Hello!
So, after a night in Lyon, I checked out of my hotel and went for an explore. I decided to catch the tour bus and made my way to the nearest stop. The morning was cold and dull but in a strangely picturesque way. The grey sky and the autumn colours somehow worked together really well.
The top building is the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, which is known as "The Upside-down Elephant" I think it looks fine!
The bus arrived. I bought my ticket and headed up to the open top deck. This had mixed consequences; it was freezing cold and very windy, but I probably wouldn't have got the photos I got were I inside the bus. So I'm glad with hindsight that I tolerated the weather.
First, we visited the confluence of the two rivers that Lyon sits on, the Rhône and the Saône. This area has always been industrial, but recently it has been redeveloped, with a museum and aquarium. It reminded me a lot of Hamburg and the Elbe.
We began to climb the Fourvière hill.
Up close and personal with the Elephant
The bus then took us back down to the riverside.
Buildings with painted figures in the windows are very popular and famous in Lyon. There are some in Avignon but not on this scale
The bus arrived back in central Lyon, where we had an hour's break before we would complete the city circuit.
Firstly, I stopped at a bakery and treated myself to a canelé, a little cake that I had thought would be all about cinnamon (cannelle) but apparently is flavoured with vanilla, caramel and rum. I am not a rum fan, but my canelé really wasn't bad. It was a nice sweet treat.
I ate it next to a grand fountain featuring the physicist and mathematician André-Marie Ampère, who was born in Lyon.
I visited a bookshop, toy shop and comic shop, and bought some postcards. Everything was trendy yet also quaint - the old-town vibe was retained, with a modern feel added. I wish I could have had more time to explore this area, but our free hour came to an end. It was time to get back on the bus.
Lyon, like Avignon, has religious figures on many street corners
There are eight Muses here on the Opera House - Urania, the Muse of Astronomy, is missing. I was so inspired by this that I wrote a poem about it!
This area reminded me of Manchester
Looks scary...
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, is also from Lyon
The time came for me to leave the tour bus and head to the train station for my journey back to Avignon. The sun had come out at last, transforming the grey morning into a very pleasant afternoon.
After falling in love with Lyon's stretch of Rhône last night, it was great to see it in daylight, surrounded by autumn colours.
Return of the swans!
These colours were so intense and saturated they didn't seem real
As my train rumbled its way south towards Avignon, I reflected on an enjoyable two days. I adore Lyon: it's a city I connected with almost instantly, and I absolutely have to go back there at some point in the future to get to know it even better.
Thanks for reading! Remember that by clicking on the photos you can make them bigger and scroll through them.
Liz x
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