Sleep7

Back to the tour! We just happened to find the group after we left Petit Bateau.. perfect timing. 💁‍♀️All we could think when we came upon this tower is "Rapunzel.. Rapunzel.. let down your golden hair."

Then onto the city tour.. We left the group for a bit to find the local Petit Bateau store. Looking for a baby/child gift or a beautifully made cotton basic for women.. this is the place. If you miss the store in Namur there is one in Amsterdam and one in Brussels too.

We arrived in Namur at 1:00 and the tours began soon after. We chose the walking tour of the town which started with a bus ride up to the top of the hill at the Citadel overlooking the city. The flag reminded us that we had crossed over into Belgium.

And then onto lunch. If you aren't a buffet lover.. each day there are a few choices that are served to you at your table. From the buffet.. Yum!

Sailing to Namur.. Chatted with Bram for a bit. 😊

Wednesday in Namur and Huy. Ahh.. a leisurely morning is a nice change of pace.🤗 We have been getting up early since boarding the cruise for morning tours and this was the first day we could sleep in. Leisurely morning or not we always started off our day with a coffee from this wonderful machine. Two on board.. on in the aft lounge and the other in the Panorama Lounge.

A delicious dinner with delightful company and day 3 is fini. I actually chose "alternative choices" grilled beef tenderloin every night at dinner. It was absolutely delicious and cooked just right. We rarely eat steak at home so it was a real treat. Each evening the alternate choices included a grilled chicken breast, the beef tenderloin or grilled salmon.

And a feathered friend outside our stateroom window.

☀️SUNSHINE at last!☀️ And Easter candy.🐰

😋Back to the Imagery II for a tasty lunch.. always with a glass of wine.🍷

Last stop on the tour before lunch was a working mill and a church that was beautifully illuminated by candles.

Saw this Stolperstein, or "stumbling stones," which are bricks that are installed in the cobblestone sidewalks in European cities to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. They are slightly higher than the other stones to make them more noticeable to people walking over them. Over 75,000 stolperstein have been laid in 18 European countries. The project was was initiated by the German artist Gunter Demnig in 1992

Say CHEESE!📸

More from Maastricht.

Ready for our walking tour of the city.. in the rain of course.

LOVED waking up facing the wall of windows in our cabin. We were told that the bare the trees outside had balls of mistletoe (which is a parasitic plant) growing on them. Learn something new every day!

🤗If it's Tuesday it must be Maastricht!

Oh my Queen of my Heart! Now you are queen of my heart. 😍 What a sweet sweet compliment. I'm so glad you are enjoying my report and wow that's awesome that you booked this cruise! Honestly.. it's just so much fun to write and to relive the week that it's win/win for me.😊

🤗Thank you so much for the compliments xRoadWarrior. How exciting that in two weeks you will be aboard. You are going to have a fantastic time!

😊Day 3 and beyond still to come.. will continue early tomorrow morning. It's 11pm right now on the Imagery II and I'm still on ship time. 😴

So each night there was a "Bistro Dinner" offered which was usually a buffet style abbreviated version of the dinner in the restaurant. It was served in the lounge at 7:15 after the Happy Hour crowd went down to dinner. It was perfect if you were tired or just wanted a lighter and quicker meal. Here are some of the menus.. I didn't bother to take a screen shot of the menus every day.. I thought a representative sample would do. The Bistro Dinner menu. The regular dinner menu. And here is the lunch menu too.

👋Hi Daisi! I remember you from the CC river cruise board way back in 2016 when I reviewed our Rhine cruise on Avalon. Yep.. the weather was pretty stinky but we still have a wonderful week. Thanks for your compliments.🤗

Oh you're so welcome! Thanks for sharing our adventure too.😍

One definite difference I noted in the 7 years between our cruises was the definite move on Avalon's part towards being earth friendly which of course is a good thing! Besides the AvalonGo app replacing the paper Daily Newsletter the toiletries in the bathroom have gone green too. 2016 2023

And so ended our delightful day two. We had a lovely dinner with our lovely new friends.. 👋Hello Tulsa and Hello Seattle.👋 A few random observations about the ship. First of all I absolutely LOVED the two different color towels which if you are not a towel sharer (I am though💁‍♀️) is a fabulous idea. Also this high tech water machine in the aft lounge is fantastic. At the touch of a button you can get still or sparking.. cold or hot.. flavored or not.