October 9 - Lyon

We have an American lady on board who has the most annoying Brooklyn accent.  She is very loud and sounds like every Jewish mother in a TV situation comedy.   If it weren’t for the fact that she died last year I would swear she was Carol Ann Susi, who played Howard Wolowitz's mom on the Big Bang Theory.  Every time I pass her in the halls, I start laughing to myself because I just start hearing that voice in my head.

Howard's Mom

This morning we went on a tour of the Fourvière and Saint George districts of Lyon.   These are the older sections of the Lyon.  Fourvière is on a hill that offers spectacular views of Lyon and the Saint George quarter is part of Vieux-Lyon with many secret passageways and buildings that are several centuries old.

The main attractions of Fourvière are the Roman ruins and Notre Dame Basilica.  This church was built about one hundred and fifty years ago.  There is a rivalry between Lyon and Paris and Lyon built Notre Dame as a answer to Paris's Sacré-Cœur on Montmatre.

The exterior of Notre Dame has been compared to an elephant that has been placed on its back.  The interior with its gold mosaics lining the walls and decorated roof is one the most beautiful churches we've ever been in.

Notre Dame Basilica

Fourvière is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who saved the city of Lyon from the bubonic plague, the Black Death, that was sweeping Europe in 1643. Each year in early December Lyon thanks the Virgin for saving the city by lighting candles throughout the city, in what is called the Fête des Lumières or the Festival of Lights. The Virgin is also credited with saving the city a number of other times, such as from a Cholera epidemic in 1832, and a Prussian invasion in 1870.

Notre Dame Basilica

Marg entering a traboules

We then proceeded down to Saint George.  It is another designated UNESCO Heritage Site.  This district is a now a trendy restaurant area for Lyon.  The most unique feature of this area is the traboules. Traboules are secret passageways that act as both an entrance way to apartments and connecting alleyways between streets.

In the afternoon we found out that Joan has come down with a sore throat.  There is something going around on the boat as several people we've noticed are coughing and sneezing.

Cobblestone lanes in Perouges

Later this afternoon we went to the walled medieval village of Perouges.  Perouges is perched on a hill outside of Lyon.  It has been determined that humans have occupied this hill since 2500 BC. At one time was a strategic military post that controlled trade between Lyon and the Savoy region of France.    Between the fifteenth century and the late eighteenth  century the main industry in the village was weaving hemp. The industrial revolution destroyed the village, so that at the beginning of the twentieth century there was only one family left living there.  Recently several French films and TV series have been filmed here.  There are currently about 80 people living in this stone walled village and its school is still in use.  

The cobblestoned streets are extremely treacherous to walk on.  They are totally uneven and slippery.  I don’t know how Sue with her bad ankle survived.


















For dinner tonight we had Beef Bourguignon.  I also had a clear soup made with fennel and garlic.  Our wine tonight was a Pinot Noir from the Burgundy region.

We had a local singer for the entertainment tonight.  Marg was coming into the lounge and she decided that she want to dance, so she ended up having a quick dance with the singer, while he was in the middle of his act.  I certainly couldn’t compete with his smooth dance moves.  He seemed to love it.  Later in the evening Marg and Ellen danced with Kirk, our cruise director.