Day 8, Wednesday, June 29, 2016 - Day of return

All good things must come to an and and today we return home. We have been blessed with perfect weather all 8 days, with blue skies, bright sunshine and warm temperatures.

People have been having to pack up and get ready to leave starting at 3:30am depending on the departure time.

We changed the default return flight picked by Viking to a later flight so we wouldn't have to leave so early. (It would be nice if there was a choice at the time so we didn't have to pay the ticket change fees).

Everything had to be packed up and out of the room by 9am but we didn't have to leave for the airport until 11am so we had some time to walk around Lyon before departing. We walked across the bridge over the Rhone, up the other side and then back.

Last morning walk

We left for the airport at 11am, a 20 minute drive to the Lyon airport. It was quite a walk through the train station and through the terminal to our gate. Our flight to Paris left at 1:30pm so we had time for a lunch although there weren't many lunch options by the gate.

Our flight arrived in Paris at 2:30 so we had 2 1/2 hours before our 5pm flight to NY. Our flight was a little late departing but we still arrived close to the scheduled arrival at 7:15pm. It took about an hour to get out of the plane and through immigration and customs. We took a taxi from JFK back to Brooklyn.

I stayed overnight at Amy's apartment. I woke up very early (not surprising) so got a car service a little after 6am and was able to get a 7:30am bus to Kingston where our friend Sue Cocozza picked me up and brought me home. Whew!

Day 7, Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - Beaujolais and Cluny areas

We started our day with a bus tour through the Beaujolais countryside, very agricultural with many small villages with stone buildings going back to the 15th century. This spring has been very difficult for farming with hail, intense wind and rain. We passed through a vineyard where all the leaves had been stripped off the leaves and the crop completely lost for this season due to a hail storm last week. Many of the wheat fields had been knocked down by the wind and rain.

Our first stop was for a wine tour at the Chateau Casselas, a 14th century castle and town. Jean, the owner, told us that one could buy a castle very cheaply but the taxes and maintenance expenses were very high. He gave an excellent overview of the wine business in the area, with the different types of grapes grown and the importance of the soil, elevation and climate, the "terroire. He has noticed the change in the climate and is adjusting the grapes grown to those from warmer regions in anticipation of warmer temperatures and drier conditions. Afterwards we went into the wine cellar where he explain the wine-process and we were able to sample 4 different wines made on the property. (Some of the women on the bus thought Jean was quite handsome and wanted to "take him home with them"!)

Chateau Casselas

Beaujolais countryside outside Chateau Casselas

Our lunch was in Cluny, famous for a large abbey going back to the 10th century. They built a church to hold the relics of St. Paul and St. Peter which made it a major destination for pilgrimages in the middle ages and they had to build larger and larger churches to hold the crowds. Unfortunately, during the French Revolution the large church was destroyed except for the tower - don't know what happened to the relics. This is also nearby the religious community of Taize which was founded by a monk in the 1940s - we sometimes use the Taize chants in our church service.

For lunch we had a chicken dish with a delicious sauce with o gratin potatoes. Dessert was fresh vanilla ice cream with a poached pear.

Lunch restaurant

After lunch we went to a goat farm (don't tell customs/immigration) to learn about the goats and try the fresh goat cheese. We were able to try cheese that was one day old, one week old and one month old. I don't usually care for goat cheese but this was very good. Amy made many friends.

Amy and friends

From there we went to a truffle farm - once again we were amazed at the skill of the bus driver making turns in small villages with roads not designed for cars, let alone large tour buses. At times we gave the driver a round of applause after successful navigation.

The truffle farm is owned by "Oliver" who inherited it from his grandmother. He has a PhD in botany and about 15 years ago he decided that he wanted to create a diversified farm. He grows black truffles, saffron crocuses, fruit and wheat. He loves to talk about his farm and was exceptionally informative - we wish we could have stayed longer. The tour guide warned us that he like to talk and would have to tell him numerous times that we had to go. We learned a great deal about the cultivation of truffles, the harvesting and values. A kilogram of good black truffles sells for 800 Euros, almost $1000. He took us to his grove of trees to show how his dog "Chinook" can hunt for truffles which she found for us. "Chinook" is so valuable to his enterprise that she is not allowed across the road and has to be carried - without her he couldn't locate the truffles. We went back to the farm house where we sampled truffle butter on rounds of toasted french bread and local wine from his friend's farm. We were also able to sample saffron flan.

Oliver and Chinook finding a truffle

The bus ride back took about 1 1/2 hours and we were able to experience the very heavy traffic in and out of Lyon. Amazingly we got back just in time at 6:30.

There was a special captain's dinner. The appetizer was escargot followed by filet mignon with shrimp and salmon. Amy even tried the escargot. The dessert was "chocoholic" which included chocolate ice cream, chocolate truffle, chocolate torte and another chocolate pastry. Lots of red wine flowed. Everything was delicious.

 David, Amelia, Ed, Linda, Patty (taking photo), Jim, Susanna & Peter

We went back to our room to pack although we are fortunate that our flight leaves at a reasonable hour. Some passengers had to leave at 4am.

Day 6, Monday June 27, 2016 - Lyon

At 5am, our ship left Vienne for Lyon arriving at 8:30am. It was quite interesting docking as there is not enough dock space for all the tour ships that are here so they tie onto each other side by side. We were the third ship over so we had to pass through two other ships to get to the shore.

Our morning tour didn't have an auspicious start. After getting off the ship I didn't realize that we were crossing a bike path and was nearly creamed by two bikes going at very high speed.

We took a bus ride to the top of the mountain overlooking Lyon where the Romans had first settled in the 1st century BC, passing an amphitheater which had been excavated. Many of the Roman amphitheaters are still used for music performances and they hold 10 to 20 thousand people. At the top is a plaza with a large cathedral that was built in the late 1800s. It is one of the most elaborately decorated cathedrals that we have seen. The entire floor and the walls are all decorated with mosaics, depicting biblical and historical scenes. The ceilings are brightly painted. Underneath, there is another church nearly as large as the one above.

 Cathedral of St. Mary at the top of the mountain overlooking Lyon

The bus then took us down to the old French city dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. We were able to go through some of the narrow passageways between the houses and through the inner courtyards.

 Our cabin

Our ship

Day 5, Sunday, June 26, 2016 - Tournon and Vienne

We received sad news today from Carmen that her mother had passed away in the morning. It was a relief in that her mother had been increasingly suffering from Alzheimer disease and had been in hospice care for 6 months, but it is always sad to lose a loved family member.

It was a busy morning as this was the day that we switched from the Delling ship to the Heimdal. The captain explained that this was necessitated by something having to do with scheduling the locks but I suspect the real reason was that without the switch, the cruises would be out of sync indefinitely as passengers are assigned to particular ships long in advance. We had to be completely packed up with the suitcases outside our door by 7am - a lot of people were not too happy with this. (We would discover later that Amy forgot her candy in one drawer and I forgot my underwear in another drawer). It was quite a process for the crew to get all the luggage out of this ship and onto trucks to be transferred to the Heimdal. It was quite a scene to see a "bucket brigade" passing the suitcases up the stairs and outside. Even the executive chef, captain and hotel manager were tossing suitcases. We were sorry to leave some of the dining room staff we had come to know and enjoy.

The first tour was a historic coal-powered steam train ride along the steep Ardeche valley. There was an interesting conflict on the bus ride up - our large tour bus started across a single-lane bridge at the same time as an RV was coming in the opposite direction. Both drivers pulled up "nose-to-nose" and started gesturing at each other to back up. The RV driver eventually got out and came over to the bus where he had a rather heated exchange with our driver. Eventually the RV driver got back in and backed up across the bridge along with all the other cars behind him. Behind us were 3 other tour buses which completely blocked the road onto the bridge.


The train route was quite an engineering feat in the late 1800s, clinging to the mountain side and through tunnels. We rode in open cars that provided an excellent view of the river gorge. At our stop, the train engine is rotated by hand on a turntable for the return trip.

Ardeche steam train

At the return from the train, the bus took us to the Heimdal which was docked in Vienne and we found our luggage already in the room. We had lunch before heading out on a walking tour of Vienne.

Vienne is one of the oldest cities in France. The Gaul tribe from Hungary had settled here around 400BC. While trading with the Romans in the 1st century BC, Caesar Augustus liked the wine from Vienne so much that he decided that this should be a major city and during the Roman era, it had a population of 30,000, nearly the same as today. There are well-preserved remains of the temple to Augustus, an amphitheater an odeon.

Temple of Augustus Caesar

We took a trolley to the top of Mont Pipot which has commanding views of the city and river below. While we were coming down, France won the soccer/football match over Ireland. Cars started driving by waving flags out the windows and honking the horns continuously. At one square, two cars were driving around the fountain in the center at high speed with tires squealing. We were afraid they would flip over. One guy was leaning out a 2nd story window singing La Marseillaise as loud as he could (our tour guide said he got an 'A' for enthusiasm but didn't actually know the right words).

In the evening there was a music trivia contest with music mostly from the 60s and 70s. People were able to dance to the music and it was great to see this crowd of gray and white-haired people tearing up the dance floor, dancing to the Beach Boys, Chubby Checker, Tony Bennett and others.

Day 4, Saturday, June 25, 2016 - Viviers

In the morning we had a tour of the ancient city of Viviers (they are pretty much all ancient). Our guide was an English woman who has lived in Viviers for over 35 years and has not lost her acerbic English sense of humor. We walked up narrow cobblestone streets past 15th and 16th century stone houses, some of which had been meticulously restored and unfortunately quite a few that were in serious disrepair. The government regulations can make it quite difficult to modify old buildings.

At the top is a very small cathedral which is overseen by the bishop who still resides in town.

Top of Viviers

Near the ship there was a bakery with beautiful pastries and I just couldn't resist having an espresso with this decadent pastry - it was delicious.

We left Viviers at noon for the trip to Tournon which took all afternoon. We just relaxed on the open terrace at the front of the ship, enjoying the scenery. We passed through numerous locks along the way. At one point while going through a lock, I felt something on my arm and discovered that a tiny shrimp had fallen on it from the overhead gate!

One of the things notable about the current Rhone river is that it is almost completely contained by levees and locks. Each of the locks has an associated dam and hydroelectric power plant. The locks are quite high, up to 75'. When you come out of the high end of the lock, the levee is so high that you are looking down at the trees on each side.

Day 3, Friday, June 24, 2016 - Avignon to Viviers

We woke up back in Avignon. When we turned on CNN we were shocked to learn that the "Brexit" vote had been to leave the EU. This was followed by a disgusting press conference with Donald Trump at his Scotland golf course - it was incredible that a presidential candidate would be blatantly promoting his business interests.

Our morning tour was of the city and principle sites. Part of it was similar to the "getting familiar" tour we had the first afternoon.

The main attraction was the pope's palace dating back to the 1300s when a French pope was elected and decided to move to Avignon. There were 7 popes in Avignon until there were dual conclaves and popes were elected in both Avignon and Rome which caused considerable conflict. Eventually the Avignon pope died and there was only a pope in Rome. At the death of the pope, almost everyone moved back to Rome and Avignon was nearly abandoned although it was still useful as a port town.
The pope's palace is the largest palace in Europe and we were only able to visit a small part of it. The various chapels, banquet rooms and conclave room are huge. The walls were originally all covered with frescoes, some of which have been restored. The pope, cardinals and bishops were certainly able to collect fortunes from their supporters and church members to provide quite a luxurious lifestyle. Each cardinal had his own huge mansion. A new church was built for each pope. At one point, there were over 20 churches but now there are only 4.

One of our stops was at the covered city market where one can buy just about anything imaginable, with beautiful displays of produce, herbs and spices, seafood and cheeses. We were able to sample some delicious marinated garlic.

Salt and spices at Avignon Market

At the end of the morning tour, Amy and I went exploring on our own, going down to the Pont d'Avignon (Officially, Pont St. Benezet). There is quite an interesting legend. A shepherd named Benezet in the 12th century had a vision from God that he should build a bridge across the Rhone river. He went to the bishop who laughed at him and said that he would build the bridge if Benezet could take a 600lb block of stone to the river. Miraculously, Benezet was able to carry this on his shoulder and toss it into the river as the starting pier. The bridge was built in that timeframe although not quite as in the legend. It originally had 22 piers but the river currents are so strong that the bridge was destroyed numerous times and after the 17th century it was not rebuilt, leaving only the current 3 spans.

After lunch, we took a bus to the Roman aqueduct, the Pont du Gards. The remains of the aqueduct over the river are a "World Heritage Site". There is a great modern museum showing how the aqueduct was constructed and used, including a movie with the slaves being beaten and thrown off the top to their death.  Our guide gave us a tour of the museum and said we could come back later on our own. From there we walked to the aquaduct which is truly an amazing ediface. The Gardons river which it crosses is a very popular recreation area and there were many people sun bathing, swimming and kayaking in the beautifully clear water. Betty had brought her bathing suite and went swimming. Amy and I just put our feet in the water.

Amy at Pont du Gard aqueduct

On the way back, we passed ancient olive trees, over 1100 years old - one had a plaque saying it was born in the year 908.

Amy and 1100 year-old olive tree

The food continues to be delicious. For dinner I had olive-crusted butterfish with poached pear and fresh vanilla ice cream for dessert. Later in the evening there was a powerpoint presentation on the cheeses of France (over 1200 varieties) and were later able to sample a number of different varieties with local red wine.

As the sun was setting, the sky was spectacular. The sun went behind the clouds which made the fringes of the clouds look like they were glowing white-hot and rays of light went up to the heavens.
In the evening, the ship traveled to our next stop in Viviers, going through 3 locks. It was past 11 by the time we went to bed.

Day 2, Thursday, June 23, 2016 - Tarascon, Arles and back to Avignon

I was the most sound asleep I've been for a long time when the alarm went off at 7:15. It took a few seconds to realize what the sound was and where I was!

After breakfast, a bus took us  from Tarascon to Arles which is about 20 minutes away, also on the Rhone river. We traveled mostly through agricultural areas with fields of wheat, oats, soy beans and sunflowers. The photo I took of the sunflowers looks like it could have been the scene that van Gogh painted. The roads are lined with pink, red and white Oleander that is in full bloom.

Sunflowers on the way to Arles

We walked through the old city gates through narrow streets to the Roman coliseum. The coliseum is better preserved than many of the Roman buildings because after the fall of the Roman empire people built houses inside the walls and the central area. The coliseum is is currently used for bull fights, horse shows and music concerts.

Roman coliseum in Arles

The Roman amphitheater  is not far away but many of the building stones were taken to build houses so there isn't much left although a modern stage has been setup for music performances.

In the city hall there were women in traditional Provencal attire binding together branches of lavender which is now at its peak.

Women in traditional Provence attire binding lavender

The city hall is built on top of the cryptomeria which was constructed to support the Roman Forum. We bought tickets to go down into the cryptomeria which was interesting to see, although it is rather dark and damp. It is being used to store pieces of Roman marble columns, statues and building blocks.

We also visited the hospital / sanitarium where Vincent van Gogh went after he cut his ear. The garden that was there has been restored to the way that it appeared while he was there.

After lunch, we decided to visit the Tarascon castle, a short walk from the ship. The path was lined with beautiful oleander shrubs.

The castle was built in the 13th century to control the Rhone river and the province to the east. We were able to many of the chambers and climb up all the way to the parapet surrounding the roof. The castle was used as a prison for many centuries, from the Catholic - Protestant wars of the 16th century to the French Revolution and was only closed in 1923. In some of the rooms you can see graffiti carved by the prisoners - one clearly showed an English prisoner who was captured in 1775 and was released in 1777. There is a spectacular view in all directions, including a competing a competing castle just on the other side of the river. Next to the castle one can see the remains of the limestone quarry that was used to supply materials for the castles, churches and mansions for the wealthy.

The name "Tarascon" comes from a mythical creature in the early centuries AD that would eat young people. One of the awful depictions that one sees has a baby in the mouth of the creature. The legend is that Martha (of Mary, Martha and Lazarus) came to this area and tamed the creature which was then killed by the townspeople. As a consequence, Saint Martha is the patron saint of Tarascon.  We went into the church of St. Martha and were fortunate to hear the organist rehearsing. In the basement is a crypt where the remains of St. Martha are held as relics. (So it is said...). On the way back to the ship we went through a park lined with huge sycamore trees planted in the late 1800s.

Later in the afternoon we set sail back to Avignon and had the treat of passing close by the Pont d'Avignon.

All the meals have been delicious. I had grilled scallops as an appetizer, beef bourguinon as the main course and lava cake for dessert. Needless to say, wine flows freely at lunch and dinner. The wait staff are mostly from eastern Europe (Hungary, Serbia, Romania) and the service is excellent, speaking excellent English. Amy noted how homogeneous the passengers are. Of the 165 passengers, there is not a single person of color. 90% of them are likely over age 60. There are 5 passengers under the age of 30.

After dinner we went for a walk up on the sun deck where someone was watering the herb garden which is used to provide fresh herbs for the meals. It was exceptionally fragrant. 

Day 1, Wednesday, June 22, 2016 - Amsterdam to Avignon and Tarascon

Our flight arrived just on time at 7am. We had a few hours before our Air France flight to Marseille so we had a light breakfast at the airport.

Amy at Amsterdam airport

Our departure was about half an hour late for reasons that weren't clear but we arrived in Marseille almost on time where we went through immigration, picked up our luggage and were met by the Viking representatives. Viking had a bus to take us to Avignon which took about an hour. The region is very dry, similar to southern California, with lots of scrubby vegetation. Along the way we passed numerous olive groves.

The bus dropped us off just in front of the ship Viking Delling where we registered and were escorted to our cabin. We were scheduled to be on the ship Heimdal but due to high water, the Heimdal was not able to make it under the bridges to Avignon. Viking has many ships on the river so fortunately we were able to get onto the Delling, an identical ship.  We are quite fortunate as the cruise the previous week was never able to leave Avignon due to the high water and passengers had to be bused to the various cities in the rain.

The cabin is very nice, with an efficient bathroom with a shower and two twin beds, a closet, storage drawers and a large-screen TV with CNN and other satellite channels, The room has floor to ceiling glass sliding doors which open onto a balcony with room for two chairs and a small table. We would really come to enjoy this balcony as we cruised along the river.

There was a short "Welcome tour" of Avignon which we went on with a tour guide who explained the history of Avignon and some of the significant points up to the plaza by the Palace of the Popes. At the end of the tour, Amy and I explored on our own, going up to the park on the highest point in Avignon which has commanding views of the river and the countryside in all directions. From the park we could see the famous Pont d'Avignon from the 12th century and the subject of a well-known French children's song.

Palace of the Popes

We came back to the ship and met Betty and Dave Noone who had arrived at about the same time. We went to the lounge which would be the place for daily briefings about the tours and other important news. The chef came out to make his recommendations for dinner which we took most days and were most happy with.

The service is excellent and the food is delicious. Most of the staff is from eastern European countries but speak very good English. They are all very friendly and attentive - we were quite impressed and were pleased to see the same staff at each of our meals.

In the evening, the ship left for Tarascon where we would dock and spend the night. The river is still very high and in order to get under the bridges, the crew had to take down all the railings on the sun deck even though they are only about 3' high. We were amazed at how little clearance there was between the top deck and the bottom of the bridges. We went through our first lock on the trip to Tarascon. It was quite fascinating to see how the captain navigated the ship into the lock - there is no more than a foot on each side between the ship and the side of the lock. (All the river cruise ships are designed to exactly fit in the width and length of the locks). The difference in water levels was around 45' and it was fascinating to watch the ship descend. It was around 1am by the time we arrived at Tarascon and when we finally went to bed. (I think the beds are smaller than normal twin beds - I nearly fell out the other side when I got in).

Day 0 - Tuesday, June 21, 2016 - Departure

Back in March, our friends Betty and Dave Noone invited us to go on a Rhone river cruise with them. Unfortunately, Carmen was already committed to taking care of her mother from mid-May to mid-July while Carmen's sister Cathy was visiting our niece Surana for the birth of her first child Mia in June. Carmen suggested I invite our girls instead. Anna said she wasn't able to get away but Amy thought she could make it.

I called up our friend Ginny Barthel, a local travel agent, and signed up for the 8-day Viking cruise from Avignon to Lyon, leaving on June 22. This was the first time that any of us had planned a cruise, ocean or river.

Our friend Tony Cocozza picked me up at 8am and brought me to the Kingston bus station to catch an 8:45 bus to NY. The bus arrived at the Port Authority at 11am. I had planned to take the subway to Amy's apartment but decided to splurge on a taxi so I didn't have to schlep up and down the stairs in the subway with my suitcase. During the taxi ride I received quite a history of Haiti from its colonization by the French, the slave revolt in 1791 and the current political and economic problems!

Amy was already waiting in her apartment so we had a leisurely lunch at Bar Toto on the corner of 11th street.

We called a car service to take us to JFK, a 45 minute ride from Brooklyn. The ride there was the most hair-raising part of our journey!

We arrived at 2:45, three hours before our departure on KLM/Delta. I had signed up for the TSA pre-check but KLM is not part of the program so this didn't do me any good. Amy applied and was interviewed but didn't get her pre-check by the time we left.The security line wasn't that bad, taking about 20 minutes. As usual, it was a little confusing as to what had to be taken off and what had to go in the plastic bins. When I suggested to the TSA agent that signage would be helpful she replied: "Didn't your hear me shouting at the people before you?"!

We had a pre-flight beer near the gate. The $12 (each) draft beer was  the most I had ever paid.

We had paid for the upgrade to "Economy Plus" which was well worth it as we had bulkhead seats at the front of the coach section, providing much more legroom and no seat to recline in front of us. The dinner on KLM was actually reasonably good, a novelty for air travel these days.

A few hours of sleep were possible before landing in Amsterdam.