Vienne Tourism and Day Hikes

We fled the city one day to go on a “walk” (which actually turned out to be a full-on day hike that impaired my walking skills for the next couple of days. Thanks, Fivefinger shoes.).

Overlooking Vienne, intersected by the Rhone, from the Antique Roman amphitheatre. At the bottom left of this photo,
you can see the as-yet-unearthed Amphitheatre called the Odeon

Perhaps all the bread is wearing on my fitness a bit? While the roads are not superbly marked, with a compass or a keen sense of direction (ahem, like mine), you can navigate pretty well. One wonderful thing about the majority of France is that  is doesn't have tons of sprawl.  There are few things more depressing than driving through unending scenes of residential/business development (e.g. the many-tentacled beast that is Atlanta). A quick walk up a hill and John and I were one with the surrounding wheat fields.

(So were my sinuses)

Take a look:

This is why the French are awesome: A squirrel- crossing road sign complete with color shading. Yes!	This tends to happen when I go outside
If, like me, you keep things like miniature bottles around, you can have non-soggy salads for your picnic!	Overlooking the Vienne outskirts

We snaked our way back through town afterwards, stopping to visit the Ancient Roman Amphitheatre (where shows are held for the annual Jazz à Vienne Festival...House’s Hugh Laurie is playing this year!), the Vienne Cemetery, and The Garden of Cybèle .     

The Antique Roman Amphitheatre of Vienne, which dates back to 40-50 A.D. and could hold up to 13,000 people,
making it one of the largest of the Roman Empire

The culture and history within this town are simply amazing, especially considering that we weren’t even going to stop here originally. I don’t typically like playing the tourist, but there is so much to see here that I’m all too content to throw on that fanny pack and my sneakers...or maybe just my sneakers.

John giving his impression of a sign (I think?)

The ruins of a privately-owned 13th century castle

The dramatic Vienne Cemetery	The Garden of Cybèle

And how about some Vienne nighttime action?

The Cathedral of St. Maurice

The Temple of Augustus and Livia....kind of a big deal...

Moral of the story: Visit Vienne.

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Today's Savings: Since we packed a lunch of leftovers for our day hike and had granola and fruit for lunch, we got away with only spending a couple bucks all day (to visit the Roman Amphitheatre).

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