French Waterways-Arles to Dijon plus Paris-Long

[Talisker92]

We have previously taken river trips with Vantage, and enjoyed them thoroughly. This cruise started in Nice, and cruised up the Rhone and Saone Rivers, through the heart of Burgundy and ended up in Paris.

We went on line to check availability, and to our shock, the entire 2011 season was just about sold out! One of the reasons was the ship only held 72 passengers as opposed to 140 to 170 passengers on the Danube cruises

.Also, there were only 4 suites with French Balconies and queen sized beds on the ship. The rooms were still small, but oddly enough, the bathroom was about half the size of the bedroom. After enjoying French Balconies on our Danube and Rhine cruise, we did not want to go back to just a window and a tiny cabin. We loved the ability to open the balcony slider and enjoy the fresh air of the beautiful rivers with the swans gliding by.

MONTE CARLO

We arrived in Monte Carlo, and check into our hotel. We were much more rested than if we had flown in, with the attendant customs, immigration, baggage pickup, etc. Kathy had a discussion with the desk clerk, and we were booked into a balcony room overlooking a marina full of yachts.

It was evening, and a beautiful sight.

NICE

In the morning we were taken on a panoramic city tour of Nice with a visit to a local food market. The fruits and vegetables were very interesting and Kathy picked up some sun dried tomatoes and some Herbs de Provence

ARLES

Our cabin was very comfortable, with a French Balcony, and our first order of business was to get our chargers plugged in. By the time we had the Nook, cameras, speakers and cell phone charging inside the medicine cabinet; it looked like an electronics laboratory!

Prior to the trip, we received an e-mail from Vantage offering an optional tour of the asylum Van Gogh stayed at before going to Auvers sur Oise for the last days of his life, and the hilltop town of Les Baux.

It turned out the town was having an exhibition on Van Gogh and Gauguin paintings called Carrieres de Lumieres (Careers of Enlightenment) inside an old quarry

AVIGNON

We docked near the famous Pont (bridge) of Avignon, and we were surprised that it only had 4 of the arches left. The bridge of Avignon was started in 1177and had 22 arches. Over the centuries it was destroyed by floods and rebuilt. The river also caused an island to form in the middle, which negated the need for most of the bridge.

We were taken on a walking tour of Avignon with visit to Palais des Papes, the Gothic 14th-century Palace of the Popes.

We continued to the main square, and saw the Papal palace. I had read that the rooms were empty, so we were not interested in climbing all the stairs.

What we did see in the square, was a little train that took you all around the city. It had narration in a number of languages, including English. This was a much better way to do a walking tour!

UZES, PONT DU GARD

We first drove to the historic town of Uzes, which lies at the source of the Eure, from where a Roman aqueduct was built in the first century BC, to supply water to the local city of Nîmes, 25KM away. The most famous stretch of the aqueduct is the Pont du Gard, which carried fresh water over splendid arches across the river Gardon. We first passed the ducal palace, and then by the Saint-Théodorit cathedral and its Fenestrelle (window) Tower.

After visiting the cathedral, we walked to a pretty tree covered square and people watched for a while. They hold a farmer’s market there once a week, but not the day we were there.

We drove to the Pont du Gard, the famous Roman aqueduct, which was constructed in the 1st century AD and is the highest and the best preserved of all Roman aqueduct bridges. The bridge has three tiers of arches, standing 160 ft high. The whole aqueduct descends in height by only 56 ft over its entire length, while the bridge descends by a mere one inch, indicative of the great precision that Roman engineers were able to achieve using only simple technology. The aqueduct formerly carried an estimated 44 million gallons of water a day to the fountains, baths and homes of the citizens of Nîmes. It was possibly in use until as late as the 9th century, well after the fall of Rome.

CHÂTEAUNEUF DU PAPE & VIVIERS

We were taken to a winery, the first of four we visited. The wines were nice, but very expensive-in the $50 range.

We then visited the Ardeche town of Viviers to see the Cathedral and hear an organ concert. The path up to the cathedral was steep and the streets were paved with small stones, which made walking difficult. Kathy struggled up, and said that if she died, at least it was on the way to a cathedral. The concert was very interesting, and I bought a CD of organ music performed by the organist.

 

VALENCE & TOURNON

We explored the streets of Vieux (old) Valence which was from around the 11thcentury and visited the castle, built on a rock outcropping, which is now a museum.

From the top of the castle you could see the Rhone River, and across the river were the vineyards of Chapoutier, one of the well known owners in this area.

VIENNE

This was sort of a day of rest for us, after visiting a number of these cities on walking tours. I had a map of Vienne (of course), and noticed an archeological museum near the ship. The museum is in the deconsecrated church of Saint Pierre (Saint Peter). The church dates from the 6th century, and in 1809 became a museum. It had a collection of statuary and mosaics from the Roman period.

LYON

We arrived in Lyon in the late afternoon, and we went on an orientation tour of the city.

I enjoy wandering around towns, as all I need is a starting point and ending point and a map. I came across a pretty square with a pool and fountain, and a double deck carousel. I had never seen one before.

As I was heading back to the ship, I came across an open air market with all kinds of interesting produce. Aside from produce, there were all kinds of cooked foods and cheeses. I saw a small wheel of Camembert and bought it. More on the cheese later.

The tomatoes were unusual, as they were heart shaped. The sign says” Heart of Beef from the region of Remy in Provence 3.9 Euros ($5) per kilogram (2.2 pounds)”.

The next morning We took a tour of the Renaissance Quarter, including the Basilica Notre Dame, which was at the top of the hill. Fortunately, the bus took us there, as opposed to Viviers, where we had to climb narrow cobblestone streets.

After visiting the Basilica, we were taken on a tour of the Traboules of Lyon. These were indoor passageways with vaulted or coffered ceilings that were built to link buildings together and to protect the silk being carried from the rain

From there we walked through Halles de Lyon (famous food market). The profusion of food was absolutely fantastic! We ended up buying some duck terrines and another wheel of Camembert. More on that later. All the chickens we saw still had their heads on! (Yuk)

MACON & CLUNY

We sailed through the lovely Maconnaise countryside and we were then taken to Tournus, one of the oldest monastic centers in the region for a wine tasting

The tasting was held in the cloister of the church, and the winemaker was there to discuss his wines. One of his wines was a very nice white Burgundy, and I bought a bottle to take back to the ship.

SEURRE & BEAUNE

We docked at Seurre and drove through the Cote de Beaune past the vineyards of Volnay, Pommard and Meursault to Beaune, where we explored the Hospice de Beaune. The Hospices de Beaune or Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune is a former charitable almshouse in Beaune, France. It was founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy, as a hospital for the poor and needy. The original hospital building, the Hôtel-Dieu, one of the finest examples of French fifteenth-century architecture, is now a museum. An important charity wine auction is held in November each year (formerly in the great hall of the Hôtel-Dieu).

From Beaune we drove to Chateau Pommard, one of the premier wineries in Burgundy. On the way, I was fascinated by the signs to different vineyards in the area. These were vineyards in Burgundy that I had only read about over the years. The most prestigious was a 2 acre vineyard of Romani Conti. A bottle of wine from this vineyard sells for $5000! Someone on the bus said, “I want to buy a bottle of wine, not the vineyard”.

DIJON & ST. JEAN DE LOSNE

The ship arrived in St. Jean de Losne for visit to Dijon. We drove to visit Dijon’s Old Town, including the Palais des Ducs de Bourgogne and Chateau du Clos de Vougeot.

From Clos de Vougeot we were taken to a central square in Dijon. There was a nice shop on the square selling all kinds of Dijon mustard. We knew, however, we could buy it at home and not have to tote it all the way back.

CHALON-SUR-SAÔNE / DISEMBARK SHIP / PARIS

We were taken by motor coach through the French countryside toward Paris. On the way, we stopped for lunch near the Chateau Fontainebleau. We were cautioned not to go inside, as it takes about 3 hours for the tour. One can imagine the carriages pulling up to the staircase and the fancy dressed ladies ascending the stairs.

We were taken on a panoramic city tour of Paris which was made easier by the heavy traffic.

Our tour manager told us a funny story about the way Parisians park. If the space is too small, they will push the cars apart with their bumpers! As we were stopped at a traffic light, we watched a lady park and just do that!

We went to the Place d’Etoile (Place of the Stars) where 12 streets come in to the traffic circle. It is the largest roundabout I have ever seen. If you got stuck in the center lane it would take forever to escape! In the center was the Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph). It honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars.

Finally we got our first view of the Eiffel Tower.

The last time we were in Paris, the lines for the Eiffel tower were hours long. Three months before our trip I went on the Eiffel Tower website, and was lucky enough to get us reserved tickets to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower! The time for our visit was 9:30 PM, which is just before dusk at that latitude.

We boarded the first of elevator, which was almost like a funicular, as it had to go up the leg of the tower at an angle. We took a second elevator straight up to the top. On the side of the elevator shaft was the mark indicating an elevation of 281 meters (927 feet)!

We toasted Paris with flutes of Champagne at the top of the tower, and marveled at the wonder below us. Ah to have Paris at our feet!

[Wormy53]

How nice to have you put it here too! Thanks again.