Lyon with Jimmy and Denise

We got the bus and metro into central Lyon and arrived at the Viking cruise boat quay to catch up with Jimmy and Denise who are cruising the Rhône and then the Rhine. They had invited us for lunch on their boat - a luxurious and exciting thing for us!

Central Lyon is quite stunning with a large basilica - and another Eiffel Tower on the hill.

We met Jimmy outside the boat and after showing our passports we were allowed on.

We met Denise just inside. It was very nice on the boat - very well furnished everywhere. We went up to the top deck under shades for drinks where we all caught up on our travel stories.

It was fascinating also watching one of the other Viking boats right next to us drop all their top deck shades, seats and rails to the floor to be ready to pass under the low bridges. This is what happens with all the boats. The wheel deck on the top also sinks down. The boats are built to the dimensions of the bridges and the locks of the river - only 20cm lower, shorter and narrower - so the captain has to be good in his navigation.

We next saw the other boat spinning 180 degrees on the river - with very little distance to the other bank and our boat. The navigators must be very skilled - or have good guidance systems.

After our drink we went downstairs for lunch. It was a delicious lunch with top quality food and wine.

Spinach and salmon lasagne and panacotta were 2 dishes I had. We also had a lovely petit Chablis.

After lunch Glenn and I went sightseeing while Denise and Jimmy stayed local around the boat. We walked across 2 rivers to the old town - first checking out the cathedral. It’s quite impressive with modern stained glass windows.

We then went through the narrow streets of the old town and found some ‘traboules’ - right of way passageways through buildings. These started as narrow passageways between very old buildings - silk weavers used to transport their cloth through them. Then they were also useful to the resistance in WWII. We went through a very long one past some very old apartments.

The old town buildings were varied - and a film museum was in one of them - with Herbie, C-3PO and the Harry Potter flying car there.

We then caught the telepherique up the hill to the basilica. It was packed but we were the last 2 that squeezed into the carriage on the 2nd one we waited for. The basilica was financed privately in the late 1800s - and what an amazing job they did.

The mosaics on the walls are hugely detailed and some were not completed until the 1960s.

It’s still a private church - so no official events like marriages or christenings can be done there.

Outside the basilica the views are amazing across the city.

We then went a little bit down the hill to the Roman museum. It’s right beside remains of a Roman theatre and Odeon. Entry was free - maybe it was a special day - and an audio guide in English was included. It was then easy to listen to the stories and explanations without having to read very much. Lyon was originally called Lugdunum by the Romans - which changed in pronunciation over time.

There were many huge square plinths telling the story of someone or making a declaration. One was a regulation that no one should disturb the grounds of the aqueducts or flow of water to Lyon.

There was a large brass plaque with Emperor Claudius’s 2 hour speech in the senate saying how non- Roman people should be able to be admitted to the senate. This was very important to the gallo- Roman’s in the area - so perhaps that’s why the plaque was made and displayed here.

There were lots of statues, mosaics, glass, ceramics including oil lamps, bowls etc. Their shears were very similar to those used by Australian shearers not too long ago.

The 3 weights in the shape of wild boar are very cute.

There were many stunning mosaics - as you would expect.

I liked the 2 large heads - that Glenn thought he fitted in with.

It had started raining outside as we could see through the large windows onto the Roman remains outside.

When we left the museum it was still raining a little so we walked down the hill looking for a metro station. We found it at the bottom - and quickly got to the restaurant where we met Jimmy and Denise for drinks and dinner.

We had lovely Pinot noir wine and 3 of us had a burger with potato rosti and pancake but no bread. It was very delicious. Jimmy had a large bit of duck - his last French duck before going to Switzerland then Germany down the Rhine tomorrow.

We all enjoyed dinner and said farewell until we all see each other in Australia.

We then got the metro and night bus back to the pitch black campsite - everyone was in bed. We were in bed within 5 minutes