France Day 6 - bye bye Lyon

It is Sunday.

The sky is blue and the sun is shining. We were told that we have a busy day ahead. Btw, those UFO looking things are our landmarks to walk towards because then our ship is easy to find.

OAT always has a controversial topping. At 8:30 am we went to the lounge for a "WW2 Resistance Lecture". It was very interesting. We learned so many facts ... we had already learned in Paris why none of the gorgeous manorhouses were distroyed ... why Germany didn't bomb France ... 

This young man gave us more insight about more interesting events and some very brave people.

I was disappointed that we had to rush out without even thanking him.

We were scheduled to depart at 10 am to the Fourviere Hill Basilica with Metro and Funicular. 

Since there was a longer line to the Basilica Sophie decided to go to the Roman ruins first which didn’t make any difference in our itinarary.

This sight of course was amazing. Concidering that these buildings were constructed about 2000 years ago you can't help but be impressed.

Just a few steps around the corner was the Basilica. It was Sunday and there were three mass held this morning. That of course was good but not so good for tourism. 

We could get an impression of it though. And taking a few photos very discreet. 

Sophie had made us aware of the mosaics beforehand. 

You can imagine that we didn’t feel good about going around during a service so we went to St. Joseph’s Crypt underneath. It was not really what I had expected. 

There were also several mosaics. This really large one depicted “the Way of the Spanish pilgrimage to St. James’ Crypt”. 

This was were we were supposed to meet the group again   From here we had a lovely view.

We can see the market where we were the day before.  

Time to go back  not everybody fit into the first funicular. Bye bye, Sophie.

But then we waited when we got off.

Lunch on the ship and after a short “rest” I joined another activity. 

Sophie had offered to take those who wanted to where they are weaving the silk we had talked about earlier when we had gone through the “secret passages”. 

This company is in this business already for several generations. And this Jacquard loom is only one of their three. The others are being used to create material for renovations in places like Versailles etc. 

The young man showed us a photo of one of their orders they did. I think it was actually a type of velvet material and very expensive. 

When it was time to go back to the ship, some took the Metro back and some walked. I was happy to walk to get some exercise in. By chance I saw this memorial which we had just seen this morning mentioned by the lecturer.

Back on the ship we were about to sail. It is 4 pm.

Safety is everything. The stairs to the sundeck are blocked at this time. Whether bridges don't have much clearance or whether the water level is higher than usual I don't know. 

There was one more bridge when we finally could be on the sundeck. It was very strange because I felt like ducking when we drove underneath. 

But it was very nice to sit there and watch the world float by.

Up another bridge.

This is the confluence of the Rhone and the Soane.

And our first lock. We didn't notice it much though. The captain didn't need James' help (old joke in the family).

At 5:30 pm there was a "lecture" in the Lounge. Yes, presentation, explanation and tasting of Cognac. Since I like Cognac very much, this was quite interesting.

The shape of the glasses is important. Also, how you hold it. You should warm the Cognac a bit in your hand to free the taste. Some (french of course) chocolate between the different tasting.

The sun finally made it a little warmer and it was nice on the sundeck.

Dinner was very nice and special as always. Afterwards the entertainment was "the Liar's Club" in the lounge. These three told stories about some French products. Where they got it, what they used it for etc. Of course only one told the truth (which also sounded like a funny story) and they others of course lied and those were funny stories too.

These were the products.

And then it was past our bedtime again. Another lovely day. Night, night.

France Day 5 - Lyon

Saturday

Breakfast was from 7 to 8:30 am. It's the only "rolling" meal. To the other meals you are supposed to be punktual when they start. All meals are very nice. We had a bit of a late start and when we were back at the room we heard the alarm we had forgotten about. We had been told that there would be the mandatory safety drill this morning. We had our lifevest on in no time and were soon on deck. The whole thing didn't take long.

And then our two groups were assembling outside the ship for our tours.

Assembly is always at the "Flower Tree" statue.

There are one trip metro tickets (which one can buy in bundels of 10) or all day tickets. Sophie gives us what we need.

It is busy in front of the Lyon Cathedral. There was some kind of an artist's market. All the stands had handmade ceramics. At least one we past was from Spain.

The Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Lyon is impressive. There is plenty of info in the link about this building which was finished in 1476. 

Unfortunately the light was such that the photos do not show the beautiful colors of the windows.

The above link has info about the two organs ...

... and the astronomical clock.

Outside we couldn't miss seeing the Camino trail sign. 

A major highlight of this walking tour were the secret passages in Lyon. These labyrinths of the silk workers are called "traboules" and they were very fascinating. 

We went through 2 traboules but you can find a lot more information on the internet.

This is a mechanical clock with the puppet figure Guignol moving but we were not at the right time. 

What about this photo? Do do see the red dot in one of the upper windows? That is so the fire brigate knows in case of a fire which window to brake first.

And what is this contraption? Sophia explained that this hopes to prevent man from peeing in the corner. It seems to be a problem in France. This would make their feet wet.

At this "boulangerie" (bakery)  Sophie bought something very special for us to try: Brioche aux pralines rouges. It is quite sweet and nice. After we ate she told us that the pink coloring is the natural dye of cochineal (bugs). 

The heart of Lyon is on a peninsula between the Rhone and the Soane rivers. We walked over one of the bridges...

... and there was a Saturday market going on. Sophie challenged us to buy something we didn't know. We went with another couple to find something.

We ended up getting 5 Euros worth of these "cheese buttons"(bouton de culotte ?) - Sophie said: good choice.

And for 1.50 Euro we bought "herbe à chat" for her cat (catnip). 

After dinner we enjoyed a recital by local piano artist Cynthia Caubisens.

And then it was time to go night, night. It was already rather late. But what a great day it has been.      Thank the Lord!