Morgan

Culture Discussion

 I have found that when comparing the cultures of France and Italy they showed to be very similar and there weren't many differences. The only thing I found that different was how well they might maintain their buildings. When in Italy I noticed that all of the buildings had beautiful architecture and seemed to be very historic and seemed to be very full of history. But when looking at the buildings I noticed that they seemed to be covered in graffiti and were more grimey and dirty. After spending time in Lyon and looking at the historic buildings that held similar histories with similar architecture, I noticed that they were very clean and well-maintained. After our tour and found out that they have "the facade", which is a cleaning that every building is required to do every 10 years. I think it is very interesting how different countries have different standards when maintaining the overall aesthetic of their cities. 

Another very strange thing I have noticed is the quality of their paper napkins. This is very strange but in the U.S. most paper napkins that are used at restaurants are thin and seem to fall apart. But while staying in Europe I have noticed that when restaurants use paper napkins they seem to be a lot thicker and more absorbent. I have no idea why this is different but I do greatly appreciate the thicker and more absorbent napkins that can withstand messier meals. 

--Haley 

European Culture Observations

 I find myself to be quite the “people watcher”, and being in Europe is no exception. Because of this, as well as just a general interest in fashion, I have been noticing differences in ways people dress here. We had previously discussed in Turin some of the differences between the US and Turin in fashion. Some of these observations were that the Italians tend to wear higher end brands, and tend to be more dressed up day to day. I personally noticed a lot of black clothing or more muted colors, higher quality materials, and fancier shoes and bags than what we typically see in America. The shops also depicted this, as there were many more high end stores on any given street, and the clothing sold at various shops were on the dressier side. 

Moving to Lyon, I expected much of the same, but I was surprised at how different the two locations were in terms of fashion. The clothes appeared to be high quality yet, but where I used to see muted colors and lots of black and white, I instead saw many bright colors and patterns. Instead of high end, name brand stores, there were more boutiques featuring the bright clothes I was seeing. Day to day, the people seemed to be more “dressed down” compared to the Italians as well. Lyon was a busier city, with more tourists than I had noticed in Turin, which may explain this less dressy nature, but I did feel like it was still worth noting. 

Overall, there were some similarities, as in both locations people tended to dress up more for work during the day and typically wore high quality clothing. However, I thought that the differences in styles were interesting, and can be a good representation of what two different cultures value in fashion and how they present themselves.

Culture Observations - France

 Most of our time in France so far has been in Lyon, known as the capital of gastronomy (food). Naturally, I tried to pay attention to some of the differences around meals. In Turin, (Italy) we had noticed people tended to have a “later” supper than in the US, with many restaurants not even opening until 7pm. In Lyon, this was true for many restaurants; however, it was interesting to note that some other restaurants would close around 6:30pm. There then appears to be more variable mealtimes. During meals themselves when we ate at restaurants, a separate glass was often provided with canned beverages, but ice cubes and ketchup, near staples of US restaurants, were absent. It is worth noting coffee was available at most restaurants regardless of daytime, similar to Italy.

In terms of dress, those in France tended to dress in nicer formalwear than that of the US. Suit-coats or at least a button down being very common while walking down the street. Compared to Italy, there appeared to be more variety of colors than the popular black and white we saw in Turin. However, the range of colors seemed limited to classic or neutral colors such as grays, dark blues, or light browns - bright or standard “drawing colors” were not to be found. T-shirts with printing as popular in the US were very uncommon as well, even in the evenings.

Posted by AEbert

European Culture Discussion

 I have noticed a lot of the same things in terms of culture between both Italy and France so far. Standard meals are a bit more varied instead of menus focusing mostly on pasta and pizza in France, but otherwise I have noticed a lot of similarities. There are a lot more small, street vendors and shops, smaller cars for smaller roads, and larger distances between the widespread companies. One other notable difference between Turin, Italy and Lyon, France is that Lyon doesn't usually fix damage from big events. When the city was invaded, the invaders knocked heads off statues and sculptures. When the city was recovered, the citizens chose to not fix the sculptures to preserve the history of the event. Another example of this was in Paris and the Notre Dame burning down. Most everyone who were drawing up plans for the new roof wanted to do something new for the roof instead of a replica of the old one.

- Zacharia Houghton

Lumiere Museum

 I found the Lumiere Museum to be very engaging and interesting. I loved how we could play with so many interactive aspects. Another thing I really enjoyed was how they didn't solely focus on just the Lumiere brother's influence on cinema, yes it was a big focus but it wasn't the only thing. I really liked how they showed other inventions with similar functions from inventors around the world. It really showed how everyone was building off one another's ideas even though they might be physically far from each other. It was also interesting to see what else the Lumiere brothers, and their family members, were interested in. I loved hearing about how the entire family was very close and how they would work together on their projects. Another thing I found really interesting was to hear about how the brothers actually didn't want to create the device they were most known for, the only reason they did it was because their dad asked them to and their being scientists really led them to enjoy how to figure out a problem. They also did this when messing with colored pictures, they had the need to create something new and kept trying different techniques until they got the result they wanted. Overall, I really enjoyed the museum and found all parts to be very informative. 

--Haley 

Lumiere Museum

 The Lumieres were interesting in that during a time that had not seen moving pictures, they brought the still to life. This museum documented their creation quite well, starting from early ideas such as Edison’s kinetoscope, all the way to 3D imaging created later from works of the Lumieres. Seeing their inventions, like the cinematograph, as well as all of the works they created puts their impact on the world into perspective. They created over a thousand short films, varying between every genre imaginable at the time, which in a time that had never experienced moving picture to begin with was an incredible feat. The museum also showcased their work in photography, with a room of colored photos lining the walls. It was interesting to see the passion the Lumiere brothers put into their photography and films, since both required plenty of time, effort, and materials to create. So while the Lumieres profited off of their work, hence the gorgeous house the museum is located in, you can tell they loved what they did just for the sake of doing it as well. 

The Lumieres

We were able to tour the Lumiere museum yesterday. This museum was actually the former home of Antione Lumiere converted into a museum. This museum was able to show the progression of the development of the cinema we know today from the single shot cameras and film. This started with reducing the time to take a photo from 6 hours, which included the preparation of the film, to just a few seconds. Then people wanted to take photos in quick succession, which gave rise to cameras that could do short bursts of photos. From there though, the other question was how to view these photos in quick succession. Edison had attempted to find the solution to this with his "kinetiscope", but it was a large object with only enough viewing space for a single person. The Lumieres were able to solve bother of these problems with their device, the "cinematographie." This device was able to record about a minute of film, then could be set up in a way to project the images and in quick succession to make the pictures seem to move. This actually freaked out audiences that saw some of these films when viewings were first allowed. The Lumieres would go on to record over 1000 short one minute films. It is amazing that we only have to go back a little over a century for the beginning of the filming technology that many of us have been impacted heavily by.

- Zacharia Houghton

Lumière: The Image Of The Future!

 

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Lumiere Museum

 In the Lumiere museum, it was very interesting to see the progression of pictures and film making in person. The Lumiere brothers Auguste and Louis were the two eldest sons of Antoine and Josephine Lumiere. Like many things, there was a little debate about if the Lumiere brothers should get all of the credit, as Edison was the first person to invent a moving picture device called the kinetoscope. The Lumiere brothers were the first to project these moving images for many people to watch in a cinema. Although the Lumiere brothers were known for their inventions in cinema, they were also involved in other fields. In the medical field, they invented a prosthetic hand to help amputees from the first world war. They also invented a dressing still used today to help with the healing of wounds.

-Makenna

European Culture Discussion Blog Post

 

One of the many cultural difference I've noticed has been in the different habits of pedestrians when comparing Leon and Turin. Turin seemed like the only thing that mattered was going whenever a gap presents itself, even without a legal crossing signal. Here in Leon in seems more like people will at least sometimes wait for the crossing signal, but if roads are clear hey why not go. I've also noticed retail and service staff here are much quicker to be blunt with you compared to Turin.

I've also noticed some differences in the motorcycle culture here, and while I can't exactly comment on the big cruisers because I have seen a whopping two this entire trip, I have seen a lot of adventure bikes being used in nearly the same ways they are in the US, mostly as long distance touring rigs that happen to be slightly more off road capable than a dedicated touring bike. There appeared to be a distinct lack of what I will call hooligan culture while in Turin that appears to be thriving here in Leon. The incredibly dangerous and illegal practice of taking a 600-1000cc displacement street motorcycle and speeding around and pulling wheelies has very much shown itself here.

There is also the difference in the preservation of historic buildings, ruins, and monuments. In Turin there seemed to be significantly less emphasis on keeping historical sites preserved than I expected. The roman ruins we saw there, for example, were kind of being left to sit and the grounds were being used as a dog park. The prison museum was also in an external state of disrepair, though the inside was incredibly preserved. Something drew and I stumbled upon was an Artillery Museum, and one of the outer walls was literally falling apart into the path outside. There was a building called “Palazzo Nervi, già Palazzo del Lavoro” that I wanted to visit that is apparently closed to the public right now and is sitting abandoned with little to no maintenance. On the other hand, Lyon was mostly well kept, though as the guide of the first tour wonderfully put it, they are more than willing to keep a building the way it sits while also maintaining it. The Lumiere house was externally preserved while being turned into a museum, the factory was not preserved (excluding a small portion which has been encased in the theater building), the old town has had some traboules closed off, and apparently at least one closed off by a restaurant, many of the historic build.

Another thing I have noticed has been the fact that dinner happens much later here. At home, most people I know get dinner sometime between 6 and 9, where here it would appear people only start really going out in numbers around 7:30, and I have not been out and about late enough to see the ending of the dinner rush.

Yet another big thing is the lack of personal space. In the US people try to stick pretty far away from strangers, and here I have had approximately zero personal space more times than I can count. For example, the public transit had many times where people just didn’t care and jammed up into the bus or tram and left no room spared. (I.E. Turin Bus with the children everywhere)

Lumiere Museum

 

The house of the eldest famous Lumière is quite the museum, with technological progression and familial timeline laid out in the lower floor and some examples of their work alongside a historic bedroom on full display upstairs. The museum covered everything from the older daguerreotype-esqe plate-based photography up to somewhat modern film cameras, both single shot and multi shot. Of note was one of the earlier examples of a multi shot camera, somewhat similar to the “obsolete technology” of the disposable camera (or really any other modern film camera), shaped like a rifle with a full stock and set of sights. Some of the Lumière family’s work on color photography was showcased, apparently having taken a backseat to the film technology. There was also a wonderful viewing gallery of some of the films the brothers had created, my personal favorite being “Machine À Damer Jonage”, a short display of some early ancestor of the modern steamroller during the construction of an embankment near the Rhône River. Unlike most of the other films, this was an accidental technical documentary, as the type of compaction machine they used has not been preserved, or at least not publicly. The first film, called something along the lines of "workers leaving the factory" was filmed at the nearby factory, the remains of which were also accessible, though not terribly intact.

Lumière Museum, Lyon (posted by AEbert)

 The Lumière brothers are credited with the development and emergence of cinema, but strived to discover and invent things that would change the world.

We toured the Lumière Museum which is housed inside the mansion of Antoine and Joséphine Lumière. Antoine would lead the family’s factory that produced cameras and photography plates, whole their two oldest sons, Auguste and Louis, would develop many of the cameras and film equipment themselves. Auguste and Louis, (not the only sons, but) known as the famous “Lumière brothers,” had high aspirations of inventing new products that would help others. For example, Auguste worked on bandage dressing to help speed up wound recovery, while some of Louis’s other projects included some of the first prosthetics and early corrective eye-lenses.

The brothers would solve the problems of creating motion of projected images and capturing color in photography. The brothers were fond of new technology and their inventions often came about from the reapplying the concepts of other innovations in a creative way.

After our pre-reading and site visit, I am left wondering: How would technology/society look different if the Lumière brothers had neglected moving pictures and instead focused on other areas? (Personally, I would assume others would eventually find the same scientific principles, but the method of problem solving and order of development used would probably look different as it is more related to creativity).

New Prison Museum: Silence Until the Walls Speak?

In the New Prison Museum, we learned the history that fell deep within its walls. The original idea of the prison was set up in a way to help prisons be able to reform into society. However, to do this the prisoner needed to be able to reflect on their mistakes so, they were all separated into solitary confinement. The walls were built thick to make it hard for them to communicate, and they were put into separate cells so they could not see one another. Even the exercise rooms were segmented into small sections so they could not see one another.