Our 11-day river cruise ended this morning. Our Canadian friends, Liz and Chris, left around 6.30 am before we had a chance to say goodbye, but we shared a breakfast table with Sue and Mark and Grant and Mary. Sue and Mark left at 9.30 am, so it was good to have a chance to farewell them. They’re visiting their daughter in Vienna for a few days on their way home to Canada. We’ve spent a good deal of time over the past couple of weeks with our new friends, and their companionship has made the trip more enjoyable. Yesterday was Mother’s Day, so it was a nice touch from the ship’s crew to present each of the ladies with a rose at dinner last night.
From left: Sue, Mary, Marg and Liz.
Mary and Grant and Marg and I were all due to leave the ship at 2 pm, so we sat around in the lounge passing the time. As their transfer vehicles arrived at various intervals throughout the morning, small groups of our fellow passengers departed. Most had flights or trains to catch to either take them home or to the next destination on their travels. At the same time, new guests came aboard, a few at a time, and sat around in the lounge sipping welcome glasses of champagne. Mary and Marg went for a walk along the river for a while, enjoying a last look at Lyon.
At 1 pm we were served a light lunch. Not long after that, the four of us shared a transfer to Lyon Airport. Mary and Grant are heading to London for a few days before returning home to Adelaide. Marg and I are staying at a hotel within the airport overnight and flying to Glasgow, via Heathrow, tomorrow afternoon.
With little else to write about, I thought I’d share a few photos of our hotel. It’s the Moxy, a member of the Marriott chain.
Upon arrival it’s clear that the hotel is a little quirky and has a Hollywood golden era theme. There are directors’ chairs and an old cinema projector at the entry level and a montage of black and white movie stills.
Stepping inside the lift you are surrounded by more movie stills. I started identifying some of the people in the photos, but it’s a short ride to the fourth floor where the reception desk is, so I didn’t get far with my celebrity spotting.
We received an upgrade, which was a nice surprise. Marilyn is on the door to our room. That’s cool. Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock are just down the hall. I pulled back our curtains to see that we’d been given a room with a tarmac view. There hasn’t been much happening out there so far this afternoon. I hope it isn’t one of those airports where planes come and go in the middle of the night.
I checked out a couple of floors and the lounge, where you can find more movie memorabilia, movie quotes and movie making artefacts on display. Adjoining the lifts on the fourth floor, you can sit in an improvised cinema and watch the movie that’s playing. Today’s film was ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ with foreign language subtitles.
Even the toilets have a movie superhero theme. It looks like a fun place to stay. We don’t fly out until tomorrow afternoon. What’s there to do in the morning? Hmmm! Might have to watch a movie!
On The Road With Garry 