What started off as a simple conversation about going outside Lyon for the weekend, quickly escalated into a spontaneous trip; on of the perks of having a trustworthy friend possessing the same wavelength and thirst for spontaneity on a lot of things – from random drinks, to running, out-of-country traveling, and quick side trips like this one, in Vienne.
Vienne is 20 minutes away from Lyon by train, which happened to be the birthplace of my second-fav French boulangerie item called viennois. So far, I haven't failed to every day snag one of these delightful treats to jumpstart my day, during the past few weeks, before going to my internship place. Just feels good to once in a while, get a viennois in Vienne 🤌
We hit the road to Vienne and things immediately started to get interesting right off the train station. A mural instantaneously grabbed me in, a dedication to the survivors from this incident when Vienne stood up against some crazy odds during the first World War honoring 763 local heroes who gave it all for France.
Then headed to the Temple of Livia and Augustus, one of Vienne’s main attractions. The temple from forever ago, 1st Century CE Roman vibes, was one of only two of its kind in France. Time almost wrecked it, but it played the ultimate glow-up by becoming a church in the 6th century. It was tucked away in cobbled lanes with coffee spots around it which unfortunately were mostly closed that day.
The day dragged on and we just wandered around, following ChatGPT's expertly curated recommendation. Then stopped for a chill breakfast at some café, climbed here and there, found some nice spots including la Chapelle du Mont Pipet (not nearly looking like a pipet) overlooking Vienne and the Roman ruins. Then finally spent some time up there before heading back to Vienne’s centre for some more walk and ultimately ending the day with a quick train ride back to Lyon.
C'était un bon dimanche matin. Vraiment très bien !
That's all my brain cells could extract from my French class, right now.
