Originally the ship was due to be sailing all day back to Lyon without any stops. However they decided yesterday to change the plan by leaving earlier and getting to the ancient town of Vienne by the morning. There wouldn't be any organised outings but we would be free to go ashore ourselves.
Although they expected to reach Vienne at 6am, it was about 8am before we got there. Later I found out that they were delayed by the height of the river. There must have been a storm upstream resulting in increased water and a faster current.
Another factor might have been the amount of debris being washed downstream. A few logs were quite substantial. You wouldn't want to run into one of them.
When we opened the curtains soon after 8am, the ship was moored right next to the town. It was overcast again and cool (9C) but not raining.
At about 9:30am, straight after breakfast, we ventured out to explore Vienne. We walked north along the riverside until we could see the cathedral (St Maurice Cathedral).
We looked at the front of the cathedral but didn't tackle the many stairs leading up to the entrance. Instead we found a side door from the street next to the building.
This cathedral is big. Very big. Perhaps it is not as ornate as most cathedrals but it makes up for that with its imposing size. Apparently parts of the building date back more than a thousand years.
Saturday is market day in Vienne and Suzy is always keen to go to the markets. They were only a couple of blocks up the hill from the cathedral. The markets were big too. The plaza and streets were blocked off for the many stalls.
I left Suzy there and went along the street to see the ruins of the Roman temple (Temple of Augustus and Livie). It seemed to be in reasonable condition considering its age. Most of the columns were still standing.
This was quite an attraction for the city. About a block further up the hill, there was an attraction from a different era: a big ferris wheel in the plaza outside the town hall.
A block or two further on, I came across more Roman ruins. They consistent of stone arches, walls and some foundations.
At each of the sites I went to, I came across other people from our ship who were also exploring the town.
I was back on the ship by about 10:45. When Suzy got back at about 11:30am, it had started to rain.
Lunch in the dining room was excellent again. I had the roast turkey. I was delicious.
The ship departed from Vienne soon after 1pm. The river was still flowing quite fast and there were even white caps on the waves. The brief rain shower earlier had gone and there was mainly blue sky. We continue to be very lucky with the weather.
Tonight's schedule was different from normal because we'd be going to a concert in Lyon. Therefore the dinner was rescheduled to the earlier time of 5:30pm. There was a disembarkation talk at 4:45pm and the port talk was at 5:15pm. The ship docked at Lyon at 5pm in the same place we boarded the ship at the start of the cruise.
We boarded buses at 7:30 to take us to the concert which was held in a hall that used to be the chapel for the nearby Catholic school (Chapelle de la Trinite). The hall was ornately decorated with statues.
The performance was by a choir (no instruments) of five women and five men plus a conductor or leader. She made the announcements, acted as the conductor and sometimes joined the choir in singing. It was all classical music and lasted less than an hour.
Some people walked back to the ship after the concert but most of us caught the bus. We were back at the ship by about 9:30pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment