YDYtravelers: Predictably I’m sick and then we visit two cathedrals and go straight home

I’m sick. Really, I was expecting it earlier in the trip. I’ve never traveled to Europe without getting a cold. Overnight it became clear that I will not break that streak Cough due to cold. I’m very much hoping that I can kick its ass quickly, and that I don’t pass it on to George or especially Mom. So we have a lot of Purell and EmergenC being used in copious amounts. And I’m prohibited from touching anything or anyone. Given that background, we actually had a pretty good day. I started with a walk to the Lyon tourism office to pick up our museum passes. On the way, I stopped at a pharmacy (those electric green plus signs that indicate a pharmacy in many European countries is like a beacon of hope to me, as they were in 2017 during the great Italian illness). I’m now supplied with a ridiculous amount of tissue and also good old European cough syrup.

We planned to stay close to home due to the unfortunate illness and good thing we did, because George was tired and Mom was not feeling great either. First, we stopped at the cathedral close to our apartment, called St. Jean the Theologian. As most churches in Europe are, this one was beautiful. We spent about 1/2 hour enjoying the peaceful scene in the church. Then, we took the funicular (a steep hill tram) up a steep hill to the Fourviere Hill neighborhood. It’s, as you may imagine, the highest point in the city. And up on the hill sits an extraordinary cathedral called the Basilica of Notre Dame. It’s nothing like Paris’ gem, but it’s spectacular on its own. So many features such as stained glass and mosaics and paintings wowed all of us. And, behind the cathedral we were treated to a view of the entire city. So stunning.

After the church and cathedral, we all went home for resting (and for me coughing). I slept on and off during a thunderstorm and woke for dinner which was pizza in the apartment. And, I succeeded in using Uber Eats in Lyon (much better than the disaster of our Lisbon attempt). So now, I cough, George works on homework and Mom journals. This is our day.