Supermoon in Avignon

 Hello!

 Shortly after my return to Avignon from Lyon came the night of the November supermoon. I had forgotten about it but luckily happened to be in town with my camera. 

 Before being bewitched by the glory of the moon, I spent some time wandering and admiring the bunting advertising the Millévin Wine Festival, which was coming up.

 At the Place de l'Horloge the pavilion for the Festival was taking shape.

 I admired the carousel, which was all lit up and beautiful. A couple of cats were padding around the square; I often see them by the carousel and think of Dougal and the Blue Cat (a very weird but wonderful Magic Roundabout film).

 I headed towards Place Pie and was drawn to a window of gently shifting lights in what I think is the Conservatory. They changed from blue to purple to pink to red and back so subtly that it was hard to pick out the moment of change. The effect was warm and soft.

 I then went down to the river. After being awed by the vastness of the stretch of Rhône in Lyon, I was looking forward to returning to my favourite point on the Avignon stretch and enjoying the stillness and calm. Then I saw it. The supermoon.

 It sat above the lanes of traffic, yellow and round and bright, and it was such a "wow" moment that it found it way into a story I wrote, "The moon and river".

Moon in the centre

Moon below the leaves

The Pont d'Avignon looking elegant

Photogenic streetlamps

The moon above the walled town

 In my head I kept playing "Share the Moon" by Indigo Girls...

 ...but instead of "I wish I could be there to share the moon" I would think, "I wish you could be here to share the moon" because I so, so did wish that I could magic my loved ones to that spot to see the river and the old town and how amazing it all was. 

 I guess the thing about the moon is you can see it in a lot of places at once, but seeing it in Avignon by the Rhône was such a special experience.

 It was a memorable night, and after the grandeur of Lyon it was nice to so quickly have a chance to see Avignon again at its quiet, romantic, mysterious best.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Lyon: Taking the tour

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