A lazy Sunday afternoon bike ride down the banks of the Rhône river

A Star Trek spaceship base... a municipal swimming pool on the left bank of the Rhône

It's autumn and most of us are enjoying the beginning of the Indian summer which seems set to last for a week over much of Europe. That's why I decided to get on my bike this afternoon and ride southbound along the left bank of the Rhône here in Lyon from the northern end of the city centre - which is a peninsula hemmed in by the Rhône on one side and the Saône on the other - to the southern suburb where it ends, and where I live. The weather was gorgeous!

Most of us go down to the river to potter about, but some people live on it in houseboats like this one. The centre of the city is on the other side.

Some of the Rhône's finest bridges were blown up by the German army in WWII in an effort to hold up its Allied persuers during its retreat from France in late 1944 and early 1945, but thankfully some of them were left untouched. Here's one of them.

Some people go jogging by the river...

...others hang out and play music under the trees....

...but whatever they do, they all appreciate the bar-barges which sell the cold drinks they need in weather like this.

Heading south out of the centre and towards where I live, there's less activity and people, but much more greenery and nature.

This swan is one of a couple which has lived here for a long while now and they are well known to the locals.

Can anyone tell me what this strange structure is? It has a door at the top and reminds me of a public toilet, although I'd rather take a leak behind a bush than swim out to that. And there isn't even a ladder!

The quayside disappears towards the end of the peninsula and gives way to grassy slopes upon which people can relax in the sun and drink in the peace and quiet.

I've lost count of the number of times I've seen couples canoodling here in this little haven of peace and tranquility.

And this is where the peninsula, and the bike track, ends.

 

If you were to get on a boat from here and continue on down south, you would sail through the valleys of the Ardèche region and onwards to the charming towns of Valence, Montelimar and Avignon before reaching the Mediterranean Sea near Marseille, and, if you wanted to go further still, you could continue on to Northern Africa and the rest of the world......