After a long absence on the blog, I’m ready to record my latest adventure!
Today’s blog is a recollection of the first week of my recent trip to the South of France with Hubby to celebrate 30 years of wedded bliss. We started our vacation on a river cruise and then joined friends for the second week.
I hope that you will enjoy my re-living it!
Day 1, Sept 1
A little bleary eyed from enduring a couple of flight delays and a missed connection, Hubby and I “ubered” from Marseille to Arles. Our boat, Uniworld’s S.S. Catherine, was docked on the Rhône River near the remains of a majestic, lion-topped bridge that the Allies bombed in WWII to halt Hitler’s advance. We arrived just in time for dinner.
Day 2, Sept 2 Arles
Starting at 9 a.m., we joined a walking tour of the old town of Arles, studying wonderfully intact Roman ruins, ogling the yellow café in Vincent Van Gough’s famous painting, and admiring the verdant courtyard of the mental institution where he spent some time.
After the tour, Hubby and I retraced some of our steps to follow the Arles walking tour in Rick Steves Provence and the French Riviera. Then we ventured further out to the Roman Antiquities Museum, which had tons of artifacts, quite a few almost-complete mosaic floors, and a well preserved trade boat that was uncovered several years ago after a 1,000-year flood.
Day 3, Sept 3 Pont du Gard & Avignon
We took a bus ride to Pont du Gard. We’d hoped to kayak beneath the enormous aqueduct, but not enough cruisers signed up for the excursion. The water was so low that I doubt we could’ve done it anyway.
We could have stayed here all day. It’s magnificent!
The second half of the day, we visited Avignon, using Rick Steves’ walking tour to get to know the old town better. We visited the broken bridge, Pont d’Avignon, and walked the connecting ramparts leading away from the Palace of the Popes.
With only a short time left to spend on land before the boat departed, we found the silk weavers’ road, a boho-vibed local area with ancient waterwheels and artistically carved concrete benches. Then we raced back to the Catherine and were the last ones to board, a habit we tended to keep the rest of the cruise.
Day 4, Sept 4 Viviers
We awoke in Viviers! The little town consumes a hill in the midst of huge, flat sunflower fields (their heads were bent down here), with a couple of huge statues on nearby hills “protecting” it.
Our tour guide was originally from Trinidad and Tobago and had married a college student from Viviers. She raised her two boys in Viviers, looking for fossils on the hills, so she was an excellent tour guide of the town and the trek up the small mountain to the statue of Mary.
She introduced us to a potter, who gave us fresh squeezed juice and a demonstration of his craft. He’s looking to sell his business and retire, so let me know if you’re interested and I’ll send you more info!
Hubby and I finished the tour and then did our own, ending at the boulangerie on the path back to the boat. The owner was just sweeping out the dust from the feet of all her visitors when we appeared at the doorway. Somehow, she did not seem pleased to see us. We tried to make it up to her by purchasing pastries. When Hubby asked for a coffee, she said in a melodious string of French words as she waved to the must-have-just-been-cleaned coffee machine, “No.”
Again, we were the last ones on the boat. This time the boat staff had tried to call us!
Day 5, Sept 5 Tain-l’Hermitage & Tournon-sur-Rhône
We awoke to fog sitting low over the river at the dock of the twin cities, Tain-l’Hermitage and Tournon-sur-Rhône. As per usual, Hubby and I joined a walking tour. We were blessed with a stop at Collegiale St. Julien as someone was practicing the pipe organ.
In l’Hermitage, we followed our group to a wine-tasting event and clean bathrooms and decided that we’d rather keep walking than sit and sip. Our tour guide graciously directed us to Valrhona, the boutique for chocolate that real chefs require! She instructed us to follow our noses, so we did.
Having purchased too much chocolate, we decided to locate a boulangerie that the guide had also highly recommended. It was across the bridge in Tournon. Unable to select just one or two, hubby order FOUR and a cappuccino.
Stuffed and needing to walk some calories off, we meandered the old streets, stopping in at a quaint bookstore where, of course, there were no books in English at all. I bought a word-free children’s book that had gorgeous illustrations.
We attempted to visit a tower high up on a hill and got a little lost.
Back on the boat that afternoon, we cruised past beautiful Andance and Saint-Rambert-d’Albon. We stood on deck to watch the captain and crew carefully maneuver the boat into locks. It was relaxing afternoon, the weather cool and the sky overcast.
Day 6, Sept 6 Lyon
We joined the ship’s bus tour through old Lyon up to Fourvière, or “the hill that prays.” It was settled as a Roman colony in 43 BC. The basilica on top is one of the most ornate I’ve ever seen and dedicated “to the queen of heaven.”
The view outside the basilica of the city below was obstructed by fog until later in the day when we made our way back to it.
At noon, we watched the automaton puppets in the Charvet Clock chime the hour and then set off on our own to find the train station. There, we met up with our friends, Justin and Caroline Ward and rented a car for the next week of our vacation.
Since the boat would not be leaving until 10:30 p.m., our friends introduced us to some family members who are missionaries in Lyon. We let them give us their own version of a walking tour.
Their tour included stops at the gummy bear superstore, another fancy chocolate shop, and an artisan gelateria. Late in the afternoon, we took the funicular railway back up to the basilica in Vieux (Old) Lyon, where the skies were so clear now that we could see snow-capped Mt Blanc in the far distance!
Exhausted from a full day of walking in the sun, we all collapsed for a while in the Roman amphitheater nearby.
That evening, we sat down to the first of Chef Justin Ward’s selections of fine dining.
Le Suprême did not disappoint!
I think we were the last ones to get on the boat again. The picture of my face was still on the check-in device when we went to breakfast the next morning. So embarrassing!
Day 7, Sept 7 Mâcon/Beaune
We awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the little town of Mâcon. I couldn’t get enough pictures of the sun breaking through the fog on the river!
Our boat had arranged a tour of Beaune, an hour away by bus. We’d not been looking forward to the ride, but Beaune was worth the trip. Although four weather apps predicted rain only in the late afternoon, it was cold and wet for the first hour or so of our time there.
We got to experience our first open-air market, complete with carousel and a live band, and then we ordered lunch at a bistro on the town square. Then we joined our tour group again for a walk through the impressive hospice, Hôtel-Dieu, which was founded in 1443. Unbelievable to me, it was in operation until 1971!
Day 8, Sept 8 Lyon
We ended our cruise in Lyon. Justin and Caroline picked us up in our rented car before 9 a.m., and we headed out of town (we thanked God for Justin’s ability to drive in this crazy French city!).
I’ll stop my reminiscing for today. I promise that I’ve already started recording the details of our second week, and it will be in your mailbox next Friday. Truly!
Thanks for sticking with me! See you next week.
