Europe2013: Day 37 Sunday 21st July Lyon

We sailed into Lyon, the 2^nd largest city in France, before breakfast and at 8.45 departed on buses for a tour of the city. We rode to the top of the hill called Fourviere which had, you guessed it, the cathedral, and a stunning panoramic view over the city. This church was magnificent but no photos inside (our tour guide said it was OK with no flash so I took a couple before getting into trouble by a man inside the church) as mass was taking place. Unfortunately we were looking into the (very hot) sun and it was hazy, so not good for photos. Back in town we went on a walking tour of the old town and through some covered passageways called traboules which were used by the silk weavers years ago.

After lunch we went on a coach tour to a gorgeous little Medieval village called Perouges. The one hour drive through the countryside was very relaxing as we drove through fields of corn as far as we could see. In Perouges it was HOT and the cobblestones were very hard to walk on as they were set on end instead of flat to let the water run through. After our walk we had an apple cider and a slice of high cholesterol galette. It was shaped like a pizza and made up of flour, heaps of butter and heaps of sugar.

I think we have had 3 weeks over 30⁰ now but we don’t get used to it. We’re not complaining though. It’s so much better than rain and cold.

We had another 7 course Dinner tonight which included lobster tail for entrée and smoked salmon for starters. For dessert a Bombe Alaska. Yum, yum. We have met some lovely people from different countries and a few of us went to the lounge afterwards and laughed and joked until 11.30. In particular we met a Welshman and his wife (English) He had us nearly crying with laughter. We still don’t know his name. I asked a friend and she said “Taffy, aren’t all Welshmen called Taffy?” I asked him and he thought for a moment and then said “I can’t remember!” so we still don’t know his name. He and his wife are golfers so we had lots of golf jokes.