Alouette is a Luxemotor barge built in 1910 in Zwartsluis, Holland. She was first used as a cattle transporter, and later as a shrimp fishing boat. In 2002, she was lovingly converted by a British couple into a liveaboard barge. We are her third owners - Randy and Deborah, two Americans from Colorado who escaped corporate life in search of an adventure. After a few years of searching for the right adventure, we discovered the barging life. Having sailed for most of our adult lives, it seemed a perfect fit. We spent another year looking for the right barge and in the summer of 2010 found her in Roanne, France. We've renamed her Alouette - the Lark. And so in her 100th year, together with our two Russian Blue cats, we're shoving off for a life on the canals and rivers of Europe.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

20th Anniversary: A trip to Lyon and a surprising discovery at a Bistro!

I had the good fortune of spending my 60th birthday - I prefer to think of it as the 20th anniversary of my 40th birthday - on November 2nd on the boat in Roanne.  Randy referred to it as my "all-star-gala-birthday-week" which got underway early on board  Harry and Marion's boat,  Driftwood, with Bob and Lynn from Tracker in attendance. My favorite, a "death by chocolate" cake and night of Kalooki - an addictive card game.  More chocolate cake on the actual day - a surprise from Lynn and Bob, who decorated the rails of Alouette with Happy Birthday streamers - followed up a few days later by a road trip to the beautiful city of Lyon.

Our friends Andrew and Laurel on Affleur D'O had spent some time in Lyon and were ready to do a road trip in their new car, so guided by Andrew's Tom Tom with the voice of  actor John Clease directing the way, we set off for the second largest city in France, Lyon.  The weather was overcast and misty, not the best day to see the city, but the leaves were turning and even on an overcast day, Lyon is beautiful.  Laurel had some shopping to do but had mapped out a quick morning sightseeing tour for Randy and me while she and Andrew shopped.  We would rendezvous in Place Bellecour, a large plaza, and find a place for lunch.

Randy and I took the funicular up the hill to the Basilique Norte-Dame de Fourviere, very ornate, the construction started in 1872 and was finished by World War I.
 
The view of Lyon from the Basilica is spectacular:
A short walk away are the remains of the ancient Roman Theatres - which are still used today in the summer for open air concerts and festivals.  Lyon (Lugdunum in latin) was founded in A.D. 43, was an important transportation hub for Roman Gaul (the River Saone meets the Rhone at Lyon), and it still is an important transportation hub today.
We took the funicular back down into the heart of old Lyon.  This section has the best concentration of Renaissance buildings in France, with narrow, cobblestone passageways, lovely loggias, delicate archways.
We crossed took the passarelle (pedestrian bridge) across the River Saone and met Andrew and Laurel in Place Bellecour, which was being re-landscaped, but has a commanding view of the Basilica and hills overlooking Lyon:
The tower off to the right - La Tour Metallique - was finished just before WWI.  It was an observation tower but now functions as a TV tower.

To be continued. . . .
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