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Trip, part 3

December 30, 2023

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I was eager to visit Lyon because I had learned of its importance as a market town in the Middle Ages when I was studying the unicorn tapestries. It was good to see that monuments from its Roman history, when it was an important outpost of the empire, have also been preserved.

While the ship was docked in Lyon we also made a bus trip into Beaujolais country, visiting a winery, and enjoying samples of the wine.  The harvest of course was long past.

This was followed by a stop in the town of Beaujou.  The inhabitants paid little attention to the tour buses.  They were busy preparing for the opening of the year’s Beaujolais Nouveau.  We visited on Tuesday; the opening day was to be Thursday, which in practice meant midnight Wednesday.  People were hanging decorations across the main square.

The weather was wet. That seemed entirely right to me. It usually rained in November in the world where I grew up.

On the River (my trip, part 2)

December 8, 2023

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Viking river ships look very elegant seen from above in their ads.  Up close they seem a bit chunky.

There are a lot of ships on the Rhone river.  They often have to double park, one against another at the dock.  When the ships are the same model, this is easy, and apparently all such ships are used to having guests of one come across the other to get to shore.  Sometimes the ships don’t match and other methods are used to tie up.

I was disappointed to find that most sailing is done at night.  It turns out that this is so because to get under bridges everything on the top deck has to be folded down, so guests are not allowed up there.  I was on our deck one evening as the ship that had been beside us departed and watched the wheelhouse drop down to be almost flush with the deck.  Another fascinating part of the logistics is going through locks – there are twelve of them between Arles and Lyon.  I was able to watch the process several times in the evening or early morning.

Does my being a poet have anything to do with my interest in all these details of the journey?  I recently read a statement from a writer that good writing depends on remembering the details. One afternoon we did travel in daylight, able to see the scenery and watch for castles.

The river was high and running fast. There were clouds and some rainy days, which seems to me normal for November. It was that way where I grew up.