Lyon

Saturday June 4, 2011                                                    Day 339

We went out for coffee and pastries then returned to the hotel to pack and check out. We left our bag with the hotel clerk and walked toward the Saône River. Before reaching the river, we found a market and, it being Saturday, we felt compelled to walk through it. I bought a kilo of cherries, and Roger searched in vain for shelled nuts. Thus denied, we crossed the river and found the funicular entry. We rode the funicular to the top, then climbed more stairs and finally found a splendid view of the city – or it would have been splendid if not for the morning mist and smog hanging over the city. It was a good view, nevertheless. We then moved on to view the Roman ruins surrounding an amphitheater and the Roman amphitheater itself. The latter has been restored and modernized and is in use today.

Roman ruins at Lyon

From the ruins, we moved on to the basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere, a large church with a splendid view of the city. The interior of the church is ornate beyond belief, teeming with artistry. There are six large mosaics inlaid in part with gold leaf. Each in and of itself is spectacular, and the six of them together are real treasures. There was no surface left undecorated, which resulted in an overwhelming attack on the eyes and the mind. I am not sure how worshipers stay focused on the homily and the mass with all the artistry to look at.

We took the funicular back down and wandered through the old city, enjoying the sights and taking in lunch at a bouchon, which is a typical Lyonnaise eatery. We wandered some more, then decided to visit the Lyon Printing Museum. Unfortunatly, I was too tired to properly enjoy it, and almost dashed through the second half of the museum in order to be able to sit down and rest, as my museum legs had given out. Indeed, Lyon almost killed me. We scheduled ourselves to stay a full day and take an 8:00 p.m. train home. But this gave us far too long a day. I was worn out by 4:00. The venture into the museum was truly too much for me.

We got to the train station with time to spare, and discovered that the train was running more than half an hour late. We had plenty of time to buy dinner and eat it, and explore the train station as well. At last the train arrived and we boarded. The trip was uneventful until just after Nimes, when the train came to a halt. An announcement came over the speakers telling us that there were people on the tracks in Montpellier and that the engineer did not have authority to enter the terminal. We sat there for almost 30 minutes until finally we were able to go again. We arrived in Montpellier more than an hour late, traipsed home and collapsed.