Day 10 Friday 7 June

We left Avignon at 4.15am so did not watch our departure! 
Since getting up we were busy watching little towns and a huge lock. 

 










Our ship is 110m long and fits tightly in the locks as we have about a foot each side - very cosy. The lock at Bollene is one of the biggest rise/falls in the world , built in 1953, the ship rises 76 feet in 7 minutes! It is very strange standing on the top deck and looking up to the level of the river. We have been through many lochs day and night but none so spectacular as Bollene. It does produce a lot of hydro electric power as well.
 Beryl did not like being in our cabin on the upper deck when in lochs as it is very claustraphobic and damp. 
The upper deck furniture and shade structures including the railings etc were lowered for most of the trip so far, as the water level was quite high and we only just cleared the bridges after lowering the Wheelhouse.
At lunch time we arrived in Viviers and we walked along a beautiful avenue of Sycamore trees to get into town. We then climbed up through the quaint little cobbled streets to the large castle (originally the Bishops Palace) on the hill top (of course) and a very interesting Church - the Cathedral of St Vincent where we were treated to a great organ recital. The church was built in 12th century and the huge tapestries on the walls (6mx3m each) were added in the 17th century and still look great today. Fascinating. Our guide was not so good today and did not impart much knowledge - nor did we impart any tip! 
We finished our walk on top of the battlements with a great view over the whole area, then made our way (without guide) back thru the town and back to the boat and we settled in for dinner while cruising to Tournon. 

 

Approaching the Bollene Loch

 

The wheelhouse clearing the entrance

 

The entrance to the Bishops Palace which could be bricked up during invasion

 

 

 

Awaiting the Crew Show!

A great waitress and Dances! He was good too!

Our favorite waiter as a girl LOL

A Loch at night.

A Little bit close for Beryls comfort!

 

Day 9 Thursday 6 June

Hi y'all,
 
Thats American for gidday of course and we have plenty of them on board but the 

Aussies are still the biggest group.
We are in Avignon today, arriving via a lock last night. It also is a beautiful 

city but not as nice as Arles. Bigger walls and wider roads - they can actually 

fit cars! 

Of course the highlight here is the Palace of the Popes some 700 years old, and 

huge, as it dominates and dwarfs the walled city, all built out of limestone I 

think. Anyway we had a most enjoyable walking tour including the 99 steps in 

the Palace.

This afternoon we did a tour around the wineries and vineyards of the Chateauneuf 

de Pape wine brand. They say it is very famous. We did a wine tasting of 1 white 

and 3 reds and they were very good but not good enough to pay 49 euros a 

bottle plus 220euros a case ( to USA - probably double to Oz) for delivery. That's 

about Aussie $ 100 per bottle! Its not that good!!

The tasting was a very regimented affair and very formal - like your worst 

nightmare of a wine aficionado - we were even supposed to spit it out when tasted 

and tip the rest into a bowl on the table!! - your kidding right?

We get a quieter day tomorrow as we cruise to Viviers thru a few locks. One of 

them is 26meters high and fortunately we do it during the day at 10am.
For those that learnt French we stood under the bridge that inspired the song 

"Sur le Pont de Avignon" It was 22 Roman arches long but now only 4 remain.

We will go to the lounge now to prepare for dinner in an hours time - happy hour- 

when I have both drinks for the price of one - we don't want Bez going to sleep 

too early!!!

The Dining roon
The Dining Room





















Rocks are spread over the ground to retain heat for the night time