PAUL

In Lyon we negotiated yet another metro train system and then climbed a monster hill (with backpacks) to find our hostel overlooking the city.

The next morning we started our journey through Lyon with a visit to the Basilica at the top of the hill (with the help of the cable car) and then went on to see the roman amphitheatres, which have been restored in parts for use today. Then journeying back down the hill we made our way through the old and new parts of Lyon, the silk traders area (up another hill) and then to the large park in the north of the city. By this stage the continual rain of the day had intensified and our search for nice scenery in the park quickly turned to a desperate hunt for somewhere dry. Once the weather had eased, we found an amazing free zoo in the park with "fences" set up similar to those in Dubbo so that you didn't have to look through them to see the animals. We saw giraffes, elephants, chimpanzees and a dear giving birth as well as a heap more. It was a really unexpected but awesome experience. With the weather still very temperamental (and seemingly just waiting 'til we were far from cover) we made our way back to the hostel (this time riding the cable car to the stop above the hostel and walking down, haha, clever!).