River Rhone - Lyon to Valence

Jun 11

We joined the Rhone at Lyon but actually moored before the junction at Quai Tilsit near the VNF office. Not particularly salubrious but very central.

Lyon - old fort

French tenements look better than English ones

Lyon Notre Dame - from the mooring

As expected the Roman ruins were high on Angie's 'must do list'.

Amphitheatre

Then it was off on the actual Rhone - the office blocks were 'different'!

Lyon - office block

Then our first Rhone ecluse (quite small)

And then it was slip sliding away down 'la chute' doing 11 kms/hr at 1200 revs - not a good sign for the return trip against the current. Plenty of commercials.

Kes dreaming of poodles

Moving into a better class of wine but not sure I can afford Hermitage by the dozen.

Rhone vineyard

and more swans

A Rhone junction - decisions?

Then it was into Vienne

Vienne

If I had known I was going to be dragged around my second Gallo-roman museum and set of ruins in two days I might have moved on (though the museums in Lyon and Vienne are excellent).

Temple - Augustus and Livia

Another Roman road

and a tadge later historically.

Tower de Valois (Vienne)

and to be really up to date - we moored at Chavanay near the Nuclear Power station (Kes may glow in the dark if he goes swimming).

Chavanay

It was a nice spot but the commercials and hotel boats bounced us about a bit so we had an early start and motored on south.  The Rhone looked really peaceful at 07.30

Rhone - peaceful

We stopped at St Vallier for bread and to give Kes a break then pushed on.  Moorings were hard to find - on through Hermitage.  Met the first Dutch boats racing south for the sun

T'ain l'Hermitage

The planned stop at the Valence town quai looked dodgy so we ended up squeezed into the Valence Port du Plaisance - mooring on the fuel pontoon - the first Port stop since Dijon and at 26€ hopefully infrequent - but it allowed us to fuel up and top up the water.  Scratching for food as it is Pentecost weekend and all the shops are closed.  Tomorrow we are heading for Viviers weather permitting.

Valence - steam tug L'Ardeche