Our ship arrived in Lyon early this morning and docked right in town. We took a bus tour which drove through the city to the top of the hill 0verlooking the city. We toured the basilica there then enjoyed the panoramic view of Lyon and then back to riverside for a walking tour of the old city.
Trip Log
October 14, 2021
Took a bus to the Tournon steam train for a ride up through the gorges along the Doux (soft) river. At the top of the trip then engineer unhooked from the train, drove into a roundtable, manually turned the engine around, dove to the rear of the train and coupled the engine.
October 14, 2021
Took the tour of the village of Tournon famed for its terraced vineyards to include 'Hermitage' and its steep canyons. It is considered 'back country' and is a favorite playground for the outdoor type Frenchperson.
October 13, 2021
We passed through a couple of locks last night as we slept. We passed through a couple more shortly after leaving Viviers. We were on the upper deck to watch the entire process. We will be going through 12 locks on the way to Lyon.
October 13, 2021
The ship sailed up the Rhone during the night and docked in Viviers. A medieval village started by the Romans who built an outpost on a rock outcropping next to the Rhone. We toured the village and walked up to St.
October 12, 2021
Chateauneuf-du-Pape or ‘The pope’s new castle’ was built by the pope in a fertile area north of Avignon so they could grow grapes to make the church’s own wine. The village took on that name and became the home of that now world famous wine.
October 12, 2021
In 1309 the pope moved from Rome to Avignon and build a 3+ mile wall around the city, a palace for the pope, mansions for the cardinals and instigated many other improvements over the church’s 68 or so years there before moving back to Rome.
October 11, 2021
Woke up at 6 this morning and spit in a test tube (for our daily Covid test) and had a very nice buffet breakfast at the hotel (Novotel just outside the old city wall in Avignon). At 8:30 we left in a bus for Arles at the Rhone delta on the Mediterranean Sea.
October 10, 2021
The 9 hour flight to Frankfurt was about 70% full so we were able to use a couple of seats each but still very uncomfortable. Alesa read a book, played some games and stretched across the two seats to get some sleep.