My apologies for posting the same thing twice. I hope to post a link to some photos, but am having trouble getting the link to work. Sue

Day 6
Friday, September 21
Partly Cloudy High 77 Low 59


Arles
When we looked out our window first thing in the morning, the light that we saw was unlike anything we’d ever seen. There were barges across the river from us with trees in the background. They were perfectly reflected in the river so that it was a mirror image. When I looked straight down into the water, there was an amazing reflection of just clouds. My photo looks like a Monet painting.

Our walking tour of Arles started at 9:30. Our first stop was at the Roman Arena designed as a smaller version of the Coliseum in Rome. In Roman times the Arles Arena held about 20,000 spectators. Today it holds 11,000. It is used for concerts and two types of bullfights (Arles is not far from the French/Spanish border). The first is the traditional Spanish bullfight in which the bull is killed. In the second there is an elaborate headpiece of ribbons that must be removed from between the bull’s horns.

From the arena we walked through Arles with a stop to see a large area of Roman ruins.

Then it started—Van Gogh, Van Gogh, Van Gogh: We walked by the “Café de la Nuit” with a statue of Van Gogh in front of it. Our guide recommend that we not go there as they were not very pleasant. That she would say that surprised us.

Next we went to the hospital where Van Gogh was first taken for his mental problems. It is now a mini-shopping area for souvenirs. There is a very pretty garden there. There were a few more stops as we walked through the town on our way back to the ship. One was at the Romanesque cathedral of St. Trôphime. Like so many of the cathedrals that we saw the façade was beautiful. The problem is that they all start to run together when you see so many of them.

When we got back to ship they were offering a “Taste of Southern France”. There was a table out in the lobby with various meats and cheeses to try. John and Fran stopped and picked up some samples and brought them to lunch for us to share.

For those that had lunch in the lounge rather than the dining room, there was an accordion player performing traditional French songs. He never came into the dining room so only those who ate in the lounge heard him.

We all really dislike eating in the lounge because the tables are very small and very low. There simply is not room for 4 people to eat comfortably there.

From 2:00-6:00 there was an optional tour to St. Rémy and Les Baux de Provençe. Both of these places were at the top our list when we were planning our independent extension.

In St. Rémy we saw 2 Roman ruins, a mausoleum and a Roman arch. We knew there were more, but we never saw them.

Then we were off to the hospital that Van Gogh went to after Arles. By this time I was sick of hearing about Van Gogh when there was so much else worth seeing. I was also getting very annoyed with our guide who ended every sentence with un huh. I am in awe of these guides who can guide tours in 3 or 4 different languages, but she was annoying.

Had we been on our own, we would have spent time in the town St. Rémy. On this excursion we never saw anything else in St. Rémy .

From St. Rémy we went to Les Baux on Provençe. The scenery with all the rocky cliffs was jaw dropping.

Les Baux was an important village in the middle ages. There are still ruins and the remains of some of the buidlings. Bauxite was mined here.

Much of the village was destroyed during some religious wars. It is very scenic, but it is now mostly a shopping village. The shops were very nice, but we simply did not expect that. There is a Santon Museum (primarly handmade crèche figures and some of villagers). Unfortunately we didn’t find it until we were on our way back to the bus.

Tonight was “Captain’s Cocktails”. Once again you were given a choice of Champagne or Kir Royale with hor-d’oeuvres served. Captain Drossart and Hotel Manager Dieter Hofrichter each gave a short speech.
After the daily briefing, the “Captain’s Dinner” was served. Captain Drossart really seemed to enjoy interacting with passengers; although, there were limitations because he doesn’t speak English.

At dinner we noticed that a group of people were seated with Captain Drossart and Dieter Hofrichter. They found people on board who were fluent in French. They were invited to the Captain’s table. The husband of one of the French Canadian women, said that he doesn’t speak French so spent the whole dinner having no idea what his wife and the captain were talking about. They were having a very animated conversation.

At the end of dinner, everyone on the crew was introduced even the people that work in the laundry.

After dinner, we set sale for Avignon with arrival at 9:45PM. Everyone was invited up to the sundeck for a local drink of Provençe. None of us of tried it because it really didn’t look that appealing, and once again we didn’t want anything else after another great dinner.

When we arrived in Avignon we sailed under the remains of the bridge that is the basis of the children’s song Sur le Pont d’Avignon. I used to know the words, but couldn’t remember anything except the first few words. After we got home Lois sang and translated if for us. It is a song about children dancing on the bridge.

Now it was party time because there is a tradition of dancing after going under the bridge remains. The pianist from the lounge served as DJ. All of the senior staff members, including the captain, were dancing along with a few passengers. We were watching the action from a level above the dancing. Fran and I joked about remembering how to do the Twist and proceeded to prove we could still do the Twist.

We had a lot of fun watching them trying to get the gangplank in place while the party was going on. It really made you wonder if you wanted to walk on the it the next morning.

Day 7
Saturday, September 22
Sunny High 83 Low 61


Avignon
Our docking spot was across from the remains of the wall that once went around the city. It was one of the prettiest dock areas that we were in.

Our walking tour started at 9:00. We were within easy walking distance to the entrance to the old city in the wall across from our ship.

We walked through some very pretty streets to the Pope’s Palace. Avignon was the center of the Catholic Church for many years during the 14th century. The square where the Papal Palace is situated is really pretty, and seemed to be a lively happening place.

From there we walked through 2 very attractive squares and pretty residential areas. Both squares had tables with board games set up. Our guide said she didn’t why they were there. Later Fran stopped at one of them to play one of the games.

Our walk took us to Les Halles, a huge food market. We were offered samples of several different kinds of olives by Viking’s Program director as we entered. There was a some of everything there. Some things looked very appetizing; some of the seafood didn’t look that appealing, and we like seafood. The spice vendor’s stand was amazing. There were huge assortments of cheeses, and many prepared things that could be taken home and heated. Just outside the door, there was a flower vendor.

After our guide gave us directions back to the ship, we were on our own. We took a leisurely stroll through several very nice shopping streets on our way back to the ship.

We had gotten separated from Fran and John. When we met for lunch we found out that he had taken a pretty bad fall on some uneven cobblestone paving. Fran said she’d brought lots of band aids and had patched him up. His glasses apparently prevented him from hitting his head. They were totally useless, but fortunately he had a back up pair. He seemed to be fine.

After lunch there were two optional tours. One was to Châteauneuf-de-Pape. The other was to Pont de Gard in the Gardon Valley. We decided that we didn’t want to go to Châteauneuf-de-Pape because it was mostly wine tasting.

We did go to Pont de Gard, a Roman aqueduct that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is fascinating. Our first stop was a tour with our guide in the excellent museum. You were able to see many of the details of how the Romans built this amazing structure.

From there it was a fairly lengthy walk to the aqueduct. It was very hot and sunny while we were there, and we were walking right into the sun. Our guide told us some more about the aqueduct, and then we were free to explore on our own.

There are 3 rows of huge arches, and I believe the area below the arches where we walked had once been a Roman road. The purpose of the aqueduct was to get fresh water to Nime. There is a one degree incline the entire length of the aqueduct, and the water was covered to keep it clean. It is an engineering masterpiece that is also beautiful. The modern grounds around it are a very lovely park that is quite rugged in some places.

On the river below the aqueduct, there is a beach with a lifeguard for swimming. It was really hot, and we all thought a dip in the river would really feel good. There were quite a few people on the beach.

On the way back to the visitors’ center we stopped to admire some very ancient olive trees. The trunks were huge. They were not very tall, but they were quite broad.

We also very carefully picked our way up some rocks to get a better view, and found our way down even more carefully.

By the time we got back to the ship it was time for the “Good Bye Port Talk “and a raffle that is always held at the end of the cruise.

Tonight David was on his own, and had to describe the “Provençal Dinner” without Magalie’s help. She was there but off to the side. Each night he got a little better. He is not very comfortable speaking English. Then he had to stand in front of a large group to describe dinner in detail in English. Each time he did this, you could see Magalie encouraging him. Passengers did too

Day 8
Sunday, September 23
Sunny High 75 Low ?

Aix en Provençe and Marseille
Our bus for Marseille was to leave at 8AM. We had a quick breakfast in the lounge. After that Paul took care of checking out, settling our tab, and having the gratuities added to our bill. This is standard procedure on Viking cruises.

Once on the bus we met our guide who was to be with us from Avignon to Marseille and in Marseille.

He told us that the bus driver had consented to make two stops that they usually did not make because the Iron Man Marathon was taking place in Aix en Provence. By making these stops we would arrive towards the end of the marathon.

Okay, that’s why Gretchen had such a hard time finding rooms. It wouldn’t have been a great time to stay in town even if she had found rooms.

Our first stop was in a small village with a gorgeous view out over the valley. Most definitely a photo opportunity.

The second was also very photogenic with a castle and pretty views.

In that village there was a market going on. There were a number of artists, food, and flowers. I stopped at one booth to admire the macaroons. French macaroons are two small cookie sized rounds of meringue with all kinds of delicious fillings. The vendor offered us a sample of his meringues and told us the filling was fig. Then came a long spiel in French that neither of us understood. I don’t remember how we disengaged ourselves. We were careful not to walk by that stand again as we realized we had gotten ourselves into a situation where we were expected to buy, and we already had enough goodies.

On arrival to Aix en Provençe, we were given a walking tour. That became a problem because the “quiet boxes” were turned in after our last tour on the ship. So we were back to the old-fashioned way of listening to the guide.

It really was a problem. At one point we were stopped in front of a church. As the guide was talking the bells started ringing. They were loud. He kept right on talking. At that point no one was paying attention because no one could hear him.

When we got to the Cours Mirabou, the main street in Aix, there was the track, a DJ playing ear blasting music with heavy metal drum beats.

A meeting place and time was set, and we had free time. Since it was after 12, we looked for a café. Our main criteria was to get away from the noise and find someplace for lunch.

We found a café several blocks away. You could still hear the DJ, but we could at least have a conversation. Because of the Iron Man Marathon, lunch was not as leisurely as it normally would be. We did have a very nice lunch, and I got to have one of my favorite French beverages, citron pressé. It is lemonade, but not like anything that I know of that you get in the US. It depends on the restaurant just exactly how it is served. You are given freshly squeezed lemon juice (sometimes the lemon comes to the table for you to squeeze) and a choice of carbonated water or still water. You add your own sugar.

After lunch, none of us felt like doing any more walking. We sat on a bench and watched the finish of the Iron Man Marathon, and just people watched. Unfortunately, our meeting place was right in the heart of the DJ area.

Our next stop: Marseille. On the way to the hotel our guide pointed out a café that was open on Sundays and suggested another restaurant. As we approached the hotel, all you could see was hundreds of masts from the sailboats in the port.

We checked into the Radisson Blu on the Vieux Port (Old Port) and were told that the hotel restaurant was closed on Sundays.

John and Fran had checked out the restaurant nearest the hotel. When they came back they said it didn’t look all the great, but we could check it out. We walked up the hill only to find oIt was closed on Sundays. (Paul and I walked by it on Monday, and I don’t think we would have wanted to eat there).

We went to the other one that had been pointed out to us. We had a very enjoyable dinner outside on the terrace. Everyone who had added the Marseille extension was eating there.

Between the hotel and the restaurant there were nothing but pizza joints and bars. The sidewalk was full of trash, there were trash containers all over the place and you could smell sewage. The whole neighborhood of the hotel was questionable.

Day 9
Monday, September 24
Sunny and hot


Marseille
We had added a second Viking guide, on arrival in Marseille. The two guides were giving a 3 hour walking tour of Marseille starting around 9 (I think). We had had enough walking and chose not to do this.

I had started a nasty cough about midway through our cruise. The concierge gave us directions to 2 pharmacies within walking distance of the hotel. That walk did not improve our impression of Marseille being one of the dirtiest cities we’d ever seen.

We had lunch at the hotel. I asked if they had either citron pressé or iced tea. The Maître d’ said he could make it for me. He went behind the bar, and we didn’t pay much attention to him. Then we started wondering what had happened to my drink. We could see him working on something. The next thing we saw and heard the
Maître d’ shaking something in a cocktail shaker. We thought he was making a drink for someone else in the restaurant. It was my “iced tea.” I don’t know what he put in it, but it was really good.

We had decided to do a little exploring and shopping on our own. To do so we needed to get across the harbor. There is a free ferry, but we had trouble finding where to catch it. We had Euros that needed spending, so we took a cab.

We got in the cab, and I kept saying we are going in the wrong direction. Paul kept telling me “no we’re not”. He had shown a brochure for the mini-train to the cab driver and said, “La.” The cab driver thought we wanted to go to the actual train station.

Finally I couldn’t stand it anymore and told him mini-train. We think that made him angry because it became one scary taxi ride. He finally calmed down and asked us—in English--why we wanted to do that. He’d been on it with his daughter and it was a pretty rough ride. We told him we were tired of walking.

When we got on the mini-train, one of the couples who had been traveling with us was in front of us. They said they had started the walking tour in the morning, but dropped out. The were taking the mini-train to see the things they thought that they had missed. We actually did see everything that was on the AM walking tour.

After the mini-train tour, we did some shopping. We went to a very nice store that had a huge selection of santon. Paul bought a fountain for his train layout. We also stopped in a shop that sold fine French soaps. I bought some for Christmas gifts.

When we were done shopping, we stopped at a café that specialized in ice cream. We both had a Dame Noir Sundae, dark chocolate ice cream, dark chocolate sauce, almonds, whipped cream topped with a meringue.
We took a cab back to the hotel, and rested until time to meet Fran and John for dinner. We had decided to have dinner in the hotel restaurant because we had a very early departure the next day.

First we were told the restaurant wouldn’t open until 7:30, not at all unusual in France. Then we were told that there was a private party, and it wouldn’t open until 8:30. We decided to go to the bar, have a drink and wait. Then we were told the restaurant was not open! John went to the front desk and told them this was not acceptable. He came back and said they are waiting for us.

When we arrived in the restaurant, there were other people there who were almost finished with their meals. It got worse. We ordered our dinners and after the first taste agreed that it was the worst meal we’d ever had. Paul and I had ordered penne with goat cheese. It was sickeningly sweet. It was so bad I couldn’t eat mine and excused myself to go pack. Thank goodness for the Dame Noir Sundae!

Day 10
Tuesday, September 25
Weather?


Marseille and Home
It was dark and chilly when we left the hotel at 6AM. They had provided a “Grab and Go” breakfast. We choose not to take anything, because once again the choice was terrible.

As far as I can remember, our flights from Marseille to Munich and Munich to Philadelphia were uneventful except for some of the usual security nonsense.

We were about an hour late getting in, but neither of us can remember why. Our limo driver said that he had waited about an hour for us.

Summary:

This trip involved much more walking than our previous river cruises. There were more optional excursions available this time. We think this was our last trip to Europe so we did book 3 out of the 5 optional tours. Some days we walked 2 ½ to 3 hours in the morning; had lunch; and walked another 2 ½ to 3 hours in the afternoon. This is the first cruise we’ve ever been on and lost weight!

The food onboard was excellent.

It was exhausting, but all and all a very good trip. I don’t think we would change a thing that was under our control with the exception of St. Remy and the Marseille Extension. It was fun to travel with such good friends.

After we got home, I sent Viking a detailed e-mail about our stay in Marseille. I really didn’t expect anything from them.

However, their response not only included us, but Fran and John who did not complain. Let it suffice to say that this company understands customer service. So where should we go next?