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

[jpalbny]

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

 

We toured the rest of the rooms which were pretty standard stuff. A few medical instruments on display, a stocked kitchen, etc... I thought the "laboratory" where they compounded medications was cool - in a mad-scientist kind of way! Some of those nice copper instruments could function in a distillery!

 

 

And this reminds me of my pantry at home; I keep dragon blood next to my green tea too.

 

 

One of the prized possessions of the museum is this polyptych showing the last judgment. Originally, the large depiction was on the inside of the wooded panels, and the end panels folded in to cover the painting. It was only opened for Sunday Masses and other major events. It was a nicely detailed work and worth a closer look. The naked bodies on the bottom are the dead, being resurrected to face judgment. On the right, the fires of Hell, and on the left, the golden gates of Heaven.

 

 

When closed, the other, more plain, image would appear. The double-sided panels have now been split in half, so that the paintings on both sides can be displayed simultaneously. No surprise, the figures on the far left and right are Nicolas and Guigone.

 

 

***

 

We took the bus back to Macon and boarded the ship. Since the tour of Beaune lasted all day, there was not time at all to even go into Macon. The esplanade looked pretty enough, but that was all that we saw of it:

 

 

For those who are interested, here is a map of our docking location (the gold star). I don't know what there is to do in Macon (if anything), and we didn't know of anyone who stayed here rather than go to Beaune.

 

 

We set sail for Lyon almost immediately upon boarding SS Catherine. We had a few minutes to wander the top deck and enjoy the view.

Edited April 5, 2015 by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

Monday, 3/23, continued – cruising the Saône:

 

We headed up to the top deck to enjoy the view of Macon as we sailed for Lyon. This bridge is just to the north of our docking point and the lighting, smooth river, and golden sunshine made for a pretty picture:

 

 

We headed to the lounge for the "cruise overview" talk by our CD which was a helpful summary of our day to day activities. She passed out a one-page overview listing all of the excursions, times, and prices (I've posted the link earlier in this review).

 

Tonight was the welcome festivities so we headed to our stateroom to get ready for that. But the views out of our window were very distracting! The scenery was gorgeous, so we ended up watching for about an hour. Here are a few shots of the journey:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The view was beautiful - we didn't want to leave. But soon we headed into a lock, so we had no more excuses.

Edited April 5, 2015 by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

Monday, 3/23, continued – cruising the Saône:

 

A few shots from passing through the lock.

 

 

It's amazing how tight the fit is! Under my thumb is our window, and under my index finger is the wall of the lock. Inches of clearance!

 

 

Another view - it's tough to see the gap between the boat and the lock:

 

 

And please, don't try this at home! Some miscreant obviously didn't listen to the safety drill...

 

 

Off to the end of the welcome ceremony...

 

***

 

Dinner tonight was the special gala welcome dinner, which was a set menu of cold appetizer, soup (cream of celery), hot appetizer (shrimp and scallops baked in puff pastry), main course (veal medallions), and dessert. There was one other main course to choose from but I don't remember what it was. Lots of tasty food, well-prepared, and we were plenty full.

 

After dinner (I think) we had some local entertainment in the bar, but we were pretty tired and decided to call it a night. We arrive back in Lyon late tonight, so we'll get ready to hit the ground running.

Edited April 5, 2015 by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

Tuesday 3/24 – Lyon, revisited:

 

Relaxed breakfast this morning, then we got ready for our tour of Lyon. We were most interested in visiting the food market – we always find these places so interesting and therefore we went with the basic included tour of Vieux Lyon, followed by a visit to Les Halles Marketplace. We headed out with our group to Vieux Lyon, and were pleased to find out that Anabel was our guide again today.

 

From our stopping point at the Right Bank of the Saône, we ducked into some narrow streets and ended up on Rue du Bœuf. A nice carving marked a butcher shop / restaurant where we stopped to talk:

 

 

And this bit of prose has a deeper meaning, I think. Can anyone help figure it out? It has taken me a while, but I think I understand that it is saying something deeper than the literal translation of its words...

 

 

According to Anabel, the old part of town was very run down up until the 1950s, with the buildings in terrible shape, without plumbing or electricity, and people living in squalor. There was great debate over whether to raze the area and start anew, or preserve it. Glad they chose to preserve – now these old buildings are businesses and apartments, and the great old character of the neighborhood has been preserved. We stopped along side of what looked like just another door...

 

 

But it opened into a tunnel – a public passageway (Traboule) through to the next street. There were apartments along the way, and stairs surrounding a central courtyard. Neat bits of architecture – but we didn't linger there too long as it felt like we were invading someone's private corridor.

 

 

Though technically they are public passageways, there are signs asking you to please be quiet and respectful of the people living there. We exited the Traboule, and headed through other small streets, back towards the bus to Les Halles.

[jpalbny]

Tuesday 3/24 – Lyon, continued:

 

Here's a map showing where we walked in Vieux Lyon. It was a short distance but an interesting place to see:

 

 

Now, on to Les Halles! We were dropped off right by the front doors of the Marketplace. Le crayon was reflected in the front windows, so I couldn't resist:

 

 

On to the marketplace - great atmosphere! All types of meats and sausages on display...

 

 

Some vegetables and baked goods too, but the meats were definitely the main attraction!

 

 

There was a bar off to one side of the market, but it was too early for wine (plus we'd be doing some wine tasting as part of the tour), so we just wandered around taking in the atmosphere.

 

 

This place would have been dangerous, had we been hungry! Luckily, the ship keeps us well-fed so that we don't run amok here, and buy everything in sight.

[jpalbny]

We met up with the group for wine tasting and quenelles. Neither was that exciting, honestly... The quenelles were very light-textured and not too flavorful. The wine was pretty nondescript. Something to do, I guess!

 

Back through the market – I came face-to-face with yesterday's lunch – complete with a recipe so I could duplicate it at home!

 

 

Anabel stopped here and made a fuss about how this was her favorite dish. Hmmm... The mustard sauce is quite good – maybe I'll make that at home and put it on something else!

 

The display of Bresse chickens was a little disconcerting. They are the "National Chicken of France" with their blue legs, white feathers, and red comb - the colors of the French flag.

 

 

And these specimens were nicely displayed as well:

 

 

Random parts – tongues, feet, tripe... Not sure I'd want to be shopping in this part of the market!

 

 

Time to head back to the ship for lunch. But first, a little bit of Lyonnaise history: the puppet Guignol has been a local hero for about 200 years, and the shows continue to this day. I was amused by the Samauri rabbits...

 

 

Now, lunch time! Back to the ship to recharge, before we head out again for an afternoon on our own.

[jpalbny]

Tuesday 3/24 – Lyon, continued:

 

We headed out to the tram stop after lunch to go exploring on our own. There wasn't much going on with regard to planned activities this afternoon, but there was another included tour this evening to look forward to. Since we'd done a fair amount on Sunday, we didn't have too much planned for today.

 

We first took the tram southward, past Perrache Station, to go visit the confluence of the Rhône and Saône. It had looked interesting when we sailed past Sunday evening, but it was a bit of a pain to get to. As we boarded the tram, we saw signs saying that it would stop one station short of where we wanted to go, because of track work, and it would continue by bus. Easy enough; the tram to bus connection was well-signed and we arrived at the (still under construction) Museum of the Confluence.

 

Because of the construction, it was much less scenic than we thought it would be. We wandered out on one of the bridges overlooking the Rhône to get a better look. Once all the landscaping is in, and the fences and heavy equipment moved, this will probably be a nice looking area.

 

 

The bridge spanning the Rhône (Pont Raymond Barre) was pretty though, and so far the weather was holding.

 

 

We headed back to the bus to the tram, and changed over to the Metro in Perrache Station. Our next stop was Place des Terreaux, for a better look at the fountain in the center of the square. The Metro stop was right near the Opera House so we had a closer look at that. I had assumed that the statues represented the Muses, but on closer inspection there were only eight of them, not nine. What's up with that?

 

 

Once we reached Place des Terreaux, we had a good shot of the Hôtel de Ville (or was it the Mairie) – I couldn't get a clear answer as my maps differed; some called it one, some the other. The difference is that a Hôtel de Ville is THE main City Hall for a city, and a Mairie is an administrative building for an arrondisment – a sub-division of the city. Either way, it's a nice building, despite the fact that my right elbow is carelessly imposing on Chris' picture:

 

 

And, the fountain that we'd traveled all the way here to see - we got a much nicer view than we'd had from the bus earlier today:

 

 

So that was all we had planned on for Lyon – as it was still early, and the weather was still holding, we figured we'd head for some scenic viewpoints that were located further to the north.

 

A quick word about public transport - since our tour had been so quick, we'd been able to make all of those rides and connections using one "Ticket à l'unité" which was a bargain at €1,80 per person. It allows unlimited connections on any mode of public transport (bus, tram, Metro, or funicular) within one hour's time of first validation. They sell 2-hour passes for €3, and all-day passes for €5,50. We never needed to buy more than 2 "unité" tickets per day, so we never bothered with the longer passes. The system was very easy to use and convenient enough, despite the need to make multiple changes.

[jklc123]

JP Did you happen to talk to anyone who took the optional excursion to the Institut Bocuse? We initially thought it would be an experience we'd enjoy, but now that we see the price, we're not so sure. The meal would have to be quite exceptional to make it worth it.

[Host Jazzbeau]

JP -- not to nag, but we're all on cruise time here. It's been more than 20 minutes, and you haven't fed us!

[jpalbny]

Sorry all... Lots of work to do the past two days. I need a vacation! Now, back to your scheduled cruise!

 

***

 

Tuesday 3/24 – Lyon, continued:

 

We headed towards the Rhône from Place des Terreaux, and discovered a square with some funky statues on the other side of the Opera. It's called Place Pradel and the statues are certainly interesting. The local kids were skateboarding here so I had to be careful not to get in their way while snapping pictures - here's a strange fellow on roller skates, looking like he's going to jump in the Rhône.

 

 

We climbed some hills and stairs to get to a scenic overlook of the Rhône and one of its bridges.

 

 

Then a closer up view of the two tallest buildings - by the way, look at those clouds gathering! Wondering how the night tour will be later this evening. Will the rain hold off?

 

 

This little square of green was at one of the lookout points - appropriately named Place Bellevue:

 

 

We caught the metro back to Place Bellecour - I had wanted to take a picture of Louis XIV with the angle just right, so it looked like he was charging the Basilica on Fourvière Hill. I think I got it...

 

 

At that point we realized that we'd timed it perfectly to meet the Uniworld shuttle bus home at 3PM. Though we'd expected to spend more time out on the town, we figured that we'd head back to the boat and relax a little. What the heck, we're on vacation! So we hurried across the square to the waiting bus, and were back on the boat within 5 minutes.

 

**

 

Because of our AMEX Platinum cruise benefits, there was a bottle of "Premium Champagne" in our suite for our enjoyment. I took it to the bar with our ice bucket to chill it, and the bartender kindly swapped our warm bottle out for a cold one that she had in her fridge. Very nice!

 

 

We spent a relaxing afternoon sipping Champagne and enjoying our open air balcony. Tonight was the past guests' reception which wasn't much of a big deal. Dinner tonight was 30 minutes early because the evening "Illuminations" tour was leaving tonight at 8:45, so service was efficient but not rushed.

 

Another tasty dinner tonight - what I wrote down was Burgundy snails or a shrimp appetizer, French onion soup or potage Parmentier, and duck leg confit for the main course. Duck leg confit is one of our favorites (we make this at home for special occasions) so we were thrilled with it. Dessert was a mille-feuille. Now, off to see the city lit up at night - we have opted for an open-air bus so hopefully the rain holds off, and we don't freeze!

[jpalbny]

JP Did you happen to talk to anyone who took the optional excursion to the Institut Bocuse? We initially thought it would be an experience we'd enjoy, but now that we see the price, we're not so sure. The meal would have to be quite exceptional to make it worth it.

 

I didn't hear any feedback about this tour. We knew that we weren't interested because we wanted to get out around town. You're right, it does seem expensive, but I think that it was a very limited (in size) tour - for some reason, a limit of 10-12 sticks in my head.

[jpalbny]

Tuesday 3/24 – Lyon, Illuminations Tour:

 

We bundled up in all of our layers and clambered up to the top deck of the bus for our night tour. We headed south towards Perrache, crossed both rivers, and then took a circuitous route up Fourvière Hill to the Basilica, which was beautifully lit for the evening:

 

 

We walked from the Basilica, to the viewpoint that we had visited on Sunday; the view was different by night:

 

 

And a few closeups; Place Bellecour, and le crayon:

 

 

The green line that you can barely see in the middle of this picture (just below the right most white building) is SS Catherine, lit up for the night:

 

 

One more close-up of the bell tower at the Basilica:

 

 

Back to the buses for more sightseeing! It's been nice to get out and see the city by night. So far, it's not been too cold, and we've stayed dry. The top deck of these double-decker buses is open, but a few folks stayed below for warmth.

[jpalbny]

Tuesday 3/24 – Lyon, Illuminations Tour - wrapping up:

 

A few more sights from Lyon at night - the "little Eiffel Tower" formally known as Le Tour Métallique de Fourvière. It looks a lot like its namesake in Paris, and was built around the same time (1894), also for an exposition. There used to be a restaurant there but it's long since closed. It's now used as a TV communications tower, and you can't climb it. Boo!

 

 

This is Fort Saint-Jean - the original walls date from the 1500s. It is now the site of a government-run school for training civil servants.

 

 

This is a very interesting building - La Fresque des Lyonnais. It is a wonderfully done piece of art, painted onto a flat surface skillfully enough to give the illusion of texture and shadows. It really looks 3D. The people depicted on the balconies are famous residents of Lyon; the oldest historical figures are located up high, and the modern characters are lower down.

 

 

Here is a close-up of two recent characters - on the left, Laurent Mourguet, creator of the puppet Guignol (of Samauri Rabbit fame a few posts back). On the right, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, with Le Petit Prince:

 

 

One last shot of the Bell Tower of l'Hôpital de la Charité - the hospital used to stand here but was removed in the 1930s. The bell tower dates from the 1660s.

 

 

Back to the boat to warm up - because dinner was so early, they had set up a few snacks for us in the lounge in case we were hungry. We weren't, but we enjoyed some wine and a little dancing before calling it a night. We leave for Tain l'Hermitage tonight and tomorrow, we have a "Go Active" tour planned.

[jpalbny]

Wednesday, 3/25 - Tain l'Hermitage:

 

Tain l'Hermitage is a small town on the Left Bank of the Rhône, opposite Tournon on the Right Bank. The two towns are connected by a footbridge, but they are in different départements: Drôme (where we are moored at Tain l'Hermitage) and Ardèche, across the river.

 

Today's weather was quite a bit cooler, and it looked cloudy. There were rain drops falling on the river this morning as we got ready for our hike; here's a view from our window. We're looking out across the river, at the footbridge with Tournon visible just beyond. Did I mention it was about 40 degrees today, and we're going hiking in the vineyards, and we'll be outside for several hours? Looks like we need some extra coffee this morning!

 

 

We all assembled on the pier - we had grabbed umbrellas, but decided to ditch them in favor of the Nordic walking sticks that our guide was distributing. We had our raincoats and we were pretty confident that we wouldn't melt, as it was only drizzling a little bit at the moment. Here's the view of this quiet town from the pier. The little train reminded us of Rudesheim last year, on the Rhine.

 

 

And an overview map of the town showing our docking location (star in the center of the map). For those interested, the two stars to the right which are inland is the Valrhona Chocolate factory, which we might just visit later... Across the river, on the left side of the map, is the Chateau de Tournon, a medieval castle that we won't have time to visit today. Though it's an easy walk from the boat, it doesn't open until afternoon, and we'll be leaving by then.

 

 

We started off through town, which was very quiet. We stopped in a few places to see some interesting statuary; here's Place du Taurobole. The smooth surface of this square really shows how wet it was today, but the majority of the rain has stopped for the time being:

 

 

And this unusual statue - she seems to be missing a bunch of grapes. I like the look of the bare trees with their branches silhouetted against the grey sky.

 

 

Soon we'd reached the city limits, and we saw the task ahead of us...

 

 

The vineyards were terraced all the way up the hill, and our job was to climb about halfway up for a view of the river and the two towns. Good think I had an extra cup of coffee this morning! And it's not raining yet...

[carefreecruise]

JP, always nice of you to take the time to post such complete and detailed experiences you and Chris have taken. I can appreciate the work that goes into it for the benefit of others.

 

We will be also adding another river cruse in the same area and wonder the following: Why Lyon to Avignon and not Paris to Paris? Is one a better river to sail down? or is there nicer towns to visit? Just wondering... we want to visit Paris again but don't know what river to cruise?

 

Also just FYI: I think we will be trying Scenic this time and will compare it to Uniworld after we get back.

Edited April 10, 2015 by carefreecruise

[Host Jazzbeau]

We will be also adding another river cruse in the same area and wonder the following: Why Lyon to Avignon and not Paris to Paris? Is one a better river to sail down? or is there nicer towns to visit? Just wondering... we want to visit Paris again but don't know what river to cruise?

 

Why not both? Fly to Paris, rent a car and follow the Seine to the coast, then loop back through the Loire and Dordogne to Lyon for the cruise? Voila, Bob's your uncle [to mix metaphors in the worst way :)]

[jklc123]

We're doing both the Seine and the Rhone on Uniworld's Grand France itinerary, plus adding a couple days on our own in Paris.

[jpalbny]

We will be also adding another river cruse in the same area and wonder the following: Why Lyon to Avignon and not Paris to Paris? Is one a better river to sail down? or is there nicer towns to visit? Just wondering... we want to visit Paris again but don't know what river to cruise?

 

Also just FYI: I think we will be trying Scenic this time and will compare it to Uniworld after we get back.

 

A few reasons... Since we were going earlier in the year we wanted to increase the odds of better weather - South of France vs. North of France. We had already been in Paris over Christmas 2014, and therefore spending more time there wasn't a large priority. It was an easy flight and TGV ride, though, so a convenient hub.

 

Also, we wanted the variety of going from Paris and Lyon with their more Northern cuisine, then transitioning into the Mediterranean cuisine of Provence. Lastly, we are fond of wine and thought that this Rhone itinerary would have more interesting selections.

 

The stops were fun and we really enjoyed the history that is evident in places like Avignon and Arles. We enjoy the Roman ruins that are abundant in the South of France.

 

Will be interested in your comparison of Scenic and Uniworld.

 

We're doing both the Seine and the Rhone on Uniworld's Grand France itinerary, plus adding a couple days on our own in Paris.

 

We met a few people on our cruise who were halfway through that Grand France itinerary. They were really enjoying themselves... Looks like fun! We usually only take a week in the Spring so no chance of that for us, though.

 

**

 

Jazzbeau, I like your idea too. We are looking at driving routes for the fall when we do another European delivery - but this would be a little far from Ingolstadt so I don't think we'll try it. We will probably visit Alsace, though.

[jpalbny]

Wednesday, 3/25 - Tain l'Hermitage, continued:

 

We left the town and started climbing the hills. The pace was OK, and the paths were decent for the most part; some dirt tracks but mostly cobblestoned paths. Here our guide (I can't remember her name) stops to explain about the biodynamic vineyards we're walking through.

 

 

Being good tourists, we complied with the kind request to respect the biodynamic nature of the vineyards:

 

 

Onward and upward! Nice path, but I bet it would get slippery if the rain starts.

 

 

It's amazing how they can tend vineyards on such a steep slope. Much of the work is done by hand, given that it's hard to drive a tractor here.

 

 

Finally we reached our viewpoint. The road on the right of this picture, next to the white buildings, is where we started. Nice view of the Rhone valley, though I wish the skies weren't so nasty looking. Still, we could see fairly well, and the rain had held off, so the cold wasn't bothering us too much. The light fog added to the atmosphere.

 

 

And, a happy power walker! One of us was smart and remembered to pack gloves in her raincoat. The other left his gloves safely in the pockets of another coat, in the closet, back home...

 

 

We stayed here for a bit enjoying the views. Now, the second part of our walk requires us to go all the way back to town, cross the footbridge to Tarascon, and climb THAT hill to our wine tasting point. Sounds like a lot of work...

[jpalbny]

Wednesday, 3/25 - Tain l'Hermitage, continued:

 

We took our time coming down, pausing once in a while to enjoy the view. The Rhone valley looks nice with the light fog, terraced vineyards, and early spring colors.

 

 

 

 

Over on the Tarascon side, we could see an Avalon ship docked:

 

 

Back in town, you can see just how quiet Tain l'Heritage is. The side streets are empty!

 

 

We made our way to the footbridge - time to cross the river. It's still pretty chilly out, but we're cozy in all of our layers. The good amount of walking is helping to keep us warm too.

 

 

Time to go wine tasting!

[jpalbny]

Wednesday, 3/25 - Tain l'Hermitage, continued:

 

We took in the views from the footbridge, which is named after Marc Seguin, a local engineer/architect who was responsible for building it in 1847-1849. M. Seguin build the first suspension bridge over the Rhone - but I think that was not this one - rather, an earlier attempt in the 1820s which was located near this bridge.

 

Here is Chateau de Tournon, which opens at 2PM, but unfortunately we have to be on board at 2:30, to sail at 3:00.

 

 

And this little tower up on the hill is Tour de l'Hôpital, AKA Tour de la Vierge. It's our target - finally we'll get to taste some wine there! The tower is all that remains of a 16th century hospital. The white statue on top is the Virgin Mary, added in the mid-1800s, in case the French name doesn't make that clear.

 

 

Back in Tain l'Hermitage, SS Catherine is patiently waiting for our return. I do think we're finally getting a few sprinkles now. It looks warm and dry there!

 

 

We walked through town and stopped at a Wine Cave, to pick up our wine tasting guides (as well as the wine, of course). Then, more hills to climb to the tower! The views got nice again as we gained elevation. Already, we've managed to get high up above the footbridge:

 

 

The vineyards here are even more terraced than those in Tain l'Hermitage. Serious stone walls on this side of the river! That must have taken a lot of work. You can see that raindrops are getting on my camera lens now...

 

 

 

As we reached the tower, we were more exposed, and the wind started to become very noticeable. We had hoped that we'd have the tasting INSIDE the tower, but this had been set up to be an outdoor tasting. It was getting chilly with the wind and sprinkling rain, but we figured we'd make the best of it and enjoy some local wine.

Edited April 10, 2015 by jpalbny

[mimmy52]

You always create such wonderful reviews! Thank you. Those vineyards are so steeply terraced, I'm surprised the workers aren't always tumbling down to the river.

[jpalbny]

Wednesday, 3/25 - Tain l'Hermitage, wrapping up:

 

We had two wines to taste this morning; a white and a red. It was really not the greatest weather for wine tasting outdoors, and the temperature made the red wine much too cold for proper tasting. A little bit of a disappointment after a nice walk through the vineyards. Here's our selection:

 

 

There was some cheese to taste as well, along with the wines. They were tasty wines despite the adverse conditions - both are from familiar names whose wines we see back home with regularity. Will have to buy some at home, as that will be easier than lugging the wine home with us.

 

We headed back downhill to the boat. Along the way, I saw stairs leading up one of the stone walls and made this picture just for you, to show how big those stone walls really are. Again, an impressive amount of work!

 

 

All told, we were out about 2 hours, and had covered 2-3/4 miles today. Here's a map of where we walked, for those of you who want to try this at home. Don't forget the 500+ feet of elevation, though!

 

 

**

 

We made it back to the boat in time to warm up for a few minutes before lunch. Afterwards, we visited the Valrhona Chocolate "factory" which is of course, a store. They have huge dispensers throughout the store where you can taste all of the various chocolates, and then of course you can buy all types of confections. It's less than 10 minutes from the dock, and was a good way to kill a little time this afternoon. And, they threw in a bunch of sample chocolate bars with each order - just what we needed. Yum!

 

After that, we wandered the streets but as it was lunchtime, many shops were closed. We walked by the church; again, the side streets were completely empty once you got off the main street.

 

 

We stopped by one of the winemaker's shops / restaurants, to see if we could taste wine, but as they were serving lunch, they said that they couldn't do tastings at the same time. So we slowly made our way back to the boat to get ready for sailaway. One last look at Tain l'Hermitage:

 

 

A cute little town - not much to do, but very relaxed with plenty of ambience to soak up. I wish the weather had been nicer, but the conditions for the majority of our hike were pleasant.

 

**

 

And with that, we're off for a relaxing afternoon of cruising. We arrive in Viviers - which may be an even smaller and quieter town than Tain l'Hermitage - tonight after dinner. I have to make the most of my last night before I get a year older tomorrow...

[jpalbny]

Wednesday, 3/25 - cruising to Viviers:

 

There were a few activities scheduled for this afternoon but we decided to lay low, play on the internet, get caught up on pictures, and just relax. I will pass the time by posting a few pictures that we took of the ship - not all from today, but it works best to group them here. As seems to be the case, I always forget to take enough ship pictures... Guess if you want to see more, you'll have to visit in person (which I highly recommend)!

 

Here is the lobby, from the corridor leading to the 400 group of staterooms. The elevator is mostly enclosed in glass, and a waterfall flows down the side opposite from where this picture was taken. The irregularity in the glass at the far side of the elevator is from the water flowing - it's really pretty.

 

 

Here are a few more shots of the lobby - the chandelier is impressive:

 

 

And the Murano glass horse statue, which stands guard at the bottom of the staircases, under the chandelier:

 

 

Here's our cabin. It's a Category 1, and I'm standing in the "balcony" looking in at the room. They make good use of mirrors to create the illusion of a large space but it is small. The closets on the wall opposite me have enough storage space, but when the doors are open, they come close to the side of the bed. When we were both trying to get dressed at once, it was tricky. You cannot pass by each other to get something from a different closet, without closing all of the closet doors.

 

 

The other difference between SS Antoinette and this ship was the bathroom door, which opened out, not in. The bathroom door was close to the center corridor, not the outside wall, so that created a bit of a traffic jam if it came open. The bathroom itself was very nice and I unfortunately did not take a picture of it.

 

Also, they have a number of various plugs on the counter by the mirror, which is on the left-hand wall of the room as my picture is oriented. There were 2 European plugs, one US, one Aussie, one Great Britain plug, and 2 USB outlets. Very convenient!

 

One last shot - the dining room. We're against the far wall of the center portion. The buffet is on the other side of the beautiful glass half-wall, in the center of the near portion of the dining room. Both sides are lined with tables for 4, and 2/4 (6). Very pleasant place to enjoy a delicious meal.

 

 

Now, back to our next stop!

Edited April 10, 2015 by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

You always create such wonderful reviews! Thank you. Those vineyards are so steeply terraced, I'm surprised the workers aren't always tumbling down to the river.

 

Thanks! I'm surprised that I could climb that stone wall after tasting the wine... :rolleyes: