May 11
Dear Liza,
We headed up, finally, to visit a place we have seen every day we have been in Lyon.
The Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere stands on the top of the hill west of Lyon, and is visible from most of the city. But to get there, we took the A line Metro, then walked across a bridge, then took a funicular train almost straight up to the top of the hill.
Since the funicular is part of the transit system, we just used our regular bus cards!
It was easy to find the church… it’s huge! Also, there was a pretty steady stream of tourist buses and school groups heading in that direction.
Before we went inside, we walked around to the bell tower, which is on top of the chapel that was built here originally, in the late 1700s.
After a few years the sanctuary here became so popular, (having up to 12 masses a day to keep up) the diocese realized they needed a bigger church. The Basilica was finished in 1875, though it was designed to look much older.
The inside of the church is the most decorated, detailed, carved, painted and mosaic-ed place I have ever seen. As we sat on the wooden pews, hundreds more people filed in. Unfortunately, the buzz of the crowd, punctuated by the inevitable shrieks and giggles of school groups, made for a less-than-reverential experience.
We stepped out and walked around the courtyard, enjoying the views of the city from the overlook, and had lunch at the lovely cafe.
About this time Grandpa Nelson got worn out, and headed home. Auntie Bridgett and I decided to stick around for the second part of our adventure.
More about that tomorrow.
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 