Rhone River Cruse Part 1
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Published: November 30th 2021
The next phase of our trip was a river cruise on the Rhone River in Provence, France. We were on the Ama Kristina which is one of the ships on Ama Waterways line. We started in Avignon and will finish in Lyon, north of here by about 150 miles.
There are twelve locks along this section of the river and that was the major design constraint to the Ama Kristina…it was designed to have eleven inches on either side when it went through the locks along the river. Needless to say, it is a tight fit. The top deck is called the Sun Deck but it is too cold to be out there much. Besides the sundeck, the bow has two passenger levels, the lounge, and the dining room. The midships has three levels of passenger cabins. In addition, on the lowest level is a massage room, a hair salon, and a workout room.
On Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) Janet and I took a taxi from the hotel to the boat and John walked…we arrived about the same time. Upon arrival, we spent a few minutes in the lounge and I decided to stay there while John and Janet went
Thanksgiving dinner
Yes, that is turkey, gravy, stuffing and mashed sweet potatoesback to the Palace of the Popes and to the Bridge of Avignon. The Palace of the Popes has an interesting electronic viewing system so by holding up a small device like an iPad, you could see what the room looked like during the time of the popes. Then they went to the previously mentioned Bridge of Avignon. This bridge is famous solely because of a very simple children’s song. If you do not know the song (or if you want to relive your French childhood) you can find the song at
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At dinner that night we had Thanksgiving dinner but it was a French Chef’s idea of Thanksgiving dinner so although we had turkey and stuffing, it was a very unusual one.
On day two of the cruise, all three of us decided to take the bike ride. About 9:30 we went on to the Deck and picked out a bicycle and a helmet. We rode about fourteen miles in just under 2 hours following a Rails to Trails path first down river then turning around and going back. It was a nice ride.
We got back to the ship about noon and devoured a
lunch that we had justifiably earned. That afternoon we had signed up for a tour of Les Baux, a nearby mountain town. When we first arrived there, we stopped at Carrieres de Lumieres which was a 2000-year-old limestone quarry. Every year, for the past 20-ish years, they created an exhibit on an artist and showed many, many paintings spread over the many walls of the cave. This year the artist was Cezanne. Next, we took the bus was about 1/4 mile and stopped at a small town called Les Baux. It was on the top of the hill and rather windy so quite chilly. Plus, everything was closed due to the end of the season so other than nice views, it was dull. It was, however where they discovered the mineral called bauxite (Les Baux…Bauxite) which was used in the manufacture of aluminum.
In the morning of day three, we took the Taste of Avignon walking tour. We walked into town following our guide like dutiful ducklings, through the main square and to the market hall (Les Halles). This was the same place we bought our picnic lunch a couple of days ago. After wandering a bit, our guide
took us to an olive stand where we had a green olive paste, a black olive paste, a garlic pastes and tomato paste, all on melba toast rounds. Then we tasted some wine and cheese with bread. The winemaker owned the stall and his mother worked there so we got to ask him many questions about French wine. For instance, we learned that if the wine says “domaine” then all the wine comes from that winery but frequently, wine makers will sell their wine to a larger winery who will blend the wine. (I said, “mix the wine” and he said, a bit affronted, “we don’t mix wine, we blend wine.”) Our final stop was a sweet shop where we got to try several different sweets such as cookies, chocolate covered candied orange peel. Our favorite was the chocolate “olives.” They looked like olives but were actually chocolate covered almonds.
We had a quick lunch upon returning and then headed for Pont du Gard. The Pont du Gard was part of an aqueduct built by the Romans 2000 years ago. The aqueduct was 50 km long and was built to supply water to the city of Nimes. The highlight
John and Stray Cat
Is Cassie jealous? of the aqueduct is the Pont du Gard, a three storied arched bridge the took the water over the Gordo River. The estimate the bridge took 5 years to build and the entire aqueduct took 15 years. Some interesting facts are:
• The aqueduct was so well designed it dropped just 25 cm for every km it traveled
• They used three different limestone quarries to get the stone
• In 2002, there was a severe flood along that river and the only bridge that survived the flood was Pont du Gard…all the modern bridges were washed away
• The French built a road alongside the Pont du Gard, sharing the foundations of the original bridge.
On Day 4, John and Janet took the excursion while I relaxed on the boat. First, they took the bus to the town of Grignon which was a nice medieval town but one can only get excited about so many medieval towns. The second half of the tour was much more enjoyable. They went to a black truffle farm. First, they saw how the farmer trained the truffle dogs. Step 1, the farmer trained the dog to like truffles. Step 2, they trained them
Truffle Dog
Hey Amy A...looks like a poodle to like a treat more than truffles. Step 3, they trained the dogs to associate the treat with finding a truffle. Up next was a demonstration of the dog hunting truffles; most were put there for the dog to find but the dog also found one truffle that was an actual find.
We spent the afternoon sailing then in the evening, we were at the Chef’s Table. The CT is in the stern of the boat and is an alternative to the main dining room. Tonight, there were seven courses titled such things as Tease the Senses (Lemon Grass Soup), From the Rivers (Skin Grilled Pike Perch with Celery Mash) and From Heaven (Lemon Pie, Frozen Yoghurt, and fresh berries).
We are now halfway through our cruise; I hope you are looking forward to reading about Lyon as much as we are looking forward to seeing it.
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Richard W BEDAL
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ENJOYING YOUR BLOG!!!
Hello Beth, I'm enjoying your blog.