Arrivee!

After another day in transit we have arrived at the beginning of the Cluny way.

Our landing in Lyon was warm both in the welcome we received from the Frenchman in the seat next to us on the plane and in the sunset that greeted us at the airport station.

On top of this, when we arrived at the hotel we were staying for the evening our dear friend Anna, from Canberra, was sitting in the lobby waiting for us. Anna is here doing an Alliance Francais langauage school. We shared a simple meal in a local restaurant and a lovely time catching up.

Today our goal was to see a little bit of Lyon and then find our way to Cluny. Sarah and Sally had a wonderful few days here last year and I was keen to taste it too. What a place!

Our route to the old city took us past Les Halles de Lyon, famous for its fine French produce.

It was a feast for the senses...

Mikah and James, this photo is for you - snails for dinner!!!

The old city is located between two rivers, the Rhone and the Saone, and is filled with majestic old buildings and churches. Sally, these are for you - they will bring back happy memories.

All too soon, it was time to make our way back to the incredibly busy station to try to make arrangements to get to Cluny. Here's a couple of shots from the way back.

This guy was busking exuberantly at the traffic lights, both on and off the road!

We managed, fairly easily in the end, to get our train and bus tickets. When we disembarked from the bus at Cluny, this is what we saw ...

The Abbaye de Cluny was the largest and most powerful Benedictine monastery in mediaeval Europe, and had strong links with the Camino. 

After a bit of exploring, we have found the way out of town for tomorrow and some accommodation. The walk has a slightly different feel already, both in terms of landscape and the culture that surrounds the pilgrimage here. We're looking forward to seeing what that brings as we enter into this next phase of our journey.

We leave you with some pictures from the local church, l'eglise Notre Dame.

Bon chemin, 

Neil and Sarah