Auxonne and Beyond

We have settled into port life without too much difficulty. Despite the three years that have passed since we were last in Auxonne, we had no problem finding our way to the grocery store, the bricolage, and the bakeries. We were also pleasantly surprised to find out that the local single-screen movie theater shows an occasional Version Originale (VO), and as a result, we saw our first movie on the big screen since we left Florida in April. "Deadpool & Wolverine" would not have been my first choice in movies, but it had its funny moments, and beggars can't be choosers.

After three nights moored on the pontoon adjacent to the slipway, we were asked to move to the hammerhead/T-head of B Dock (the same dock we were on in 2019-2021). It's quieter and more private than the previous space because we're not as close to the cycling-walking trail, but it's further away from the port exit. The T-head is a little bit too light to accommodate a heavy boat like CARIB for the entire winter; however, we probably won't have to move until closer to our departure date for the U.S. The port captain needs to work some "boat Tetris" and determine a more suitable winter mooring spot. 

In the meantime, our first week here was spent tackling some of the boat projects on our list. We were finally able to install the snaps for the exterior window coverings for the forward windows, but we still have to complete the caulking for all of the snaps. I've nearly finished the staining touch-ups of the exterior wood on the aft door. More to come of course, but some breaks must be taken for other things.

On Monday, August 19, we were happy to welcome our Dutch friends Joost, Yolanda, Suze, and Rosa to CARIB for a few hours. 

Our friends always seem to find time to work a "CARIB detour" into their summer vacation
trips to France, and we are always happy to see them.

On Tuesday, August 20--an absolutely gorgeous summer day--we cycled to one of the boating supply stores in St. Jean de Losne to place an order for a few items: (1) two cylinder fenders to replace the two that didn't survive the summer (both punctured or torn, one from getting caught on a gate during entry into a lock and one from a sharp edge on a steel-shuttered mooring quay); (2) one round fender in a size I can actually handle, very useful for fending the boat off concrete walls or for cushioning CARIB during maneuvers to "spring off" a mooring (one of our previous round fenders died of old age, and the other was not only too large for me to handle easily, it popped within weeks of its purchase $$$); (3) two 20 mm diameter, 15-meter long mooring lines for my use at the bow (to replace two deteriorated lines and to give me something a little lighter and easier to handle than the newer, larger, heavier lines I had to use for much of this season); and (4) air filters for the engine.

Upper: the old church in St. Jean de Losne was closed
for repairs/renovations. The roof looked so "fresh" we
wondered if it was newly redone or just cleaned.
Lower: The riverfront of St. Jean de Losne, a perfect
place to stop for lunch before tackling the hour long
 bike ride back to Auxonne.

In the evening, we shared aperitifs with Australian boaters Deb and Howard, who own the 21-meter barge Moondance. We met Deb and Howard at last year's DBA Rally, and also saw them very briefly at Port Arsenal in Paris in early December, so it was fun to catch up. They are part of what may be a veritable "Aussie invasion" at Port Royal this fall and winter.

Wednesday through Friday was field trip time for us. In all the years we've been coming to France, we had yet to spend any time in Lyon, France's 3rd largest city by core population, 2nd largest city by urban area population. Airport departures and train transfers don't count. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "bucket list" item, but we have been curious to see it, and we knew that it would be relatively easy to get to via train from Auxonne. When we ultimately decided not to "turn right" at Chalon-sur-Saone and cruise the southern Saone River this year, we also decided to try to work a short "land trip" to Lyon into our post-cruise, pre-Greece period.

Lyon has been a political and religious capitol for centuries.  Its location at the junction of the navigable Saone and Rhone Rivers was strategic heaven for communications and commerce. Capitol of the Gauls during the Roman Empire, it was the birthplace of two Roman emperors, Claudius and Caracalla. Early Christians martyred by the Romans became local saints and the city became the site of a bishopric in the 2nd century AD. The silk trade during the Renaissance contributed to the growth of Lyon, and literary activity thrived in the 15th and 16th centuries. The city picked the wrong side in the French Revolution, however. Although not monarchist, the citizens weren't enamored of the way that the Revolution was proceeding under the National Convention and rebelled. A 2+ month siege of the city by Revolutionary armies ended in October 1793 with the city's surrender, the demolition of many city buildings, and the execution of over 2000. Lyon even lost its name for a decade or so, becoming "Liberated City" until the Napoleonic years. Silk city of the 19th century; center of Nazi occupation and stronghold of the French Resistance in WWII; current prefecture of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alps region; university town; center for high tech industries; world headquarters of Interpol, International City of Gastronomy . . . Lyon has a lot going on. 

With a 12-day trip to Greece on the horizon in early September, and boat projects to finish, we limited ourselves to two nights in Lyon. A midday arrival on August 21 and a morning departure on the 23rd gave us a day-and-a-half to see what we could. Little wonder that we would need to limit our explorations to the historic districts defined as a UNESCO World Heritage site--the Presqu'ile peninsula bounded by the Saone and Rhone Rivers; the northern hill of La Croix-Rousse, "the hill that works", where many silk workshops were located; the western hill of Fourviere, "the hill that prays", with its Basilica and Roman ruins; and Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), the medieval and Renaissance quarter of the city.

On the Presqu'ile, looking across the Place Bellecour (one of the
 largest town squares in Europe, being prepared for an appearance
 of the Paralympics 2024 torch) toward the Notre-Dame de
Fourviere Basilica on Fourviere hill.

Looking upstream on the Saone River toward La Croix-Rousse hill.

Panoramic view from the Presqui'ile toward Vieux Lyon and Fourviere hill.

On Wednesday afternoon we made a very brief walk through Vieux Lyon, but we concentrated mostly on going to the southern part of the Presqu'ile peninsula to the city port and the confluence of the Rhone and Saone rivers.

Lyon has great public transportation options. The choices to get
to the confluence were tram or boat. For us, was there really any
option? Our lovely little hotel, Hotel des Artistes, was well situated
for us to hop on La Vaporetto, the water taxi (at left, turning to
dock at the quay). The towers of St. John's Cathedral (upper left) in
 Vieux Lyon frame Notre-Dame de Fourviere Basilica.

Lots of liveaboard barges line the banks of the Saone.

The Confluence is a former industrial area of the city. It is still under reconstruction, but even at this point is awash in both residential and commercial buildings, many of extremely interesting contemporary design. And should we ever decide to cruise south--either as far as Lyon or to the Mediterranean--we would feel very comfortable using the port facilities.

Modern commercial buildings that make one
hungry for a fruity sherbet.

The Confluence Museum, a huge museum of sciences and
anthropology. It came highly recommended by the Tourist Office,
but alas, visiting museums was not possible for us given our
limited time in the city and other priorities. The building was
a fascinating piece of contemporary architecture.

The geographical confluence: the mighty Rhone (left) meets the Saone (right).

By the time we got back to the hotel in late afternoon we'd walked nearly 7 miles for the day. Lon was nice enough to go back out and get a takeout dinner for us at a Mexican restaurant. We needed to rest up for what promised to be a busy Thursday. Having seen some tourist crowds in Old Lyon in the afternoon (not Paris-level crowded, but still . . .), we knew we wanted to try to avoid any repeat of that by getting an early start for our explorations of the sights on Fourviere hill and Vieux Lyon.

We were out of the hotel by 8 a.m. or shortly thereafter on Thursday, August 22. Our first stop was to be Fourviere hill. Too steep to walk up, so thank goodness they have a funicular that runs from Vieux Lyon to a station across the street from the Basilica on Fourviere hill.

No views are possible from the funicular, as the track runs
through the hill.

The present basilica was built to fulfill a promise to God: should the city be spared invasion by the Prussian Army in 1870, a big church dedicated to Mary would be built. Spared it was. Construction on the "big church" started in 1872, and the church was consecrated in 1896.

Front view of the Basilica.

The interior decoration was floor-to-wall-to-ceiling mosaics. Absolutely amazing. It put
the mosaics we saw in Briare to shame. At left, the altar in the crypt below the main sanctuary,
dedicated to St. Joseph. Right, a part of the main sanctuary.

The Council of Ephesus issues a proclamation of the
dogma of Mary Mother of God.

The view over Lyon from the plaza adjacent to the basilica was pretty spectacular. The
Saone flows at the bottom of the photo, the Presqu'ile district constitutes the bulk of the 
buildings seen, and the Rhone River is slightly visible toward the top of the photo. The business
district is beyond the Rhone. Our hotel was on the street to the left of the small
 red-brown brick building facing the Saone.

From the basilica it was just a short walk to the ruins of two of the three Roman theaters in Lyon. The larger of the two theaters, the Ancient Theater of Fourviere, was built starting in 15 B.C. and was finally finished at the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. It could seat 10,000 for theater productions. It forms a pair with the smaller theater on the site, the Odeon, which was built in the early to mid 2nd century as a covered building used for musical performances and readings that could seat about 3,000. Starting at the end of the 3rd century the venues were gradually abandoned, and over the next centuries their stones were quarried for use in other building constructions. By the 1930's the sites were covered by vegetation. Excavations to uncover what remained began in 1933.

Two views of the larger, Ancient Theater. As part of the works conducted
on the site, seating was restored and a new stage installed. Since 1946,
a "Nuits de Fourviere" festival has taken place here in the summer, with
theater, circus, music, dance and film events. We tested the acoustics, with
me on stage and Lon in the spectator area. He could hear my normal
speaking voice.

Lon on the stage of the smaller Odeon. It's no longer a covered building, but it, too, is
used for performances. It was just past 9 a.m. and we had the site nearly to ourselves.

What goes up must come down--rather than take
the funicular down to Vieux Lyon, we decided to
walk. A good way to see the neighborhood, 
although it did get rather steep toward the bottom.

The Cathedral of St. John, whose construction started in
the 12th century. It's the principal religious structure in the
city and the seat of the Archbishop of Lyon.

The cathedral interior was well-maintained,
although it struck me as rather plain. Not
plain was this 16th century astronomical
clock, which still works.

Vestiges of Lyon's silk manufacturing past are numerous traboules, or covered
passages, that could be used to transport the silk fabrics between buildings and
keep it out of the elements. The entryways (at left) were not always easy to see.
 Traboules were also valuable for moving Resistance fighters in WWII.

The traboules hid some beautiful
Renaissance courtyards.

Shopping streets in Vieux Lyon were narrow
and cobbled, and on Wednesday afternoon,
full of tourists and souvenir shops.

The northern part of the Presqu'ile and the slopes of the Croix-Rousse revealed other treasures.

Taking a break at the fountain in the Place de Terreaux.

Stairs up . . . 

Stairs down . . .

The Amphitheater of the Three Gauls is the third amphitheater in Lyon
and was dedicated to the Gallic cult of Rome and Augustus.
 Construction is dated to 19 A.D. What remains is only a small
 portion of the original.

The Church of Saint-Nizier, begun in the
14th century, but not completed until the 19th.
Relegated to flour warehouse after the 
Revolution.

After seeing so many churches this summer, we're probably a bit jaded. Except . . . in Saint-Nizier I was fascinated by what they had installed for their Stations of the Cross. It was totally unlike anything I'd seen before, and it really had an emotional impact for me. In 2019, an artist was commissioned to paint the stations of the cross depicting contemporary people interacting with Jesus. It seemed to me that it brought the events of Jesus' life and death out of the dry and dusty past and made them so much more real and relatable.

These still give me chills.

The Theatre des Celestins, a 19th century theater on the 
former site of a convent and church of the Celestine order.

Wall art: Bibliotheque de la Cite (city 
library) showing works by several hundred
writers from Lyon and the surrounding region.

We'd had a great intro to Lyon, but like Paris, there's much that one could do in subsequent visits. If we're ever back in Lyon I'm sure we'll figure it out. The train trip back to Auxonne on Friday the 23rd was a breeze. It was good to be away, but it's good to be back "home". The boat projects beckon--and we would be well-served to do a little more research on Greece before we depart for our Orly Airport hotel on September 4.

It was getting rather breezy on Friday evening, so we were surprised to see these two
hot air balloons getting airborne as we were enjoying happy hour on the back deck.