FUN-travel: Viviers, France – 7 day Uniworld Rhône River Cruise
August 14, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Viviers, France – 7 day Uniworld Rhône River Cruise
Trip Day 29 – Cruise Day 4 – Wednesday, August 8 – Viviers, France – Uniworld Rhône River Cruise
What I LIKE
- nice walk in enchanting medieval village 1600 years old
- picturesque rooftops
- cobblestone streets
- narrow alleyways
- snake uphill to Romanesque St. Vincent Cathedral perched on top
- short organ concert
- continue on to more spectacular views
- more good food @ lunch
- 1:30 set sail
- siesta
- Epicurean dinner – Chef Roger treats us to 3 appetizer tastings, French onion soup, a choice of either trout or filet and dessert. YUMMY!
What I DON’T LIKE
- can’t remember anything
FUN-travel: Avignon, France – 7 day Uniworld Rhône River Cruise
August 14, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Avignon, France – 7 day Uniworld Rhône River Cruise
Trip Day 28 – Cruise Day 3 – Tuesday, August 7 – Avignon, France – Uniworld Rhône River Cruise
City Wall
What I LIKE
Popes Palace
- wake up to blue sunny skies with cool breeze – high 60’s to 70’s
- more good hot coffee & fresh fruit
- 9:15 morning walking tour
- UNESCO World Heritage Site – 14th century
- another really cute picture-perfect medieval walled city
- 1st stop – Clocktower Square – includes city hall, opera theater & many classic mansions
- 2nd stop – Popes Palace Square – maze of galleries, chambers, & chapels that makes up our
- 3rd stop – @ the Palace of the Popes
- 4th stop – nice walk up to bluff-top park & magnificent views of countryside & Rhône
- 5th stop – Avignon Synagogue – originally built 1222 fired destroyed it & it was rebuilt in 1846 – the Jews were not persecuted but given sanctuary here
- 6th stop – Market Hall – full of every kind of food – buy fresh herbs de provence & madras curry
- 12 noon – back to ship for another great lunch
- 1:30 – afternoon excursion – bus ride to
- 1st stop – Pont du Gard – built 19 BC – tri-level Roman aqueduct still standing & in excellent shape – this was listed in our book of must see wonders of the world
- 2nd stop – Châteauneuf-du-pape wine tasting – drive through vineyards that were part of the river bed 1000’s of years ago – vines growing in ground covered with lots of rocks
Pont du Gard
- forgot to say – FREE Internet! – not as slow
What I DON’T LIKE
- can’t think of anything
FF (FUN-fact) – The Pont du Gard is 31 miles long, carried 44 million gallons of water a day, and was constructed without mortar!
FUN-travel: Arles to Chalon sur Saône, France – 7 day Uniworld River Cruise
August 14, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Arles to Chalon sur Saône, France – 7 day Uniworld River Cruise
Trip Day 27 – Cruise Day 2 – Monday, August 6 – Arles, France – Uniworld Rhône River Cruise
Hospital Courtyard
What I LIKE
- hot French press coffee
- nice fruit selection @ breakfast
- 9 am – school on board – 1st Period – Art History 101 – 45 min talk on Vincent Van Gogh – very interesting
- 10 am walking tour
- it’s cloudy & overcast – then rain
- temperature in the 60’s (AH! what a relief)
- 1st stop – Roman Amphitheater – over 2000 yrs old & held 25,000 people
- 2nd stop – Roman baths
- 3rd stop – Town Hall Square with Romanesque church
- 4th stop – hospital Van Gogh sought treatment when his ear lobe was cut off
- 5th stop – Café de Nuit where he painted one of his most famous paintings & one of my favorites
- really nice lunch with lots of fresh veggies
- 6 pm ship departs
- 6:45 Captains Welcome
- arrive first lock @ 8 pm
- the food on the ship is really, really good
- dancing in the lounge
What I DON’T LIKE
- the food on the ship is really, really good (eating way too much)
Café de Nuit
FF (FUN-fact) – Got to walk in Vincent Van Gogh’s footsteps. He lived here for 15 months and created 200 paintings and 100 drawings. Many of his famous paintings were during this time including the Sunflowers, Starry Night over the Rhône, The Cafe at Night, and the Garden of Arles Hospital to name a few.
More FF – Arles has existed since the sixth century BC and the Romans built their first bridge across the Rhône here creating a vital route between Italy and Spain to expand their empire.
FUN-travel: Rome, Italy to Marseille to Arles, France – 7 Day Uniworld Rhône River Cruise
August 13, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Rome, Italy to Marseille to Arles, France – 7 Day Uniworld Rhône River Cruise
Trip Day 26 – Cruise Day 1 – Sunday, August 5 – Rome to Marseille to Arles, France – Uniworld Rhône River Cruise
Coloseum
What I LIKE
- that I took my shower last night
- clothes all laid out
- in lobby @ 6:20 for coffee
- 6:30 shuttle only takes 10 minutes
- Air France is Delta partner
- flight is only $69 per person
- always carry a foldable flat bag
- put overweight items in it & save 55 Euros
- good cappuccino only costs 1.40 Euro
- 8:45 flight only takes 75 min
- 11 am – one hr drive to Arles
- van has air conditioning
- 12:30 nice wine with lunch in the lounge
- 2:30 room ready & need a nap
- really nice dinner with FUN tablemates from London
What I DON’T LIKE
- overslept and fly out of bed @ 5:55
- coffee is really bad
- Air France wants to charge us 55 Euro for being over by 4 kilos – we can have 3 bags and only have 2
- cappuccino is really small – really only a half cup
- Arles airport pickup – crammed into 8 passenger van
Roman Amphitheater in Arles
FF (FUN-Fact) – The moon hit my eye like a big pizza pie – that’s amore!
Not so FF (FUN-fact) – Rome in the summer is filled with tourists and the lines are very long like Disneyland. Glad I was already here in the 90’s.
FUN-travel: Monte Carlo, France to La Spezia, Italy – Day 6 – Seabourn Cruise
August 6, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Monte Carlo, France to La Spezia, Italy – Day 6 – Seabourn Cruise
Trip Day 23 – Cruise Day 6 – Wednesday, August 1 – La Spezia, Italy
Manarola
What I LIKE
Riomaggiore
- booked tour for Cinque Terra
- full day with lots of walking
- 8:10 am depart by bus
- 1st stop – Manarola – very small with homes that hug the rock face & overhang the sea below
- 2nd stop – Riomaggiore – arrive after a 15-minute walk along the Via dell’ Amore – carved into steep cliff that plummets into the sea
- 3rd stop – take 20 min boat to Vernazza
- very cute with bustling marina crammed with boats, cafes & trattorias
- nice cold beer break
- 4th stop – Monterosso al Mare – cutest of all with arched, twisty alleys – nice big beach area – pink houses
- lunch @ great restaurant – Al Pozzo – eat anchovies in lemon & olive oil with green peppercorns (never tasted anything like it) – Pesto Pasta – mussels in white wine & garlic – really nice local white wine Sassarini “cian irti”
- train back only takes 25 minutes
- 9:45 pm Rock the Boat Deck Party – great music & people watching
Vernazza
What I DON’T LIKE
Monterosso al Mare
- we were supposed to anchor in Portofino
- early morning again
- really hot day – high 90’s
FF (FUN-fact) – Five villages make up Cinque Terra. (Corniglia is the only one we didn’t visit) The homes and buildings cling to the vertical cliffs on the Ligurian sea. Terraced vineyards and olive orchards are steeply etched in the mountains above the villages. Pesto sauce was invented here.
More FF – Via dell’ Amore (the path of love) has locks on metal mesh fence to symbolize one’s love. You have two keys – you profess your love and throw one into the ocean – the second you keep in case it doesn’t last and you take the lock off.
More FF – On the drive you can see huge white topped mountains in the distance. Carrera Marble has been quarried from here for over 2000 years.