We are still in Lyon but will be exploring the Beaujolais region, known as the “Pays d’Or – the land of golden stones”, named for the color of limestone used for its homes and castles this morning. Later we set sail on the Rhone River, heading south.
The breakfast buffet on board is excellent-lots of choices, the fruit is fresh and sweet, the bacon is always crispy and they put a small pot of hot coffee on each table. It is a good way to start the day.
Each morning brought three new “sweets” to the breakfast buffet.
There was a made to order egg/omelet station besides the usual breakfast buffet items.
The only tour offered today was a visit to a winery in the Beaujolais area which is located a few kilometers from Lyon. Yvonne chose to not go because she had an opportunity to get a massage on board the ship later this morning. Hint: We have learned that if you want to use the spa services your ship might offer you must book them as soon as you board the ship in order to get a time that does not conflict with other ship activities. I have my massage scheduled for later this afternoon when we set sail and there are no other conflicting activities. Another pleasant surprise was that AmaWaterways schedules their tours to leave at a decent hour. Today we were slated to leave at 9:30AM with a return by 12:30, just in time for lunch!
The countryside is lovely- green rolling hills, idyllic small villages, and many small vineyards, which surprised me as we are used to the very large vineyards we see in the US. The other surprising thing was that the vines are very short (1-2 feet) high, compared to the 3-4 foot height we see in the US.
Supposedly this was a real fossil.
French road signs.
All the buildings in this region of France have this “golden color” because of the limestone used in their construction.
This is the Château de Châtillon-d’Azergues, a castle that dates back to the 13th and 15th century. It is privately owned.
Château de Chessy, dating back to the 12th century, is nearby.
A smaller chateau in the area.
I was told houses have these shutters to keep out the cold in the winter and the heat in the summer.
A small building is commonly seen in the middle of fields, used to store farming equipment and provide a place for the worker to nap while working the vineyards.
A villa with its vineyards in Moire, France,
A small village church in Moire.
Each village has a cross to mark its entrance. It was used to let people know it was a religious community. There is also a cross at the exit of a village. These date back centuries.
The countryside in the Beaujolais region of France where we will be visiting a winery.
The village of Oingt.
More pastoral scenes.
The two brothers now run the winery.
Our local tour guide, Alex , and the spokesperson from the Morel winery, which we were visiting.
Their dog which is named “iPad”!
Fragrant lilacs in bloom.
The rocky soil is the key to the wine’s taste.
A single vine which was surprisingly short, compared to the vines of US wineries.
The view across the valley at the winery.
The chateau where the wine is made.
The wine cellar is located under the house, complete with a dirt floor.
A dish of very dry/hard cheese and sausage accompanied the wine tasting.
I was surprised to learn they bottle over 100,000 bottles a year, mostly reds which this area of France is known for.
The three wines we tasted- a white and two reds.
I came alone as Yvonne was busy having a massage on the boat.
An ancient stone fence.
One of their three plots of vines.
The village of Oingt which has a population of 680 people. It is in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France.
The whole region is filled with small plots of vines.
Another example of a storage shed in a vineyard.
A former chateau in Bagnols which is now a high end hotel serving people like Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
A church in the distance.
Returning to Lyon in time for lunch. This is one of many boats that serve as permanent homes on the Rhône River.
Today’s luncheon menu.
Each lunch came with a selection of appetizers of varying types.
But several of us opted for a good, old hamburger with fries!
An eclair for dessert.
We set set sail from Lyon at 12:45PM. There was a presentation on silk painting and printing by a local producer. which, obviously, was of great interest to the women on board. Others simply sat in the lounge or up on the sun deck to watch the world go by. Before long we sent through the first of the many locks we would encounter on this trip.
Our travel itinerary for the week.
The peaceful Rhône River near Lyon.
The shore was mostly lines with trees at this point. The other shore had hills.
We saw several different groupings of swans during our afternoon voyage.
The ruins of a fort on the hillside.
A presentation on silk weaving and painting.
Some of the silk scarves for sale. The picture was taken before the ladies had a chance to buy them.
Oh, oh! The ladies were on a shopping spree.
We leave Lyon and are sailing down the Rhône River when we encounter the first of many locks.
The captain maneuvering the boat into the narrow lock. There was often less than one foot clearance between the ship’s hull and the walls of the locks.
Yvonne raved about her back and shoulder massage and after I had my whole-body, 60 minute massage this afternoon, I would have to agree. The masseuse was a young lady, born and trained in Bulgaria. I am not an expert on massages but I have to say it was the best of the 4 or 5 massages I have had. And at a price of $80 it seemed a bargain to me.
We arrived at our port (Vienne) for the evening around 4 PM where we would spend the night. As we were docked right in the heart of the town I went for a short walk before the evening cocktail hour.
Arrival in Vienne.We were docked right in the center of town.
The 16th century Cathedral of St. Maurice in Vienne.
Inside the church.
Stained glass windows in the church.
Ancient door of the church.
Side street in Vienne.
A small park near the waterfront.
One of several blooming flower beds in the park.
The evening routine was the same. The “Sip and Sail” cocktail hour is held from 6-7 when the free drink of the day and wine and beer are offered to the guests. We are then entertained by the resident piano player, Roberto. Around 6:45 our cruise manager, Helen, would brief us on the activities for the next day and the dining room opened at 7 PM for the “open seating” dinner. There were several “booths” for parties of four available and we soon found these were a favorite of ours.
Helene made a brief presentation before dinner discussing France. We all laughed at this definition of a Frenchman!
Another laugh as she described what exercise meant to the French!
Lamb chops with a terrific sauce.
Yvonne chose the fish option.
Enjoying crepe Suzette for dessert.
Entertainment after dinner tonight was provided by a local lady who sang many French tunes.
The bridge was lighted as evening approaches. The tower on the left was used to control the river in ancient times, I.e. collect tolls from people using the river.
Commonly cruises leave the day you board the ship. This cruise started with the ship spending the night in Lyon. We awoke to a beautiful sunny day with a projected temperature of 70 degrees later in the day.
Breakfast cups of varying combinations of yogurt and fruit. There were plenty of other breakfast options available.
River cruises commonly include free excursions; we only had to select which one wanted to go on. AmaWaterways wisely has offered similar sightseeing tours that were geared to your energy level-a regular level, an active level and a late starter level. Today’s sightseeing tour focused on the sights in Lyon. There was an alternative tour that focused on touring the local market (Les Halles) in the city and the last option was a bike tour using the dozen or so bikes that the ship carries on its voyages.
We had all chosen the “regular” four hour city tour which involved a bus ride to some of the sights and a short (45 minutes) walking tour in old town, with some free time in old town. We were all proved “Whisperers” which allowed us to hear what the local tour guide was telling us without having to be standing next to her. These are a marvelous addition to making tours more enjoyable. We first rode to the top of the hill surrounding the city to view the city below and see the marvelous Catholic basilica located there.
A plaza with the ancient Roman well still standing.
Remains of a Roman amphitheater in Lyon.
Blooming wisteria.
The Lyon Basilica of Notre Dame Fourvière, built from 1872 -1896 at the site of a former Roman forum of Trajan. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
A blind accordion player outside the Basilica.
Separation of church and state? Polticians wanted a political symbol built near the basilica and made sure it is a bit taller than the church!
People would tie ribbons with their prayers to trees located outside the church.
Views of the city below from the Basicila overlook.
Entrance to the basilica. The smooth stone facings on the lower part of the building are the result of running out of money to carve more elaborate figures.
The interior of the beautiful basilica.
Inside the church are 6 very large mosaics.
Part of the ceiling.
One of the few paintings in the basilica. The lion in the painting denotes the French monarchy.
The lower, smaller church dedicated to St. Joseph lies under the basilica.It is surprisingly large.
Statue of St Joseph holding Baby Jesus in the lower church.
It was then back down the hill where we walked through the old town area of the city. Like most old towns this one features narrow cobble stone streets, shops and many small restaurants and coffee shops-a delightful place to wander and experience. Surprisingly we learned that Lyon had/has a flourishing silk industry that dates back to the time of King Louis XI (1466). By the 16th century Lyon was the silk capital of Europe and at one time over 14,000 looms were in use.
The highlight in old town was walking through some secret passageways called “Traboules” that have existed here since the days of the French Revolution. They were established as a means of getting from one street to another without having to walk a longer way on the few streets that existed. At one time there were over 400 in the city; today about 50 still remain in use. The Traboules played an important role during WWII as the French resistance movement used them extensively to hide from the Germans.
College students and workers having lunch while lounging on the river bank. We were told that last week this was three feet under water because of heavy rains.
Church of St George.
Buildings on the waterfront in Old town.
Agatha, our local tour guide in Lyon.
Oh, those French bakeries!!!!
Preparing to enter the famous secret Lyon passages called “Traboules”.
Walking through one of the remaining public Traboules.
A courtyard in the middle of a Traboule offers acess to multiple buildings. That is how French resistance fighters hid from the Germans.
Hand painting a silk piece.
Street sign and symbol.
A medieval door in old town Lyon.
Circular towers were built to show off the wealth of the owners.
Now that is an old door!
A painted silk covering.
Agatha’s scandalous purse!
Signage for a local bistro offering lunch.
Pistachio and chocolate boules being sold in this shop. The smells of baking products made a stop irresistible!
Chefs at work making new boules.
One of many bistros located in old town. They were just beginning to open for the day when we were there.
The river side pub where we stopped for a Coke and an excuse to eat the chocolate boule we just bought!
Our chocolate boule which did not last long!
There is a tree lined promenade on the river.
The AmaKristina.
These river boats are quite long!
We were back to our boat by 1 PM, just in time for a sit down lunch before we retired to our rooms to take a nap, read a book, or like me, to sit on the upper deck and work on this blog and watching the river flow by. Life is tough!
John relaxing on the top deck, working his sudoku.
A boat that had been rafted next to us is leaving.
A bit of trivia: There are 120 passengers on this cruise and the ship capacity is 156. The ship, built in 2017, is 443 ft long, with a beam of 38 feet.
There is a cocktail hour every evening at 6 PM with the briefing on what will happen tomorrow. Tonight we signed up for dinner at the Chef’s Table specialty restaurant, offered to each passenger at least once per cruise and featuring a special 7 course tasting menu. We did not know what to expect but it turned out to be a very pleasant meal as the 7 courses were really bite-sized portions, so the meal was not overwhelming.
Complimentary Cosmopolitans feartured at today’s cocktail hour.
Our flamboyant cruise manager, Helene.
The seven course tasting menu.
Our view as we ate.
Our chef and wait staff at the Chef’s Table, which features a 7 dish fixed tasting menu
A lovely Chardonnay from France.
Shaped tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.
Shrimp appetizer.
Cauliflower soup with a ginger oil splash. Surprisingly it was one of my favorite tastings.
Salmon trout. Yes, there is such a species, from Scandanavia.
Our dinner at the Chef’s Table.
The final plate- medium rare steak.
The dessert medley
There was an after dinner French singer who entertained us by singing American blues tunes in the lounge. He accompanied himself on guitar and he was very good with it. For a moment I thought we were back in Chicago or Memphis!
Blues singer, Tomek Dziano, entertaining us after dinner.
The museum at night. I wish we had the time to visit it.
A nearby bridge lighted at night.
It is not uncommon to have other ships “raft” up with you when in port. A new one has joined us tonight. You might have to walk across a ship to get to/from shore.
Then it was a bed call for those of us who are not used to staying up to all hours of the night. The ship spends the night here in Lyon and will be here until mid-day tomorrow.
A bright, sunny , brisk ( 47 degrees) morning greeted us after a good night sleep. We are ready to explore! Since we cannot board our ship until 3 PM I had suggested a short one hour boat sightseeing ride on the nearby Saone River that flows through the downtown area of Lyon as a quick overview of the city. Our ship will stay in the city overnight and tomorrow we will be given a city tour of Lyon so I did not want to duplicate the activity.
Lyon is surprisingly large. It is the third largest city in France with a population of 522,000. It is noted for its universities with over 200,000 students (the second largest student population in France) and is noted for its software industry with a specific interest in video gaming. In ancient times Lyon was the capital of the Gauls during the Roman Empire era (5th century BCE-5 th century CE). Trivia: we used to use BC and AD to designate time. These days it is more common to use BCE(Before Common Era) and CE(Common Era).
Our hotel location required a cab ride to the city center where the scenic boat ride was located on the Saône (pronounced “Sone” River, which is smaller than the Rhône River where our river cruise will commence. So Lyon is blessed to have two separate rivers which meet near the city center. It was a pleasant one hour, narrated tour to see the city from the prospective of the river.
The Saone River in downtown Lyon. It converges with the larger Rhône River in Lyon.
The basicila on top of the hill behind old town, Lyon.
John and I started the 1 hour ride outside, but retreated to the warmer inside about half way through the trip.
The is graffiti everywhere, even on chimneys of homes!
Scenes along the Saone River. Note the graffiti on the chimneys.
The cathedral of Lyon.
Church of St. George,completed in 1848.
Very old remnants of the earlier civilization.
Musée des Confluences is a science centre and anthropology museum. Most people refer to it as the “Millennium Falcon”.
The “Green” building, designed by Jakob and MacFarlane, is the home of Euronews
The “orange” building, also designed by Jakob and MacFarlane, as a complement to the green building.
Example of a live abroad vessel on the river.
The iconic University Bridge, opened in 1903.
As the tour ended at 12:15 PM we decided to grab a quick lunch before returning to the hotel, and we found ourselves in an idyllic small restaurant that made crepes on a small side street, thanks to google maps. It was a classic French bistro that we all enjoyed.
The funky crepe shop on a small side street where we had lunch.
Inside the crepe restaurant.
Jambon, egg and cheese crepe. We also had a bowl of vegetable soup
I learned that Lyon did have Uber so I called one up using the app rather than calling for a cab to take us back to our hotel. It was significantly less expensive and I was delighted to find our driver was a young college student who spoke marvelous English so we learned a bit about the city and university life as we returned to the hotel.
Because of my status with Marriott we were allowed to have a late 2:30 PM checkout which simplified our lives. The hotel had arranged for us to be picked up and we were promptly taken to our ship, AMAKristina, docked on the Rhône River near the downtown area. Checkin was quick and efficient and we were soon in our rooms where we unpacked and stored our clothes before setting out to explore our new surroundings. I was surprised at how long and modern the ship is.
At 6PM we gathered in the lounge for the mandatory safety briefing followed by meeting some of the ship’s staff. Drinks are reasonable priced-my Hendricks gin and tonic was 8 Euros and soft drinks are free. There was a quick briefing about tomorrow’s activities before we were excused to head to the dining room for a 7 PM dinner.
Appetizers served during the welcome cocktail hour.
Our cruise manager, Helene Bihari, from France.
The chef and hotel staff.
Our young captain, Danny Boucher of France.
Tonight’s dinner menu. Wine is served with dinner.
Mushroom soup.
The short rib entree.
Interesting dessert.
There were no other activities this evening so we all retired to our rooms to get a good night’s sleep.
We are currently sitting in the Lufthansa Business lounge in Frankfurt waiting for our connecting flight to Lyon, where our river cruise begins. The flight from Seattle was pleasant and unexciting- which is what one hopes when flying! It was 9.5 hours long and we arrived in Frankfurt on time at 9 AM local time. Neither of us slept much as the flight left Seattle at 2PM, not a conducive time to fall asleep, but we are not fatigued at this point. The flight to Lyon is only about one hour long and I imagine we will catnap on the way.
Our flight details.
Our luncheon menu on Lufthansa.
White wines offered during lunch. I drank the German riesling.
Thumbs up for the riesling.
For red wine lovers.
I had the sea bass lunch option.
Yvonne had the short ribs and she raved about the sauce.
Cheesecake for dessert.
An interesting breakfast option( buckwheat pudding with watermelon). Unfortunately I began to eat it before taking this picture. It was really good.
Got to love the German attention to detail and order.
As it turned out the Lyon flight was only 50 minutes so we did not get much of a nap! Sunny and windy when we arrived with a temperature of 57 degrees. The taxi ride from the airport was a bit pricey ($75) but it was in a fancy Mercedes sedan so I cannot complain. There were fields of yellow plants we saw from the air (still trying to find out what they are), flowers blooming along the roadside and the trees already leafed out. Spring has definitely arrived in Provence.
Because we are near Dijon we think these are fields of mustard seed.
We had to laugh as when we checked into our hotel there was another couple at the reception desk who happened to be our travel companions, John and Jane Seifert, who had traveled from Bonita Springs, FL to Paris and then taken the train to Lyon. Amazing that we arrived exactly at the same time. We all felt we needed a nap and shower before meeting for dinner tonight at the hotel.
An ultramodern Marriott hotel, amidst a conference center in Lyon. It is the most modern, alternative design Marriott than I have ever seen.
Our travel companions, Jane and John Seifert , old friends from Wisconsin.
Can’t eat at a French restaurant without some of their marvelous breads.
A Croque Monsieur
The beginning of our Provence visit has gone flawlessly. Hopefully the rest of the trip will follow suit!
“April in Paris”is a common enticing invitation. April in Provence hopefully will be as enticing as that is where we are headed today. It all began with a call in 2023 from long-time Wisconsin friends (John and Jane Seifert, who live in Florida these days) asking if we would be interested in a river cruise in Europe sometime in 2024. Not one to pass up an opportunity to travel with friends I quickly agreed, and when asked what might I suggest I suggested a river cruise in southern France, an area we had not explored before. When I found a cruise that also offered a three day extension to Barcelona, Spain, John and Jane quickly agreed as they have never been to Barcelona, which is one of those magical cities in Europe. Although we have been to Barcelona several times this trip would offer us the opportunity to visit the beautiful Benedictine Monastery at Montserrat, located in the mountains outside of Barcelona, something we have never managed to do while in Barcelona. And I added an extra day so we can visit the country of Andorra, located about three hours from Barcelona. Doing so will add country #104 to my list of UN countries visited.
We enjoy river cruising, having done most of the rivers in Europe as well as rivers in Egypt, China and the US in the past twenty years. This river cruise will be our 11th. We like them because the ships are smaller (~130-150 passengers) and you sail through idyllic vistas, stopping in small towns and villages along the way. When in port excursions are made to nearby points of interest. It is a more laid back mode of travel and is very different than cruising on ocean vessels, which seem to be getting larger and larger over time.
This trip (Colors of Provence) will be with AmaWaterways on the Rhône River in southern France. We have sailed with AmaWaterways before. Surprisingly our previous trip with them was with John and Jane in April, 2007, when we explored Holland and its tulip fields. You can see the specifics of this trip on:
We fly today from Seattle to Lyon, via Frankfurt. It turns out this was much cheaper than flying into Paris and taking a train to Lyon where we will board our ship. We are doing our usual itinerary: fly in a day early so we can readjust our time zone clock and hopefully avoid any issues with travel interruptions. We will meet John and Jane at our Lyon hotel and do a bit of sightseeing before boarding our ship on Thursday, April 11. You are welcome to follow us on our latest venture.
