When I told friends that we were going to Niagara Falls for the first time, they all said that we should not miss Niagara on the Lake. The lake in question is Lake Ontario, and it will always be its name for us!
It was a beautiful day. The trip took only about 30 minutes and we enjoyed the scenery. We checked into the Prince of Wales hotel and it was so charming that I have to share some pictures. Our room had a fireplace and a stepstool to get into the bed!
We explored the town and even though we are into fall, the flowers were still just spectacular.
Just some of the sights in the town! The hat shop was just amazing. This is only one of the many walls of hats they had there.
We had dinner in the hotel and it was one of the best dinners we had on the trip.
Yes, that is a huge bowl of home made ice cream!Breakfast in the Prince of Wales hotel
And in the morning we headed out to the Hotel Fauchere in Milford PA. It was a long trip to get there but we will stay there overnight before going back home to Long Beach Island so we don’t have to do it all in one day.
The town of Milford is quite small and it didn’t take us long to walk through the town. We did come upon a group that was playing music so we sat there to listen to the band and a really good singer – mostly 70’s tunes – but also a great rendition of Mack the Knife!
Well, this meal in the Bar Louis at Hotel Fauchere was also delicious! No room for dessert.
We headed out after breakfast for the 3 hour trip back home – it was a really wonderful getaway and I would recommend any of the hotels and adventures!
The trip from Watkins Glen to Niagara Falls took about 3 hours. The leaves were not as pretty as the ones we saw in Pennsylvania but there were some lovely scenes. The crossing into Canada was non eventful – quick passport check and we were there.
We checked into the Hilton Fallsview hotel in a room on the 21st floor but the room wasn’t ready so we went out for a walk along the sidewalk by the falls.
The American and to the right, the Bridal Veil FallsThe Canadian Horseshoe Falls
We had a nice walk to stretch our legs. We decided to have ice cream for lunch at a shop in our hotel. It was delicious – and for the first time in history, I was unable to finish it – they gave me so much.
By then our room was ready, so we enjoyed the view of the falls from the room.
After we checked into the room, we each enjoyed a lovely whirlpool bath and then went to our dinner on the 33rd floor of the Hilton – the Watermark Falls View. The food was delicious and so were the views.
The Skylon TowerKing Neptune on the wall! And my guy in the forefront.They use lasers to light up the falls at night
They do fireworks every night at 10 PM. They were beautiful from our room!
The area below is part of the Fallsview casino complex adjoining the hotel
On Friday we had an exceptional experience booked. First, we met our guide, Alisha, in the Skylon Tower. It is 520 feet tall and 775 feet above the base of the gorge.
We rode the Yellow Bug elevators that are glass enclosed and transport you to the top in 52 seconds. There is a 360 degree viewing platform that offers visibility up to 80 miles and many lovely views of the falls.
Alisha took time to give us some facts about Niagara Falls. They are actually three separate waterfalls. The Horseshoe Falls are the ones on the Canadian side and are about 13 stories high. American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls are on the American side. Roughly one fifth of the world’s surface water passes over Niagara Falls.
The other two notable falls we have seen are Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe (the tallest), Iguazu Falls in Argentina (the widest) and Niagara which has the biggest volume water descending.
The falls are slowly moving upstream. The Niagara River cuts through layers of rock and the softer rock erodes. Pieces of the edge break away causing the falls to retreat. That’s why the gorge below the falls is so dramatic.
After exploring the Skylon Tower and observing the views, we headed out to the second part of the experience, Journey Behind the Falls. On our way out of the tower, we stopped at this object and Alisha explained….
On July 15, 1962, William Fitzgerald went over the Horseshoe Falls inside this rubber and steel sphere that he designed himself. He called it the Plunge-O- Sphere. He used the name Nathan Boya for the stunt and both names are on the sphere – not to easy to see as they are worn away. This is remarkable because:
The sphere is 6-10 feet across and weighs about 1200 pounds. It has a steel framework covered in rubber and a reclining seat inside. He had oxygen available in case the sphere became trapped in the turbulent water. He went over the falls and survived with only relatively minor injuries. When he came out of the fall, he wasn’t greeted as a hero – he was arrested and was the first person prosecuted under the Niagara Parks Act for performing an unauthorized stunt. He was fined $100 plus $13 in costs. After that it was illegal to go over the falls, and the fine today is $25000 Canadian and $20,000 US.
The first person to go over the falls was Annie Edson Taylor in 1901. She was 63 years old and went over in a barrel. She was hoping the stunt would make her rich famous but that never came to pass. She survived the fall but later died penniless. She actually used a cat to test the barrel’s safety first and the cat survived too.
Alisha told us that 5000 people have died trying to go over the falls.
Next we walked down to the next experience – Journey Behind the Falls. Along the walk, Alisha introduced us to one of the squirrels that greet her as she walks by with her bag of peanuts. One at a time, they go up her leg to get a peanut.
We missed the marriage proposal!
When you arrive at the falls, they give you a yellow poncho and you descend into tunnels where you get two different experiences of the falls. You descend about 125 feet and walk through the tunnels cut into the rocks. You are behind the falls near a large open window and get to see and hear the water roaring past.
Next, you go to an open deck where you are covered with the mist coming off of the Horseshoe Falls – hence the need for the poncho!
Our next stop was the boat ride that takes you into the gorge below the Horseshoe Falls and for that you get yet another poncho – this one is red.
It is amazing to feel the power of the mist generated by the falls!
The boat ride was about 20 minutes long and was really fun. Afterward we had a snack before heading back to the hotel to our next destination – Niagara on the Lake.
Of course we had some silly pictures taken and I had to buy them to share here!
We arrived at the Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel yesterday after about a 5 1/2 hour trip from NJ. The weather was perfect. We stopped at an Tully’s for lunch. The trees in northern PA were beautiful.
We had never been to one – there must have been 60 TVs around the room!
We arrived in Watkins Glen around 3 PM and we checked into the hotel. We had made a dinner reservation at the Blue Pointe restaurant and we had a lovely dinner there and a good night’s sleep after a long day.
We got up very early to hike at the Watkins Glen State Park and it was a great decision.
Very few people, perfect weather and a lot of steps! Bear with me while I post many pictures of the lovely waterfalls. We even saw two deer – I could only get a shot of the one watching us from the water.
There were over 800 steps to reach the top. We took the Gorge trail up where there are many waterfalls and took the North Rim trail down. It was so beautiful and hardly any people were on the trails. We met one man who said that he came yesterday and could not get good pictures because there were so many people there.
Watkins Glen is all about the races that took place here. Even the traffic crosswalks are in the style of the checkered flags!
We had breakfast at the Babe and Bud’s Cafe which was a nice relaxing time after our hike. Then we went out to visit the selected two wineries.
We went to the Hermann J Wiemer winery first. The wineries here are mostly noted for their rieslings and they did not disappoint. Victor led us through a nice tasting and we bought a couple of bottles.
We drove to the next winery we had selected, the Dr. Konstantin Frank winery on the shores of Keuka lake. It reminded me that my high school guidance counselor recommended Keuka college for my nursing education – unfortunately my family couldn’t afford it – but it is a beautiful area.
We had a really nice tasting of 6 wines paired with a cheese plate. Of course we bought some to take home.
The nice thing about this tasting was both the generous portions and the ability to each choose the one we wanted from each of the selections. The cheese pairing also added to the delicious tasting.
The day took us from the walk to the state park to breakfast to nice drives to both wineries. Tomorrow we will leave for the Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake part of our trip.
We left the SS Catherine after breakfast. It was a wonderful trip. We said goodbye to our Australian friends – Paul, Maria and Bernadette. Our time with them was great fun.
The staff arranged a car for us to take us to our hotel in Marseille, the Intercontinental. We expected the trip to take 90 minutes but I guess because it was Sunday and very little traffic on the highway, we made it in just over an hour. The highways in France are often lined with these Italian cypress trees.
Our room was not ready so we talked to the concierge about what we might do (and I had chat GPT suggestions too)! We decided to walk to the museum where you could go up to the top level and take a bridge across to the fort.
On our way, we stopped at the Cathedral La Major which is one of the largest churches in France. It was built between 1852 and 1893.
In Europe you do visit a lot of churches and while there are a lot of similarities, each one is somewhat unique. This one had lots of mosaic tile.
One of the stations of the cross
We didn’t go into the Mucem other than to cross the bridge to the fort. It is the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations. It opened in 2013 and is connected to the restored 17th century Fort Saint-Jean by a sea spanning foot bridge. They do concerts, talks, workshops and film screenings in addition to having semi permanent and temporary exhibitions.
Our hotel
The Intercontinental Hotel dates back to the 12th century. In the 14th century two hospitals merged. The building remained a hospital until 1993 when the last patients left and it became a teaching hospital for medics and paramedics. That hospital closed its doors in 2006 and the city acquired the building in 2007. The Intercontinental Marseille opened here in 2013. It is a really amazing building and a 5 star hotel. It was a good choice as it is overlooking the old port and the oldest part of the city.
The clock in the center of the roof of the hotelThis statue is at the foot of the MANY stairs to get to the hotel. It is a reminder of the cruelties of war and Hitler
We checked into the hotel and went to the old port for lunch at a waterfront restaurant. I can pretty much read French menus and can get by with about a dozen words and phrases.
This view of the Notre Dame de la Garde is from the restaurant and bar terrace at the hotel. We had our dinner there
On Monday, we took the advice of our concierge and went on the small train to the Notre Dame. It goes through very tiny and winding streets on the way up the hill to the basilica. It was narrated but we couldn’t really hear much of it on the way up.
Here are some pictures we took on the way up to the church.
This church, in addition to its location, is really spectacular. Here are some of the many pictures we took. The church is on the upper level above the crypt.
The church is located at the top of the hill of La Garde, the highest spot of the city. It was originally a lookout over the sea and housed a 13th century chapel that became a spiritual refuge for sailors. Later, Francois I built the Fort de la Garde in 1524 to defend Marseille from the troops of Charles V. The church is known affectionately as La Bonne Mere (the good mother). The walls are covered with pictures of maritime activities and there are ropes with small ship replicas hanging in the church.
These holes were from attacks that took place here
I could include so many more pictures, but you get the idea – it is a very special place with hundreds of colorful mosaics and many votive offerings. Atop the bell tower is a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary.
As beautiful as the inside of the church is, the views are impressive too.
Our hotel from here
The narration on the way back to the port area was better and we learned something about the neighborhoods. The way back was different and much steeper!
We walked around the old port and found an artisan boulangerie for lunch. Delicious. Then, I found a gelato shop and had two kinds.
We could see the ovens upstairs from our street side table.
We enjoyed the old port area and went back to the hotel for a rest. We had drinks and food on the hotel terrace. Later, back in our room – believe it or not, we get our Netflix here so we watched the Frankenstein movie from 2025.
On Tuesday, we chose to explore Le Panier neighborhood which is just behind our hotel. The name means “The Basket” and it is the very spot where the Greeks first settled when they arrived in 600 BC. Today, this district is home to winding alleys, shuttered facades, laundry strung balconies, galleries, museums and authentic Marseille restaurants. We visited the Vieille Charity which was ordered to house the “poor natives of Marseille” in 1640. It is empty now but the facade is interesting to see. In the 1950s the building narrowly escaped demolition.
I couldn’t stop taking pictures of the street art, the postman and the buildings. Norm captured one of this cat!
We walked back to the old port area after browsing and shopping in the old and unique Le Panier district, and found a wonderful restaurant for lunch.
Then, we went back to pack because we have a 5:55 AM from Marseille to Frankfort then on to Newark. We will find a nice restaurant for dinner and head to bed early. It’s been a nice three days in Marseille. The old port is really something to see – 3500 berths for boats and lots of ferries and sightseeing boats are here too.
Here’s to you, Marseille! Thanks for the memories.
It is hard to believe it our last full day on the second riverboat of the trip. It has been a great time, we love Uniworld, and we have met some great people. On this second ship there are primarily people from parts of the US but there are more other countries represented than on the first ship. Fun to meet new friends.
Our tour today was the walking tour of Arles. We have so enjoyed these tours because the guides have been excellent and we learn things that we wouldn’t know by going out on our own.
Today’s guide was Jeremie. He told us that Arles has a large amount of land, the largest in metropolitan France by area, but not so many inhabitants – about 50,000. The city dates back to the 7th century BC and features many Roman sites. Van Gogh moved here in 1888 so Jeremie had two albums of his paintings to help illustrate the work he did here.
Again, our weather was perfect so it was a pleasure to follow Jeremie through the streets of Arles and to hear about both the history of the city and the life and work of Van Gogh.
We saw the amphitheater, which was modeled after the Colosseum in Rome, but much smaller. The one in Rome held 50,000 spectators, this one held only 20,000. They still do bull fighting and bull racing in the arena as well as concerts and other performances.
Next to it is the Roman theater built in 12 BC during the reign of Caesar Augustus. Lots of renovations here.
Jeremie took us to the yellow house – Cafe de Nuit – which is still open and the same shade of yellow as it was when Van Gogh painted it.
Van Gogh paid tribute to the beauty of Arles in over 200 paintings including Starry Night Over the Rhône.
We had a previous lecture on Van Gogh and Jeremie told us some of the same information and added some additional stories about his tragic life.
Here are some of the other sites in the town.
The town hallSt. Trophime Church4th century Roman obelisk in the center of the Place de la Republique in front of the Hotel de Ville (town hall). Jeremie told us that they use Hotel for everything, town halls, hospitals, actual hotels, etc. No wonder I get confused! This is Frederic Mistral, a Nobel Prize winning French poet who is noted for leading the 19th century revival of the Provençal language and literature
We saw the hospital where Van Gogh was admitted after cutting off his left earlobe in December of 1888, the Espace Van Gogh. It was originally built in the 16th century as Arles main hospital and remained as such into the 20th century. He became friends with Paul Gauguin and they lived together until they had a falling out after 2 weeks. Gauguin was a very disciplined person and Van Gogh was not (and might have been bipolar) so their relationship didn’t last long and may have had a lot to do with why he cut his ear off.
The courtyard has been extensively planted out to resemble as closely as possible to his famous painting “Le Jardin de l’Hotel de Dieu”. The complex now houses the town library as well as exhibition spaces, souvenir shops and a cafe. The courtyard of the hospital as sketched then painted by Van Gogh
There is a huge market in Arles on Saturday and a smaller one on Wednesday. So glad we were here on a Saturday! We spent over an hour wandering in the outdoor market which has everything from crafts to clothing to prepared foods to fruits, vegetables, meats and fish. I never saw so many kinds of olives as I did here. There are several walkways and hundreds of booths in an area that spans 2.5 kilometers (over 1.5 miles). Norm said it was the first time he got a broad sense of the cultures in France. It was very crowded and we were advised that there could be pickpockets but we didn’t encounter anything or even see any of that kind of activity even in the most crowded areas. We couldn’t even cover a third of the market.
After the market we headed back to the ship.
Well, sadly this will be our last dinner on board, we will pack this afternoon and we have a car coming to take us to Marseille at 9 AM tomorrow. The weather report is looking good and we will spend 3 days there before returning home.
We arrived in Avignon last night and got up this morning to an absolutely beautiful day. Our tour today is a walking tour including the Palace of the Popes. Our guide was Mylene.
There were some optional tours, including biking (there were several of these over the two weeks), cooking class, kayaking, a trip to Collector’s Island in the afternoon and the Pont du Gard Roman Aqueduct. Lots to choose from.
We can see this bridge from our shipThe flowers are always lovelyA few grapevines
Avignon is an ancient city filled with history, art, markets and lively streets. Inside the fortified walls, you can wander forever through the UNESCO listed sites – much of them related to the 14th century role as the capital of Christendom. Nine popes lived here between 1305 and 1429 – most notably Benedict XII and Clement VI, shaping the city’s identity as the city of the Popes and leaving behind the grand monuments that we see today. The city didn’t officially join France until 1791! Mylene told us lots of the history of the city.
Palace of the Popes (Norm took this panoramic picture!)
When you look at these old buildings, it is hard to imagine the work that it took to build them. Many took decades or even centuries to complete.
Even in this model, it is hard to show how huge the complex is
The rooms are empty – you have to imagine how it might have looked. In some of the rooms with painted walls, visitors are not allowed to take pictures. I took them where I could.
Now that’s a huge fireplace!The kitchen with the huge inside chimney
We did walk all the way to the top and the views were worth it.
Clock Tower Square sits atop what was once medieval Avignon – and even the original Roman town- cleared during a 15th century siege on papal orders. As the city of the popes, Avignon gained the ramparts that still encircled the Old Town and the massive fortress at the heart of today’s UNESCO districtThese are replicas of the tiles found in the palaceHats outside a cafe
Next we went to the covered market which has everything including produce, seafood, lavender goods and Provençal textiles. I love markets. It is immaculate!
Many kinds of salt for sale and on the prepared dishes – I never heard of most of themSpices everywhere And oysters too. Mylene says the locals love to come here to eat oysters and drink white wineThe synagogueWith those markets, I guess you need an ice cream vending machine!Home sweet home after a long morning and LOTS of steps in that palace
After our farewell Gala dinner (the night before our last night) we were entertained by a wonderful flamenco group called Los Chiquitans. The instrumentalists and the dancers were all terrific.
Tomorrow we will spend the day in Arles, then pack to leave the ship on Sunday and head to Marseille.
Last night, after dinner, we were entertained in the lounge by Chris the Crooner. He had a really good voice and did a lot of Buble, Sinatra and Great American Songbook selections.
Our day in Viviers started with a walk in the Ardeche village. We had Elsa as our guide again and she was terrific. Uniworld keeps the groups small, has a “soft walker” or as some call it “gentle walker” group for those who want to go slower, skip some of the big staircases, etc. They also use the quiet box system where all of the guides have a set with a microphone and we all have rechargeable devices that we charge every day when we return from tours. This makes the tours very easy for all to hear even when we are in crowds.
Viviers is a beautifully preserved medieval town overlooking the Rhône. Elsa again mentioned the sides of the river rivalry and said that on this side is the farmers and the other side is the posh! All in good fun it seems. She said that a lot of people she meets wonder what there is to see in Viviers – and she certainly showed us. Only about 6000 people live here so it is very quiet compared to Paris or Lyon.
The town is more than 1600 years old and still features the smallest cathedral in France and winding stone streets that seem frozen in time. Historically the town was divided between the clergy in the upper quarter and the laity in the lower one.
Sycamores line the streets and the houses here bear the watermarks of floods over the years.
The top of this piece of wood shows how high the flooding was in 2023I don’t know what Santa is doing there. Apparently no one does!Norm is teasing the cat in the windowAnd another is leading the way!
There are some beautifully painted walls and doors on our walk up the steep hills.
And the flowers are nice too.
We visited St. Vincent’s Cathedral which was built in the 12th century – he is the patron saint of wine, Elsa informed us.
The bishop’s chairA very old pipe organ
The walk through the town took us up the hill on very winding and narrow roads. The people who live in this area either park at the bottom and walk up or at the top and walk down. It is very hard to maneuver a car through the streets.
Elsa told us about some of the bad history and the beheadings that took place. She used a term “they rest in pieces”!
I guess this is how you can tell if people have a hard time getting to the church at the top of the hill – AED in the churchOne of the nearby nuclear plants
After our walk through town, we were taken to the home of a local resident who also operates a home share. He served us wine, a violet syrup which is mixed with water, local cheese, ham and baguettes and a type of pound cake while we listened to a local beekeeper and tasted the honey from her hives.
Their courtyard is very pretty.
Uniworld tries to provide local experiences in many ports. After this visit, we started our walk back to the ship where we could watch or participate in a game of pétanque, a game that is kind of like bocce or horseshoes.
Here is one of our passengers trying her luck against one of the village playersTwo village men players with their balls (?!)
After lunch we had booked the truffle hunting and village of Grignan which is an extra “masterpiece collection” trip that you pay extra for. There are some choices like this in many ports and this is one that we didn’t want to miss. We were taken to the village by bus with our guide, Jeannine (who was a real hoot!)
Grignan is a medieval village in the Provençal countryside. We met the owner and Jeannette had to translate for the owner of the truffle farm, Christian. Both have very good senses of humor!
Christian explained the process of truffle farming. It is handed down through generations and he is now teaching his 10 year old grandson who he is proud to say knows almost all he needs to know about truffle farming.
Truffles grow on the roots of oak trees and you never know which trees will produce. It can take 8 – 10 years for trees to develop truffles. The roots of the trees travel into the earth until they hit the bedrock and then reverse themselves to get closer to the surface. There are summer truffles and winter truffles and also one that is farmed in between. The winter ones are the most valuable – they are called the black diamonds of France – and are sold at the daily auctions for $1000-$1300 Euros per kilo and 1.5 kilos can be sold in a day. He also has a broker that sells on his behalf. Trees produce for about 30 years. Acorns are infused and used to try to grow truffles but it is not always successful. After harvesting, the truffles checked for pests.
Pigs were used to find the truffles in the past but they got too big and hard to work with so these days dogs are used. Christian described how they train the dogs. The pigs didn’t need to be trained, it was an innate ability for them.
Christian’s dog, Ollie, led us through the area near the building where he was very successful in finding truffles. It isn’t really the best season for it so Christian wasn’t sure how many Ollie would find.
Ollie gets a treat when he is successful
It was such a fascinating tour! We finished with local wine and samples of many types of truffle based products on baguette slices.
This mountain is Mount Ventoux which is famous for its intense winds with severe gusts in 2016 forcing the Tour de France to shorten a stage and famously causing Chris Froome to run up the mountain on foot after his bike was broken. Known as the “Giant of Provence”, it is a legendary, desolate and extremely windy climb.
Jeannine gave us some other information about the area. Of course, Provence is famous for its lavender fields and you smell lavender everywhere. There are 3 varieties grown here. Wine is a famous product too and there are over 350 cellars in the area. You don’t see a lot of gardens because the vines are too valuable. Garlic and peaches are two other products of the area.
We had our next stop at Madison Bouachon in Chateaneuf du Pape for a wine tasting. We had a tour through some of the cellars and went on to a room for the tasting. The sommelier was very thorough in his explanation of how to taste the wines. We tasted one white and two reds. The reds were each paired with a chocolate.
While we were on our tour, the ship moved from Viviers to Chateauneuf de Pape where we met it in time for dinner. Those who didn’t do the tour sailed with the ship which could have been kind of confusing.
Old castle on the way back to the ship
After dinner there was something called “Silent Disco” in the lounge. We had never heard of it so had to check it out.
Basically you got a set of headphones that had three colors, each playing a different selection of music. And then you danced or moved to your own music which no one could hear but you. Very fun to watch and participate in.
The ship sailed to Avignon tonight and we will be on tour there tomorrow.
I thought I would do a separate posting about the locks that we travel through on our way south in France. We found them so interesting. We pass through 15 locks from Lyon to Arles. They were built between 1947 and 1980 to regulate the river. The Rhône was a difficult river to navigate because of the strong currents and the rapids. The locks also overcome the differences in elevation and allow boats to pass from one level of water to another. And, they generate a lot of hydroelectric power.
The total difference in elevation from Lyon to the Mediterranean is 531.5 feet.
The cost for our boat to go through the locks is about $30,000 Euros per year.
It usually takes 30 minutes to go through the locks, 5 minutes in, 20 minutes inside and five minutes out. There is very little space on either side of the boat when in the locks so the captains need to navigate from the outside so they can see the gaps on the sides.
The deepest lock is 76 feet. The locks are manual and are operated by staff in two central offices.
Before there were locks, boats had to be tracked with men and horses. Downstream with the current was easier but dangerous because of currents, shallows and floods. It used to take 3 weeks or more to move goods through. Now it takes 3 days.
It is said that the boatmen were normally non-swimmers so they would do everything they could to save the ship and the cargo. They also had painted oars covered with religious symbols to protect against hazards. I didn’t check to see if our crew can swim!
We saw two of the nuclear power plants on our trip. There are over 50 in France and five along the Rhône. They provide over 70% of the power needs in France. They also use wind power for about 20% and hydro-electric for about 8% and 2 % is solar. They sell electric power to neighboring countries. All except one of the locks is adjacent to the hydropower plants.
Sometimes, our guides give us information about the country, costs, trends, etc. One of our guides shared that she is charged about 52 euros a month for her health insurance. Hard for us to even imagine!
Another told us when we were in Normandy that one family lost 4 sons in the war. After that a law was passed to limit enrollment to 2 sons.
We also heard the story about photography being invented in France.
Generally they seem to be very proud of their country.
The stories of the French Revolution when the uprising against wealth, religion and corruption are both frightening and inspiring in their own way. Outside on the wall of Notre Dame there are 28 statues that people of the French Revolution thought were the French kings, so they took down the statues and cut off their heads, like what was done to Marie Antoinette. Later they found out those were the Kings of Judah not French monarchs. The heads were lost for 200 years until they were unexpectedly rediscovered in 1977 during a renovation. They were preserved and are on display in the Musee de Cluny in Paris and new statues had been reconstructed.
Our trip today took us for a walking tour of the twin villages of Tournon and Tain L’Hermitage.
Our guide was Elsa who came from the Tournon side of the river. She entertained us with stories of the rivalry between the two town. Mostly a friendly rivalry….
We walked from our ship in Tain L’Hermitage to Tournon across an old wooden bridge that is only for pedestrians. We could see the remains of castles and everywhere on the hills in the distance – many grapevines.
The bridge was designed by Marc Seguin in the 17th century. He also invented the hot air balloon
Here are some other sights in the town.
This house was built right onto the churchThe best view yet – the house attached to the church right over a CBD shopMurals in the churchI bought some candy in this shop run by two brothers
Valrhona chocolate has a whole complex back across the river but I wanted to buy from the small shop. Later I heard that it would have been twice as costly at Valrhona!
Japanese cherry blossom
After some time to walk around the town, we crossed back over the bridge to go to a local wine shop where we heard all about this area of the Rhône Valley and the types of grapes that are grown here.
We tasted one white and two reds and paired them with cheese and baguette slices.
With new friends Frank and Arlene
We walked back to the ship for lunch. We are sailing in the afternoon so there was an afternoon lecture on Vincent Van Gogh and a demonstration and tasting of Crepes Suzette. Delicious.
Frank took a turn at making a crepe
Norm went up to the top deck and had to duck down when the ship went under some low bridges…
Tonight we have evening entertainment with Chris the Crooner in the lounge. Kassima says he sounds like Michael Buble. We will see.
Tomorrow we will have a full day. In the morning we will be in Viviers where, in the morning we have Ardeches Villages Day with a variety of local experiences and in the afternoon – the one I have been most looking forward to – the truffle farm. Norm says the temperature will be 75!
Last night we were entertained after dinner by the husband and wife team of Magali and Jerome. They performed many popular songs and the dance floor was crowded! We have a large group of passengers from Brazil and they loved the selection of songs that they recognized and wow, can they dance!
Today we docked in Macon. It is a vibrant riverside town overlooking the Saone river. It is most known for its strong connection to the surrounding vineyards of southern Burgundy due to the mild climate. The town is more than 2000 years old.
We were not staying in Macon, though. With Andre as our guide, we headed to the small town of Beaune, about an hour away.
On the longer bus trips, we stop at a rest area and for sure the French know how to do rest areas! Large number of restrooms of course, but they are a bit of everything, store, coffee shop, restaurant, take away food, extensive gift shop, vending machines, bakery, etc. I remember they are like this in Italy too and probably other countries but nothing I have seen in the US can compare.
Even Starbucks
The sun was out today and it was just wonderful for our trip.
Andre stopped at an area called Puligny Montrachet near a vineyard to explain how the Romans introduced wine growing to this area over 2000 years ago. We have the monks to thank!
One of the wines Norm enjoys is Côtes du Rhône. Cotes means coast or incline and of course this is the area of the Rhône river.
We traveled on to Beaune, a small town brimming with history. Beaune was the seat of the warlike dukes of Burgundy until the 16th century. One of the things it is known for is its open air market, but it is not open today. It is a charming town and is also the home of the Fallot Dijon mustard factory. We took a walk to find it and did buy some.
This wine press is from the 16th century
Some sights in the town.
The wisteria is so beautiful everywhere we goThe bull is named beef bourguignon
Today is a long day and lunch was on our own. We wanted to explore so we again had our baguette sandwich picnic lunch right near this beautiful building.
The town was actually pretty quiet so we could walk through it with no problems at all.
Lots of layers are in order
After lunch we toured the Hospices de Beaune (Hotel Dieu Museum) which was a hospital initially to care for poor children. It was founded in 1443 by the chancellor of Burgundy, Nicolas Rodin and his wife, Guigone de Salins. What an amazing visit it was! Andre took his time to explain many features of the complex and how it has changed over the years.
Original slate roofs were a sign of wealth But then, times changed and ceramic tiles were used
We really didn’t know what to expect and this visit really was eye opening. Here are some pictures of the inside. Things have been changed inside too, in many rooms there was a second floor.
The contraption in the bed was a bed warmer. The hot water in the pot warmed the bed, then the whole thing was moved on to another bedIf you look at the top of this stained glass window with Christ and the two thieves on the cross, you see that on the right is the ‘bad” thief – with the devil, and on the right, the “good thief” with the angelMedical equipment of the dayPharmacyModel of the complexKitchen
There is a huge wine auction every year that supports the museum and the town. It has been taking place annually since 1859 on the third Sunday in November.
These paintings are by a Netherlandish artist, Rogier van der Weyden. It consists of oil on oak panels with parts later transferred to canvas. The first one has hinges and opens up to reveal the second. The imagery is really telling a story and it is worth looking up to read more, too much for me to write here. It depicts scenes from the Last Judgement.
The Hospice (not hospice as we think of it, but hospital) receives more than 300,000 visitors a year. It ceased functioning as a hospital in 1971. Hotel Dieu means House of God.
After the visit, we headed back to the ship in time to get ready for the dinner – again celebrating Uniworld’s 50th anniversary as we did on the last ship. Here’s the menu:
Delicious!
In the bar, it was Golden Night and we were invited to wear Gold attire, as we were on the last boat. I did have a dressy black, silver and gold top but we forgot to take a picture both nights. Here it is anyway without me in it!
Tomorrow we will be in Tain L’Hermitage and will visit the Twin Villages of Tournon and Tain L’Hermitage and have a tasting on wine from the region.
