Avignon
I had been looking forward to visiting Avignon. The city has a turbulent history going back to Roman times but it is most famous as being the site of the Papacy (instead of Rome) between 1309 and 1377. Needless to … Continued
SS Catherine moored overnight at the village of Viviers. As usual, we waited until the passengers had departed for their excursions – one of which was to the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyard. Oh well. Some more excellent wine missed. We walked … Continued
Peter and I both spent the first day of quarantine (after we got back from being tested) in our respective cabins resting and watching out the window as the ship turned around and headed back to Lyon. When we awoke … Continued
Sunday dawned bright and sparkly and not too hot. We’d finished our Seine cruise and sixty-four of us were off the ship early for our transfer to the railway station to take a high-speed train to Lyon where we would … Continued
For our last day on the Seine River we were based in Paris – the City of Love, the City of Light. Peter had never been to Paris and it was something like thirty years ago that I was there. … Continued
No visit to Paris is complete without a look at Louis XIV’s palace of Versailles. Back on day one of the tour we were given two choices: The main apartments and a look at the gardens The main apartments and … Continued
Rouen is the starting point for passengers wanting to visit the Normandy beaches where the D-day landings took place in June, 1944. I think many of our American passengers would have had a grandfather or other relative who took part … Continued
This little village was as far down the Seine as the Joie de Vivre would travel. From here, we could choose to take a bus ride through the Normandy countryside for a guided walking tour of the pretty village of … Continued
Today the Joie de Vivre was moored at Rouen, medieval capital of the Dukes of Normandy. We were offered a walking tour of Rouen without charge, or for a considerable fee and a very early start, a visit to the … Continued
During lunch the ship slipped around a curve on the Seine and moored within striking distance of Monet’s garden at Giverny. This was one location on the bucket list. I like impressionist art and I like gardens. It was a … Continued