Lyon, to St Jean de Losne for the winter, Brussels and Home.

Second week of September, and we leisurely motored back up to Lyon. The weather decided to get cool and Uh Uh Oh Oh, maybe summer has finished.

Sights along the way. Boats are not always attractive. And odd looking gantries,

 

Back in St Jean, friends of Max’s from NZ visited, Vic and Ali Knight, and Alison Hall from NZ/UK/OZ stayed a a few days with us.

And new friends, Jan and Bill, who we met here on our pontoon, and we will catch up with them later in UK.

Now just spending the time tidying up the boat, some last minute varnishing and then the tent.

OK, All ready, car packed to the gunnels, tent finally on and FITS !!!!!! so we head to Brussels. Staying with Bart and Lia for a night, and of course Bart cooked an amazing meal. ( yum yum). I think he must have thought Max was related to Fred Flintstone.

Bart and Lia took us for a quick tour into the centre of Brussels.

The Cathedrale, used by the royal family. Big and beautiful.

Walked through the old Gallerie Arcade, full of expensive shops, and beautiful facades, with a glass ceiling.

The Grand Place, just full of beautiful old houses and buildings, that have all been have or are being restored. It has the Town Hall were you can get married, and the most expensive restaurants in Brussels. Every two years the flower show is held in the Place. Here is a picture from 2012, the flower carpet, using 800,000 plants and lasts 5 days… a sight we must try to see next year.

 

 

You mustn’t miss the famous attraction of the Two famous statues, the Manneken Pis, (little pee man in Flemish), dressed up today as it was  Brotherhood Day !!   and the little girl peeing The .Jeanneken Pis.

Visiting various shops.. and some samples bought.. but so so much to choose from.

Lunch, and on leaving Brussels we managed to capture a glimpse of the Arch in the Park.

LYON

Finally arrived at Lyon from St Jean de Losne, after 213kms and only 5 enormous locks.

The sights as we entered Lyon on the Saone River.

 

We have finally arrived , at the Confluence at The Port de Lyon.

The lights at night over the shopping centre change from yellow, to white to blue. The apartments are very like the viaduct., smart, snazzy, good views and probably smallish.

There was a cute little ferry boat that went every hour from the port into the old town.. so easy to explore the city.

Wandered around as you do. Lyon is a lovely lovely city, with lots of old buildings still intact after the wars and shows its Italian influence along with its French history.

It is reputed to be the third, after Marseille,  and fastest growing city in France. Historical Lyon was a centre of silk weavers, and the old town boasts buildings from the renaissance period scattered through the old town. We really enjoyed the feel of Lyon.

We visited the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourviere, up on the side of the hill over looking Lyon.

 

The basement of the Basilique.

Then the main church!!! …So much beauty!!

Quick rest and then off again and a view from the top..

Walking back down to the old town. The Cathedrale St-Jean from above.

 

And the square,,, ( Max doing the Hollywood bit.)

 

We took a bus tour that showed us the different areas (or Arrondissements)  of Lyon.

Lyon has 2 amazing buildings where the whole fasard is painted with pictures of famous people from Lyon. They are really well done.

 

and a wonderfully named boat.

Max and I visited the Museum of fine Arts and saw paintings by  Picasso, Renoir, Degas, Gauguin, Monet, Rodin, Rembrandt and others. Also various sculptures. We really aren’t fans of the modern Picassos, or the heavy religious style of paintings, and we realise we tend to prefer the impressionists.

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We also visited the Musee Miniature et Cinema, which has changed the way we will look at films for ever. We didn’t realise how films were made. especially the use of total miniature sets, like in Aviator, where leo (Howard Hughes) flies his big plane through LA and hits houses etc. Also the way they film major movies, the stars on a green lighted  set, and then put the scenes together with the back ground and props after.

The Musee had lots of costumes used in the films as well.

 

And the minature sets, even one of Maxims in Paris.

And a fantastic pottery and ceramic fair in the old town.. needlees to say everything we liked was expensive and heavy!!!

We said farewell to Colleen and Terry in Lyon,  and are now heading back up to St Jean de Losne to get ready for the winter..