24/6/26 Sacre Coure Basilica Paris

 

    Back again , travelled from Lyon to Paris via another fast train - air conditioned fortunately , as the weather hasn't backed off yet , and doesn't look like it . Arriving in Paris , we made our way to the Metro to go to our accomodation . We got off the Metro and out onto the streets and found we were smack bang in the middle of a West African section . They gave us curious looks as we made our way to the apartment, more cultures merged with us and turned into a more cosmopolitan setting . Shopping for food was easy , there was a small supermarket just across the road from us , along with many bars & restaurants. 

    Next day we decided to limit ourselves to morning or evening activities , as the weather was getting to between 38 and 42 for the duration of our stay . So decision was made to go to the Sacre Coure Basilica , which was only a walk away - no other transport involved . We are staying in a hilly suburb of Paris as can be seen in this photo .

    To get to the Basilica , we had to go about 400m then turn right and go to the end of the street - that's when we found the first lot of stairs to climb - yes that's them in between the buildings !!

 Here's the view back down them

                                             At the top of the stairs was a child care centre .

     Our first view of the Basilica , impressive !

No money in religion is there ???

 A wrought iron fence kept people from falling into the lower floors of the basilica .

     And the locals always seem to have a hotel , bar , or in this case an Irish Pub beside the basilica .

The front of the basilica is rather large as well .

This is one of the fences down the front at the basilica - padlocks hanging off it everywhere - it's a wonder the fence is still standing with all that extra weight !!

There are views over Paris from the front .

 Inside the basilica was very ornate , with queues of people streaming in . The large dome at the front and a lot of other images around the inside are actually made of mosaic tiles no bigger than a 5 cent coin - a lot of work involved in that !!

Another good money spinner were these candles and other smaller ones - these were 30 Euro's each - these were the ones that have to be removed from the stands , so new candles can be placed .

     We looked around and left before the crowds got too big , finding a different way back , we found the walkway covered in grape vines and about 10 degrees cooler than being out in the sunshine .

    As we came up all those stairs coming here , we had to go back down the hill . Google assisted ,finding an alternate route back to the apartment - yes more stairs !

And at the bottom of those stairs we found apartment buildings everywhere lining the streets & avenues .

 Then some more steps .

 There was a mural on the side of one apartment on the way down the steps - looks like the render is falling off and some mystical creature is emerging .

 The view back up the stairs 

We headed back to the apartment and it's air conditioning - it wasn't turned off at any time during our stay in Paris !! Later that evening we went out for a walk , just to get out - it was still 34 degrees at 9:30pm !!

 Found another mural while we were out .

    And that was it for our day , too hot to do much , so we limited our searching and just did a few things .

I'll do a map on the last day of Paris .

22/6/26 Lyon old town & cruise

 

   Up & at em early again to get some time in before the heat levels rose again . This shopfront was on our walk to the metro - appropriate for and art teaching and supplies shop in France !!

    The Metro took us across to the funicular again , but today we left that station and wandered into the old city . If this wall could talk , it would be a very interesting tale I'm sure !

   The Notre Dame Cathedral towers above us .

But there's also Saint Jean Baptiste Cathedral as well. There were groups of school children wandering around with teachers monitoring them closely .

Back to wandering around narrow cobblestone streets and alleys , with occasional squares opening up unexpectedly . Any areas in shade were very well received . The Museum of Cinema & Miniature had some seats in the shade , so we sat and cooled a bit . 

   Continuing on , we passed many cafes & restaurants , with all the other people that had the same idea today .

Seemed we couldn't get away from the school kids .

We stopped and tried some truffle at a little shop , chatting to the owner . Turns out he is a chef and used to work at a restaurant in Melbourne , and knew Australia reasonably well . It was a pleasant chat in the cool - he also told us about an alleyway that the cold air comes out down the bottom like it's fan forced . We didn't find it unfortunately . This is a water tap we found .

    Thought slushies were for kids , think again , they are a great way to cool your insides down quickly - ice cream headaches and all . A little treat for us both .

   Someone got creative with shading their plants on their windowsills - parasols - who would have thought .

     It was starting to get hot now , so we found some plane trees beside the river , grabbed a seat and had lunch . We had plenty of time to spare and took our time meandering slowly around , before our river cruise departed in a couple of hours .

      This statue is beside the river opposite the Palais de Justice 

Which is an impressive building in itself . It has 24 columns to represent the 24 hours in a day .

    There are multiple bridges crossing the river , this is one of them , and a ferry boat .

 Fort Saint Jean

This is a fresco painted on the end of this building , it depicts 30 of Lyon's most important people in various rooms .

The houses were built on solid rock , here's the proof .

This is the National High Conservatory of Music & Dance . The old & the new really .

   This was the turning point on our cruise , an island in the river . There was an abbey founded here in the 5th century . The monastery was pillaged several times in the 6th, 7th and 9th centuries , before again being devastated and burned in 1562 . There's some history for you . It has been used by French Presidents as well . Now it's a few lucky people who can call it home .

    The cruise boat wasn't air conditioned , as we had hoped , but had about 4 electric fans positioned around the cabin . Definitely not the coolest , but we sat & enjoyed being out of the sun - it was up to about 38 now !! 

   Back to the dock and off up into the shaded alleys to maintain the coolest route for our stroll back to the Metro , then the apartment .

   Travelling again tomorrow , here's map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1jLI81sXX1qgCVr4mEidqgrpay57IkpY&usp=sharing

21/6/26 Lyon

 

   We hit the track again today travelling from Annecy to Lyon - about 2hrs by train - and arriving around 2pm . It was hot again , temps up round 34 degrees and not much breeze , so we headed over to Westfield to get a bit of cool before going to the apartment . We had an ice cream to cool us down a bit before the search mission to find the apartment - it worked well !! It took us about 20mins to walk to it , and then make our way in - one door code for the outside door , then another to get in ours . It was on the ground floor , so no stairs were involved . across the road from us , was a school - behind steel gates and a stone wall  .

   Another walk out to do some shopping at the local supermarket - about 400m away , and then we stayed for evening .

  Next day we got up early and headed down to the Metro , to get across town to the funicular train up to Notre Dame Cathedral . It's perched up on a hill overlooking Lyon . The 2 spires near the front are under renovation at the moment . We were greeted by boy scouts selling banana bread & various cakes & biscuits - think they need to be educated in food handling , as they were picking them up and showing us what they had for sale - using their bare hands !! We declined .

     The views from here over Lyon are quite good , the cathedral is a great spot to get a view of the city & surrounds . It overlooks the old city , which is positioned beside the river below .

     The Saone River is below , the Rhone River a few more kilometres away . This bridge connects pedestrians to the old city areas . 

   Wow look at all those chimneys , can't imagine what that would be like in the depths of winter - things may have changed these days .

The statue on top of the cathedral glowed gold in the sun.

    After a look around and some lunch , we headed back down the funicular , then across the bridge and down to the river side . There were some pools there for kids to cool down in , we picked one under a bridge where there was some shade and dipped the toes for a while . The cathedral does stand out a bit , alongside it is a mini Eiffel Tower , that is primarily for communications .

Here's the pools of water beside the river .

From there we headed back to the apartment to an air conditioner - the noisiest one I've ever heard before , the fan makes loud noise even on silent mode Hmmmm ! I shall include a map with tomorrow's post .

19/6/26 Lake Annecy & town by night

 

    Back to the bus terminal , tickets in hand and away we go again , this time the correct number bus and we were down to the eastern side of the lake , taking the bus all the way to the end again - well not quite the end of the lake , but opposite Duingt , where we went the other day . It was hot again , so we tried to minimise being out in blazing sunlight for too long . Not too bad a view across the lake . 

     The road follows the lakes edge where it can , cycle lanes provided all round the lake , and is extremely popular - people will catch the train here just to ride around the lake , it's about 38klms round trip .

    We didn't do a lot today as it was 34 again , so found a restaurant that was beside a campground and had some lunch there in the shade , before heading back into Annecy again . We hopped off the bus as there was a decked area beside the lake , so had a look . There were plenty of people there , mainly on the deck , but others in the water . Curiously , there were'nt any steps to get in & out , so you had to haul yourself in & out . We looked for a bit , then hopped back on the next bus .

There were some nice flowers beside the bus stop .

Back into town and came out again later to enjoy the night scenery.

   And that's the last of Annecy , we head off tomorrow . Stay tuned .