17 Comments
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Betty Carlson's avatar

This is hilarious, and so well-written. Plus the photos make the point -- there would appear to be, indeed, similarities between Lyon and Pittsburgh.

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Silverman's avatar

Thank you, Betty! Your kind words mean a lot to me, as I really enjoy your writing.

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Dan Keane's avatar

Loved this! Came for the humor of a wild-haired US comparison and came away convinced. 'Fried, innocuously-named offal dishes' Ha! Never been to Lyon but now definitely want to go. Also am I convinced that Christchurch here in NZ is secretly Dallas but haven't yet assembled the proof. You've given me the inspiration to try.

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Silverman's avatar

Go for it! This is one of my favorite games along with “French words that sound similar but mean radically different things”!

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Betty Carlson's avatar

Oh and I can add that Lyon has never particularly reminded me of Paris, although I suppose that it might seem quite a bit more Parisian than the other biggest cities in France -- Toulouse, Marseille and Nice.

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Silverman's avatar

I haven’t visited Nice in years or Marseille ever, but I feel the same about Toulouse (but have also heard people compare IT to Paris!). Bordeaux reminds me more of Paris than other French cities I’ve visited.

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Betty Carlson's avatar

I almost mentioned Bordeaux, actually.

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Boucrih's avatar

Lyon has a great gastronomic scene. I don't know Pittsburgh, but I doubt that the city has 3 great wine regions near by.

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Silverman's avatar

Just wait. With climate change, it could happen.

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Boucrih's avatar

Sorry to all Pennsylvanians, I was wrong:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_wine

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Silverman's avatar

Well…I was aware of this but you did say “great” wine regions and no, Pennsylvania, you ain’t Rhône, Bourgogne, or …. well they may give Beaujolais a run for its money.

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The Mister B's avatar

Lyon played a big role in French early cinematographic history with the production plants of the Freres Lumiere.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers_Leaving_the_Lumi%C3%A8re_Factory

For France, it is the birthplace of modern cinematographic technology.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_du_cin%C3%A9ma

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Silverman's avatar

Thank you! Maybe I’ll add something about Pittsburgh’s chemical industry history - although I’m afraid in the US this distinction belongs to Rochester (aka, the Pittsburgh / Lyon of New York).

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Rita Fennell's avatar

Great stuff, love the humour, you make good points, especially about the food similarities, we prefer falling into a brasserie and going for the ‘plat du jour’ too! Now does Pittsburg do that, a good meal for roughly $20!

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Heather's avatar

Have you looked into writing for some elevated publications while they’re still in business? Even though I’m your mother I can tell this is great material for a series or a memoir . So well written 🫶🥰 Bravo !!! ( but I didn’t think you liked Pgh. any more than I or your brothers did??????)

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Jan 20
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Silverman's avatar

Pittsburgh is alright! (It is also no Paris, however).

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