Lyon, Day 3

Monday, April 8: Today we will board the cruise. We slept pretty well at the hotel and got up near 10a. We checked out about noon. We packed up and after looking up where to walk, we walked to where the boat was moored. It wasn't far but part of the path was gravel and our suitcases didn't roll too well. I thought it might be better on an upper trail, but no, it was worse. Anyway, it was a nice walk along the river and we took a lot of photos of flowers.

Our Ship

We read where we could drop off our luggage and then spend the day on our own in Lyon. That is just what we did. I think we were the first ones to do this as the first person we encountered seemed confused but Sarah (the cruise director?) stepped in and right away our luggage was stored and we were on our way.

I had the name and address of a restaurant to try. Cheryl had a map and was the navigator taking us there. Of course we window shopped and I needed a couple of walking breaks but it was quite enjoyable. Once we left the busier area there were cafes and shops along our walk. We saw this Roman ruin from 150 AD at a church along the way. I have to say the architecture is amazing. When we arrived at the restaurant, we were not really impressed. We opted to look at others we passed by on our way there. We realized it was after 2p and the price fixe menu for most of the places was over for the day. We found a café with "Continu Service" so we were all set. Cheryl had onion soup with lots of cheese and croutons, I had a delicious salad with 2 poached eggs on top, plus the ever present bread basket was on our table. I had some house red wine and water was delivered without asking. Everything was good. After that we ventured back to a little shop we had passed that had lavender and much more. I bought some cologne, herbs, soap, and more. Such a lovely shop we could not resist.

Around Lyon

We stopped in a few more shops on the way and Cheryl got some chocolate, a cookie, and I can't recall what else. I bought a bottle of wine and an opener. I always enjoy looking in markets in other countries. By chance there was a woman who spoke English also looking at wine. She was stumped, not recognizing the names and we briefly talked. She picked something and I joked that if she didn't like it she could bring it by my boat… then she said they were on a boat, and yes, it is our same boat! Funny. They are from Newfoundland, Canada. I was planning to have a glass of wine when we got back but dinner time came very soon and that never happened. Maybe tomorrow. We got unpacked and set up then headed to dinner, which was served 6:30p to 8:30p. Cheryl had a travel agent friend arriving today for the cruise and she joined us for dinner a bit late. Her name is Vernae and she seems nice. Since she is traveling alone she will probably hang out with us and that is fine.

About dinner, there is an extensive salad bar where you can help yourself. Then our soup and entrée were served from the galley. Dessert was one choice, you helped yourself and it was very good. I should add there was the one special dessert but there was also a fruit and cheese table for dessert and it has some sort of cake log there to try as well. Three choices for wine, red, white, and rose. I think these will change each night but I'm not certain about that. After dinner when I was taking a cup of tea back to our cabin and one of the stewards insisted on taking it to our cabin for me! That was nice.

This is being posted April 10th because the Wi-Fi is so poor onboard. There is no way Photos will upload, I am sorry to say. I will try to post something to FB and add them here later.