September 1, Lyon, France

Bonjour! What a difference a day makes. August 31st in Paris was grey with a quite chilly breeze and showers. Meanwhile, Lyon is all sunshine and warmth. Mmm. We had time to walk around a bit near the Gare de Lyon.

Gare de Lyon from 2 sides – the clock tower is enormous.

From the plane, heading to Charles de Gaulle

I fell asleep almost as soon as the train left the station. Ed said I missed a lot of beautiful country views. Well, we’ll be walking through it soon enough! Took a little tour of the neighborhood last night. This image caught my eye. Notaries do a lot more in France than in the States. I was a notary and would have quite like signage like…

Was asleep by 9:30 last night and slept deeply til 8. After a hearty European breakfast (American style), we headed for Vieux Lyon. The concierge had said we could pay on the bus with a credit card. She really meant a travel card. The bus driver kindly allowed us to board and informed us as to purchasing the necessary ticket. One purchase of a 24 hour ticket provides ridership on any public transportation: bus, tram, metro, and funicular.

Basilica de Notre-Dame de Fourvière

Built between 1872-1896 with private funds on a site once occupied by the Roman forum of Trajan.

Bronze Virgin,
known as La Vierge Afrique

I spent a lot of time “reading ” the mosaic stories. Also reading informative signs, in French, so it took a little longer.

On the way down to the crypt, 45 framed copies of the Hail Mary in 45 languages, some I’d not heard of, adorned the stairwell. Each had the nation’s flag as well.