What started off as a simple conversation about going outside Lyon for the weekend quickly escalated into a spontaneous trip. It's one of the perks of knowing someone with the same 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 just 20 minutes away from Lyon by train, and happened to be the birthplace of my second-favourite French boulangerie item, viennois. Side note: I haven't failed so far, to every day snag one of these to jumpstart my day, ever since I started with my internship. Waht a time to finally get a viennois in Vienne 🤌
Hitting the road to Vienne, and things started to get interesting. Right off the train station, a mural instantaneously grabbed me in. Apparently, it was a dedication to the survivors (from that incident when Vienne stood up against some crazy odds during the First World War), honouring 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, still following ChatGPT's expertly curated itinerary recommendation. 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 walking and ultimately ending the day with a quick train.
C'était un bon dimanche matin. Vraiment très bien ! That's all the French my brain cells could extract from my intensive French class, à l'heure actuelle.
