The ship left Vienne at 5am and cruised up the Rhone, arriving at Lyon at 8:30am.
The morning started with a tour of Lyon, going up to the Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere on a mountain top overlooking the river and the city below. Although the site has been used for religious purposes for 2,000 years, the basilica was constructed in the mid-1800s. The style is quite unique with a mix of roman, gothic, medieval and renaissance architecture. From there we went to Vieux Lyon and saw the houses dating back to the 16th and 17th century when silk was the major industry of Lyon. These houses have been developed as apartments but it can't be very convenient living on the 6th floor with only a spiral staircase for access - the building codes don't allow any external modification.
We walked back across the Saone River, the Lyon peninsula, the Rhone River and along the promenade back to the ship. There are many swans on the river - when we got back to the ship, there was a swan pecking at its reflection in the low window of the ship. It was also accompanied by its gray gosling, very cute.
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| Notre Dame de Fourviere (on top) |
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| Lyon from above |
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| Sweet shop in Vieux Lyon |
In the afternoon, we visited the Cluny Abbey which at one time was the center of Christian monastic life in Europe. It was founded in 910AD and during the 11th and 12th centuries, there was a huge church and 900 monks. Unfortunately, during the religious wars of the late 1500s in which the Huguenots damaged much of the abbey. It was rebuilt but then largely destroyed after the French revolution, with much of the church being dismantled to use the stones for construction.
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| Remaining tower of Cluny Abbey |
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| David and Carmen in Cluny Abbey garden |
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