We took a train from Lyon’s Perrache station yesterday for a day trip to Vienne, the southern-most city of the Burgundy region.

About halfway into the ride, it began to drizzle slightly, and naturally by the time we arrived in Vienne, the drizzle had turned into full-on rain. Vienne’s businesses tend to be closed on Sunday and Monday, which interfered in our brilliant plans to purchase an umbrella in town. The only shop we found that was open was a small grocery store. They had no umbrellas, so we asked a clerk where we might find one. She did not have any ideas, and only offered that most of the shops were closed. The elderly gentleman she was serving jumped in and informed us that there was a larger grocery store that would probably have some umbrellas, and proceeded to give us directions. I was very grateful to him, since I was was not relishing the idea of walking around in soaking wet clothes, not to mention my rising fear about my camera getting wet.

Vienne is a charming city, full of history and character, with obvious signs of collective civic pride all around. The local tourist office even had a little “walking tour” sheet, complete with a map and details about all the attractions along the way. As if that wasn’t easy enough, we were told to look down at the ground and follow the painted yellow arrows as well as round bronze plaques embedded in the ground that were placed there as a sort of breadcrumb trail.