Tunnel Vision

We have spent a lot of time in tunnels while we have been in Europe. It has become a regular occurrence on our travels over here, whether it be in a car, a train or even walking. I'm still not sure if it is the confined spaces they need to work with (less geography, more people), easier rock to drill through (limestone vs. granite), or just better technology and desire than we have.......perhaps a combination of all three. These are not always short tunnels either, many exceed a kilometre in length. Some of the more surprising ones so far have been a car parking garage built into a hill and a 300 metre pedestrian tunnel on the way to the ice caves (as a shortcut) when there was already a visually appealing path around the side of a mountain. Today in Lyon, France, we found a new kind of tunnel called a traboule, which is an underground passageway to get from one street to another rather than walking around the block. We went through several of these which are hidden by a normal looking door (we knew about these in advance of our Lyon visit so we searched out a map which provided us with the street addresses, allowing us to know which doors to enter as we walked about the city).

Lyon had more to offer though. We took a funicular up to the ancient Roman ruins and the Notre Dame Basilica, and then walked back down the switchback path to the old city and the Saone and Rhone Rivers which wind through the city. There are good river paths and today (Sunday) there were several markets that we passed through (food, art, books). We also took a river cruise, walked around the Croix Rousse area (parks, views) and had a nice dinner near the huge Opera House.

Prior to coming to Lyon we spent our final day in Basel with Rachel. In the morning we cleaned up some of her apartment (moving next week to a larger apartment) and spent the afternoon visiting the surprisingly good Kunst Museum. We expected to see some nice art but to see so many pieces from artists like Picasso, Renoir, Van Gogh, Chegall, Matisse, Rodin and many more artists we were familiar with was a treat.

The next day we left Switzerland for Lyon, France.......a 4  hour trip on the rails that involved 2 seamless train transfers (Bern, Geneva) where 7 minute intervals were still plenty of time to move on to another platform and train. You have to be impressed with the public transport systems over here - easy (well signed), fast (trains up to 200 km / hr) and efficient (on time). The Geneva - Lyon segment of this trip was particularly scenic, travelling through a river valley with mountains on both sides.

Tomorrow we will fly to Spain where we will spend the remainder of our time before returning home. The first thing on our schedule is to walk along the Camino de Santiago. We are going to stop in Madrid (flight from Lyon) to drop off our spare clothes and anything else we won't need to carry during our 115 km Camino walk. That also means giving up my beloved netbook computer for 2 weeks (since internet access will be infrequent in many of the small towns and villages that we will pass through). In my own mind I am entering another tunnel that I can only hope that I make it out of........2 weeks without using a computer. Wish me well.

Lyon, France - taken from the bank of the Saone River looking towards the St. Jean Cathedral and the Notre Dame Basilica at the top of the hill (Fourviere).

The Roman ruins and amphitheatre dating back to 15 BC

Sculpture in Place de la Comedie - beside the Opera House and in front of our dinner restaurant.