A farmers’ market takes place every Sunday in Lyon, on the riverbank directly above the quai where Libellule is docked. The market is a cornucopia of fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meats (including rotisserie chicken), and flowers. Not shown in these pictures, but fresh in our memories, are the scrumptious chocolatiers across the street from the market.
Before lunch we visit the remains of the Roman Gier River aqueduct at Chaponost, one of four aqueducts that supplied Roman Lugdunum (as Lyon was then named). Even in the rain we (at least the engineers among us) recognize an impressive engineering feat—the aqueduct carries the water down into a valley and up the other side. The valley’s depth is said to be 400ft, so the maximum pressure in the inverted siphon was173psi. That’s more than twice the typical pressure in household plumbing, and the Roman engineers had nothing stronger for their pipes than lead, but they knew enough to split the one big pipe into a dozen small ones, which reduces the stress in the pipe by a factor of roughly 3.
Upon our return from Chaponost, Libellule casts off and heads upstream. We have just noticed that the Sâone looked like an awfully good river for rowing when we pass several shells and a very nice boathouse.
Then it is time for our first lunch on board.
As Libellule continues upstream, the sun deck turns out to be a bit cool and breezy, and most of us soon retreat to the lounge.
After Libellule docks at Trévoux, we ride the bus to the medieval village of Oingt. Thirty kilometers from Lyon, perched on a hill and surrounded by the Beaujolais vineyards, Oingt is one of the jewels of the "Pays des pierres dorées". In the heart of the village, houses with ochre yellow façades are homes of craftsmen and artists.
From Oingt it is a short ride to Domaine Paire for our first wine tasting.
Then it's back to Libellule for dinner.
