SS Catherine, Lyon to Avignon 3/22/15 - Live

[ewizabeff]

Glad you're back so we can relive the experience through your daily summaries!

[jpalbny]

Thanks for the comments so far... A few answers and non-answers:

 

Barrheadlass - we flew through ATL because the timing happened to work out better vis-à-vis leaving Friday night and returning on Sunday. But yeah, it was a long flight! It's actually faster to go ALB-DTW-CGD but for some reason the timing didn't work out on our dates.

 

To everyone who is interested in the premium alcohol list, you're OK in my book. Feel free to keep discussing... I posted the list in the Roll Call thread too.

 

whatnot, I never saw a premium wine list - though I never did think to ask. And the internet remained spotty throughout. It was a little frustrating at times.

 

caviargal, we didn't look at any spa services so I can't tell you how much they cost. Sorry!

[jpalbny]

Sunday 3/22 - Lyon and Embarkation Day!

 

We were up well before 7 this morning, ready to head from Paris to Lyon. We had our TGV tickets in hand, and were excited to have the chance to finally ride the train! Thought about taking a stroll around the neighborhood, but decided on a leisurely breakfast instead. We were the only ones there for a while; it was a nice spread and fun to have it to ourselves!

 

We checked out about 10:00 and headed to the Metro; from there to the RER and we made it to Gare de Lyon earlier than we needed to. Public transport in Paris was still free today so we're saving money left and right! The Gare de Lyon was a nice blend of old and new; the main structure has a soaring steel and glass roof, which reminds me of the old conservatories that were popular in Europe at the end of the 19th century - but the inside was very modern and efficient. We hopped on our train, settled in, and pulled out on time.

 

The ride down was uneventful, though it is a bit unnerving when two trains pass at full speed. The other train seems very close! And at full speed, they pass by in a fraction of a second. It's a fun way to travel, and soon we arrived in Lyon. After a few minutes' stop at Lyon Part-Dieu station we continued on to Perrache, which is closer to the boat dock. We figured we'd just walk to the boat rather than taking the tram, as it doesn't look too far.

 

We left the station, walked out, and headed for the bridge spanning the Rhone. A beautiful sight awaited us! The SS Catherine was right at the pier where we expected her to be!

 

 

Here's the walking route for those of you who want to try this at home...

 

 

And a wider-angle view; we're on the opposite bank from the boat in this picture:

 

 

A few locals turned out to greet us:

 

 

It was an easy walk to the ship; once crossing the bridge, all you do is turn left and head down the stairs to the quai. A nice easy walking path, past the Avalon ship docked behind us, to the Catherine where the staff were waiting for us. They took our bags, we checked in, and about 30 seconds later we were heading upstairs to lunch. Couldn't have been much easier!

 

The lunch buffet was tasty - plenty of wine to go around, and several appetizing choices including a tasty Beef Borgogne. They had initially told us that the rooms wouldn't be ready until after 3PM, but as we were eating lunch, the Hotel Manager came by to tell us that the rooms were ready early. That makes sense; since this was the first cruise of the year, the rooms should have been ready early. We unpacked and enjoyed the view from our cabin:

 

 

With that, it was time to see what we could do on our own in Lyon for a few hours. We just have to make it back in time to the ship by 5:30 for the safety drill. I downloaded a mobile app for my phone that has a map of Lyon's public transport system, used the ship's Wi-Fi to sign in and calculate a route to the Roman Ruins, and then we set out to explore!

[jpalbny]

Sunday 3/22, Lyon - continued:

 

After a nice lunch and a quick unpacking we were ready to go. The room was nice and there was enough closet space but the bed is close to the closets. With the closet doors open it was hard to move about. I'll post a picture later that might illustrate this.

 

We walked up from the pier to the Quai Claude Bernard tram stop which took about 2 minutes. The ticket machine was easy to use and we used up some change buying two tickets for €1.80 each. Tickets in hand, we jumped on the tram, transferred to a Metro, and then boarded the funicular to get to the top of Fourvière Hill for the cathedral and the views. As we exited the funicular, the cathedral was hard to miss:

 

 

And the scenic viewpoint of the with the Saone River stretched out below us was very pretty. From this hill, we're looking out over the Saone, then the Lyon Peninsula, then the Rhone (though it's hard to see the Rhone from this point of view). The two tall buildings are on the other side of the peninsula, beyond the Rhone. The one on the right is "le crayon" (the pencil), a former bank building that is now a hotel. The one on the left is still under construction but will replace le crayon as the tallest building in Lyon.

 

 

We headed back down the hill a little bit to the Gallo-Roman museum. Gallo refers to Gaul, not wine... As we arrived there were nice views of the Roman theater. We figured we'd tour that after the museum, as the museum was higher up than the theater. No sense of walking downhill to the theater, then uphill to the museum if we didn't have to! I had planned this route to avoid climbing.

 

 

The museum was much more extensive than we'd thought, especially since the admission was a relative bargain at €4 per person. They had some pretty extensive collections of carvings, mosaics, and other items of historical interest. I wasn't sure why there was a bronze statue of a horse's hind end, though:

 

 

A few nicely carved sarcophagi:

 

 

Next we explored their fantastic collection of mosaics. We really like looking at them!

[jpalbny]

The museum is built into a hillside and you start at the top. The exhibits are visited by walking slowly down a series of spiraling ramps. The mosaic work is cleverly displayed so that you can see first some of the larger ones through viewing holes, or from platforms on the floor above (where you can get good pictures). Then when you descend to the floor where the mosaic is located, you can get next to it to look more closely at the details.

 

One of my favorites was this large specimen depicting a chariot race:

 

 

I'd like to have a house where something like that would fit in! The details were neat too; here's two chariots going neck and neck for the finish line - manes flying, hooves in perfect sync at full gallop:

 

 

Unfortunately, chariot racing wasn't always this pretty! This looks like a DNF.

 

 

Here's a mosaic of our favorite Roman God, Dionysius, riding a black panther:

 

 

And a few more interesting specimens - great details!

 

 

Lastly, a "drunken Hercules" stands supported by others. That's what happens when you spend too much time with Dionysius, I guess. Silenus, on the far left, looks amused. The facial expressions are very amusing.

 

 

One other cool thing about this museum is that the hillside location allows for large viewing windows that overlook the theater ruins. This was a well-planned museum with an excellent layout, and we though it was well worth the stop. But, it's time to head out to the theatre ruins so that we can make it back to the boat in time for the safety drill.

[jpalbny]

3/22 Lyon, continued:

 

We headed out from the museum and down the road to the Roman Theatre ruins. You can climb all over and spend as much time as you want, but compared to others we've seen recently, this one was average. The seating has been restored and it's used for performances now. And it's a nice place to hang out and catch a few rays of sunshine, as many are doing here!

 

 

This picture shows the top floor of the museum (flat concrete structure atop the hill) and gives you an idea of its layout. It spirals down under the hill. The large windows in the side of the hill are on the museum's lower floors.

 

 

Next to the theatre, there is a smaller odeon. After a while these all start to look similar, but this one had a nice marble stage. Must have been restored too!

 

 

So with that, we headed down the remains of an old Roman road to catch the funicular back to the metro to the tram to the boat. Phew! No worries, it sounds more complicated than it actually was, and I had the route saved on my phone just in case we got lost.

 

 

Here's the funicular coming down the hill to pick us up:

 

 

Once we got back to the boat, we had time to head over to the lounge and prepare for the safety drill.

 

 

Sailaway would be coming up soon and we were excited to see the views from our nice cabin, with the full-length sliding window...

[jpalbny]

3/22, Lyon - wrapping up:

 

We enjoyed the sailaway from our room. We put the window down, sat in our "balcony" type sitting-area, and enjoyed the sunset view as we pulled out of Lyon at 6:00. We cruised down the Rhone for a few minutes, then turned around at the confluence with the Saone, and headed northward up the Saone to tomorrow's scheduled stop in Burgundy.

 

As we cruised up the Saone, the sights got very pretty. Here's the Basilica that we had visited earlier today, Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière:

 

 

And the Palais de Justice, with its front façade of white marble columns, looking like a Greco-Roman temple. Up on the hill you can see just how high up the Basilica sits.

 

 

There are many bridges over this section of the Saone; this one up ahead of us is a footbridge -

 

 

which leads to this interesting place, Place de l'Homme de la Roche (place of the man of the rock). A fitting description, I guess!

 

 

The view from our top-floor cabin, as we passed under some of the lowest bridges, was very interesting. It almost seemed that you could reach out and touch the bridge - but instead, I found myself wanting to duck!

 

 

The sunset colors were nice tonight - but dinner time was approaching. It's been almost 5 hours since we last ate, so we can't be late!

 

 

Dinner tonight was quite nice. I went with the chef's suggestion of a poached egg in bacon/mushroom sauce (oeuf en meurette), Dijon mustard soup (sounds weird, but was tasty) and my main course was a delicious roasted chicken. Chris wasn't up for trying mustard soup so she had chicken soup and a nice dish with grouper for her entrée. Dessert was delicious crepes. The included white wine was a Sauvignon Blanc; didn't try the red.

 

A word about the dining room - there are round 4-tops, and rectangular 6-tops along the outer walls, and a few more rectangular tables in the back center. We didn't see bigger tables but probably in the back center portion, the tables could be put together to seat 8 or maybe 10. The 6-tops were technically a square 2-top next to a rectangular 4-top, but the tables were so close together that they functioned like a 6-top - there was at most 6 inches of space between the tables. As was our experience before on SS Antoinette, you wander in and seat yourself.

 

After dinner we spent some time in the lounge seeing what the musical entertainment was like - Ulf from Sweden, and his wife Rowena from the Philippines, were the act and they seemed like fun. A little dancing, then off to bed so that we can enjoy tomorrow's activities. We visit Burgundy tomorrow for a taste of the local food and wine.

Edited April 1, 2015 by jpalbny

[jklc123]

Loving following along your trip. From your photos I assume your stateroom or suite is on the port side. We will be on the starboard side so will not see Vieux Lyon on the sail toward Burgundy, right?

[eyeu]

can't wait to follow your trip...love your photos and dialogue..keep up the great work, jp and chris!

rick

[jpalbny]

Thanks, Rick. My Picasa program is being a real pest this morning so organizing the next batch of pictures is taking way too much time. I'll get there...

 

jklc123, you are correct that we were on the port side. Vieux Lyon is on the right bank of the Saone so we had a great view while sailing northward. You would see it on the way back from Macon but it would be late at night. Depending on which direction you're going on this cruise, your timing would be different, though. We went Lyon to Avignon.

 

The top deck of SS Catherine is very nice and open though, so head there if you can't see what you want to see from your room.

[jpalbny]

Monday 3/23 – Macon and Beaune – A Taste of Burgundy!

 

Slept a little later this morning but still had time for a nice relaxing breakfast before our drive to Beaune. It will be a bit of a drive today; 50 miles / 80 km. They will show us some of the countryside so we'll spend part of our time on the back roads on the way there. The one odd thing about this “included” tour is that we have free time for lunch on our own. We don't mind because we're always game to eat on our own – and we didn't hear anyone else complaining about it either – but it seems odd for an all-inclusive line to set up a tour this way.

 

We headed out on the A6 motorway, and stopped halfway there for a bathroom break at one of the rest areas. That may not sound too exciting unless you've ever driven the motorways in France... The rest areas are pretty neat! Lots of good food, and decent facilities. As an aside, we once drove from Nice to Paris in one day, and ate very nicely from rest area food that day. We didn't need any of the food this time, but I enjoyed looking at all of the odd foods that were for sale in the convenience store. Lays BBQ potato chips are familiar to me but those other flavors were fun to imagine. Wish they'd sold a sampler package...

 

 

We turned off the motorway and headed out into some secondary roads, then started driving through small towns that were definitely not built for tour buses! We felt a little like invaders, rumbling through these tiny towns, but our driver was excellent and we passed without incident. At one point she had to stop the bus, and go find the driver of a truck that was stopped in front of a store, so he could move out or our way. Here's a traffic circle in the village of Puligny-Montrachet:

 

 

And another little park in the center of Meursault:

 

 

We stopped off at a scenic viewpoint just outside of Monthelie – there was still a little chill in the air but the sun was coming out, and the mist was burning off the valley below. It looked like a gorgeous day shaping up:

 

 

The trees are still pretty dormant but the grass is much greener here (I mean that literally) than it is at home:

 

 

One more small village to pass through before we get to Beaune – here is Pommard:

 

 

We arrived in Beaune, found a place for the bus to drop us off, and followed our guide through the gates in the city wall for our walking tour. The sun is really shining nicely now, and the sky is a beautiful deep blue. Looks incredible!

[tarheel423]

I'm really enjoying hearing about your trip since we will be there in May. I think you mentioned taking one of the optional excursions. I would be interested in hearing what you (or other passengers) thought about the optional excursions. I'm trying to decide if we want to take any of them.

[jpalbny]

I'm really enjoying hearing about your trip since we will be there in May. I think you mentioned taking one of the optional excursions. I would be interested in hearing what you (or other passengers) thought about the optional excursions. I'm trying to decide if we want to take any of them.

 

We took the optional excursion to Pont du Gard and also the Truffle Farm / Chateauneuf du Pape wine tasting. We had $300 OBC from AMEX Platinum, which worked out to €270 with the incredible exchange rate... So they ended up being covered by the OBC with a little room to spare.

 

The Pont du Gard excursion was great and appropriately priced. The Chateauneuf du Pape was OK but a little overpriced IMO. The truffle farm portion was very entertaining, but the wine tasting was so-so.

 

People who did the Olive Farm / Les Baux optional expedition liked it, and the optional tour in Beaune received excellent reviews as well.

 

I'll post more details about the two we took as I get to them chronologically. I should get to them by May, but it is a slow process!

[tarheel423]

Thanks for the info. I'll look forward to your additional posts.

[caviargal]

<We took the optional excursion to Pont du Gard and also the Truffle Farm / Chateauneuf du Pape wine tasting. We had $300 OBC from AMEX Platinum, which worked out to €270 with the incredible exchange rate... So they ended up being covered by the OBC with a little room to spare.

 

The Pont du Gard excursion was great and appropriately priced. The Chateauneuf du Pape was OK but a little overpriced IMO. The truffle farm portion was very entertaining, but the wine tasting was so-so.>

 

I am surprised to read that these were optional tours, carrying an additional charge. We did the truffle farm and Chateauneuf du Pape with AMA last fall and these were included, as was Pont du Gard.

 

I thought Uniworld was more inclusive than AMA but apparently not when it comes to excursions.

[jpalbny]

I am surprised to read that these were optional tours, carrying an additional charge. We did the truffle farm and Chateauneuf du Pape with AMA last fall and these were included, as was Pont du Gard.

 

I thought Uniworld was more inclusive than AMA but apparently not when it comes to excursions.

 

Interesting to hear about these differences. We noticed a lot more optional excursions this time when compared to last year's Castles on the Rhine. Maybe it's the itinerary, or a shift in how things will look going forward. Some of the optionals did seem like they could have been included... I am glad that we had OBC!

 

For the C du P and truffle farm, we left the boat after lunch in Viviers. The boat sailed south in the afternoon, and made an extra stop near C du P to pick us up, before sailing on to Avignon. I can see how that would cost extra...

[caviargal]

Interesting to hear about these differences. We noticed a lot more optional excursions this time when compared to last year's Castles on the Rhine. Maybe it's the itinerary, or a shift in how things will look going forward. Some of the optionals did seem like they could have been included... I am glad that we had OBC!

 

For the C du P and truffle farm, we left the boat after lunch in Viviers. The boat sailed south in the afternoon, and made an extra stop near C du P to pick us up, before sailing on to Avignon. I can see how that would cost extra...

 

AMA did the same, making a special stop to pick up passengers that went to C du P.

 

Looks like I should investigate some DIY options in these ports since Uniworld seems to charge extra for more excursions than we are accustomed to paying for. If I am going to pay extra, I prefer to be independent than in a group.

 

Carrières de Lumières was also included at no cost. We chose the Palace instead and so wish we had checked out Carrières de Lumières as it got rave reviews from our friends. I am going to try and figure out to how to visit on our own in July.

[jpalbny]

Monday, 3/32 – Beaune, continued:

 

We set off for a short (guided) walking tour of Beaune, but first we stopped off at the local recycling station. For a wine-centric town in Burgundy, you'd think they'd plan better for the anticipated volume of glass recycling, no? Our tour guide Anabel points out the irony here...

 

 

We walked through a few public squares and narrow streets, then it was time to explore on our own. This small street looked interesting – at the end of the street, we found a nice cafe/restaurant that we marked in our memory banks for lunch later.

 

 

As it wasn't lunch time yet, we decided to push on, so we visited the Basilique Notre-Dame a few blocks away. Amazing how many of them there are! It seems like every other Basilica is named Notre Dame.

 

 

Look at that gorgeous sky!

 

 

Since it's so lovely here, we figured we'd head to a few more sights before stopping for lunch. There's snow on the ground back home (it snowed more this past weekend) so we're ecstatic to see green grass, blue sky, and sunshine.

[Got2Cruise]

Wonderful blog and photos, thanks for posting.

[jpalbny]

Monday, 3/23 – Beaune, continued: (No, not 3/32...oops!)

 

We headed out to the edge of town for a look at some flora and to walk on the city walls. Some of the trees were in full bloom already,

 

 

And many were still bare - but they formed a beautiful silhouette against the gorgeous blue sky!

 

 

The city walls were nicely lined with trees and this must be a very pleasant place to stroll in summer.

 

 

Some of the trees are on their last legs, though. This one is quite hollow; had I not been wearing my backpack, I could have fit inside the trunk. Of course, it's still the beginning of the cruise so we can still use the term “fit” I guess! For some reason a few days later, all of my clothes systematically shrank!

 

 

We headed back into town for lunch and sat at the cafe/restaurant that we'd seen earlier. It was gorgeous; we snagged a nice outdoor table in the sunshine and looked at the menu. We shared an order of snails with white wine, and settled on two “regional specialties” that were on the menu – Chris had Beef Bourgogne, and I ordered Andouillette sausage with Dijon mustard sauce. Of course, those dishes called for something stronger, like a pitcher of red Burgundy, so that's what we did...

 

The Beef Bourgogne was delicious – tender, in a flavorful broth, and Chris was kind enough to share some with me. My sausage was interesting – with a taste that I couldn't quite identify – and the first few slices made me wonder what exact type of meat was in it, as it seemed very coarse-textured. As I got about half-way through it, I realized that it was a sausage made of offal!

 

Interesting to say the least – I ate about half of it; the flavor was tolerable while the sausage was hot and while there was enough mustard sauce to take the edge off... But as it got cooler it started tasting funkier and funkier, and I couldn't bring myself to finish it. Well, no one can accuse me of not trying different foods!

 

Here is a link to an article regarding this “delicacy” that will probably turn anyone off from trying it... Luckily, I went into it with an open mind – though one time is enough! This quote is taken from the article:

 

Andouillette is a coarse-grained sausage made with pork (or occasionally veal), intestines or chitterlings, pepper, wine, onions, and seasonings. Tripe, which is the stomach lining of a cow, is sometimes an ingredient in the filler of an andouillette, but it is not the casing or the key to its manufacture. True andouillette will be an oblong tube. If made with the small intestine, it is a plump sausage generally about 25 mm in diameter but often it is much larger, possibly 7–10 cm in diameter, and stronger in scent when the colon is used. True andouillette is rarely seen outside France and has a strong, distinctive odour related to its intestinal origins and components.

Although sometimes repellant to the uninitiated, this aspect of andouillette is prized by its devotees

.

 

We were joined for lunch by another couple on our cruise and had a nice chat; we thought we had it bad in Upstate New York, but they are from Chicago. So to them, eating outside in March is downright tropical! Soon it was time to head back to our meeting point, for our guided tour of Hôtel-Dieu, or the Hospices of Beaune.

Edited April 3, 2015 by jpalbny

[jklc123]

Do you remember the name of the restaurant?

[whatnot]

I understand about the Andouilette! I had it in Lyon last May. Thought I could handle it (we are pretty adventurous eaters) but the more I ate the stronger it got. My DH would not even try it! I could not finish mine either. And I won't go there again!

 

Enjoying your posts! And as you go it will get better. Love the south of France!

[Host Jazzbeau]

I've been enjoying this review very much (pdfing each of your posts to make an album for my Rhone cruise folder). And thanks especially for the story about the Andouillette! I would have guessed it was something similar to New Orleans hot sausage and had the same experience you did. I am adventuresome, but in this case I'll stick with the Boeuf Bourguignon. Did you have a chance to sample Quenelles in Lyon?

[jpalbny]

Do you remember the name of the restaurant?

 

Yes - it was Brasserie le Carnot. Here is a Google street view of the restaurant, and a map of its location - starting from the entrance to Hotel-Dieu at Place de la Halle, just walk up the street to the restaurant. We knew that we were in the right place, because all of the guides showed up here!

 

 

 

I understand about the Andouilette! I had it in Lyon last May. Thought I could handle it (we are pretty adventurous eaters) but the more I ate the stronger it got. My DH would not even try it! I could not finish mine either. And I won't go there again!

 

Yeah, once is enough - I am glad that I am not the only one who tried this... I let Chris try it before I realized what it was. Felt a little bad about it afterwards! Funny thing, the next day in Lyon our guide took us to the market and started talking about how Andouillette sausage was one of her favorite dishes, such a delicacy... I was trying not to think about having eaten it yesterday...

 

I've been enjoying this review very much (pdfing each of your posts to make an album for my Rhone cruise folder). And thanks especially for the story about the Andouillette! I would have guessed it was something similar to New Orleans hot sausage and had the same experience you did. I am adventuresome, but in this case I'll stick with the Boeuf Bourguignon. Did you have a chance to sample Quenelles in Lyon?

 

Thanks, Jazzbeau. I just saw "sausage" on the menu and went for it. Chris and I had narrowed it down to 3 dishes - the beef, the sausage, and duck confit. Oh well - should have gone with the duck!

 

We did try quenelles in Lyon - tomorrow, as this review goes...

Edited April 4, 2015 by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

Monday, 3/23 – Beaune, continued, Hôtel-Dieu:

 

We had a little time after lunch to go shopping, so we picked up a few jars of mustard, and some candies to get that offal taste out of my mouth. Then it was time to meet up with Anabel to visit Hôtel-Dieu.

 

The Hospices of Beaune was established in 1443, and Hôtel-Dieu was built in about 10 years as a “palace for the poor” of Beaune. The region had been devastated by a series of wars at that time and most of the population was destitute. The building was financed by Nicolas Rolin (Philip the Good's Chancellor) and his wife, Guigone de Salins. Over the years, the Order has accumulated large amounts of land (vineyards) which still produce wine – which they sell every year in a charity auction to raise operating funds.

 

The outside of the building which faces the town is austere, but within the courtyard, the architecture is very different:

 

 

The colored tiles, woodwork, and stonework are very impressive!

 

 

The lighting cast much of the colored tile roof in shadow but it's still beautiful. To commoners of the 15th century this must have looked like paradise indeed.

 

 

Inside, the great hall of the poor has an ornately carved ceiling, and an altar at one end so that the patients could still participate in Mass while lying in bed.

 

 

The row of beds was set up so that when the curtain closest to the center was opened, the patients could see the chapel and participate in Mass. The beds were a few feet away from the wall, so that the center curtain could be closed and the patient could receive medical and nursing care from the outside corridor, in privacy.

 

 

Here's one of the stained-glass windows by the altar; on the bottom left is Nicolas, and on the right is Guigione.

 

 

This building was used as a hospital until the 1970s, and as a Nursing Home until the 1980s. The Order is still going strong, but now their Hospital and Hospice care is delivered in a newer, more modern building which is located elsewere. We went deeper inside to visit some of the other rooms in the complex.