May 12-14, 2025, Rhône River

Tuesday and we are sailing through the Rhône river valley.We start our morning with eggs, coffee, croissant and an offering of other pastries. Sausage (chicken, beef and pork), bacon and oatmeal are also available.  At 9:00 AM, we set out on a motorcoach panoramic tour of Lyon. We walk through the old town shopping area, in 1466, Louis XI set up Lyon’s first silk manufactory. Due to the roads and rivers,  Lyon, emerged as the largest French producer of silk cloth. In 1540 Lyon was granted a monopoly on silk manufacture by Francois 1, and by 1620, there were over 10,000 looms in the city. At the height of Lyon’s silk production during the 18th century, it is estimated that more than 15,000 workers were involved in the industry. Lyon based designer Phillip de Lasalle invented a device called the semple, a key part of the mechanism that controlled the pattern woven on an individual loom; this led to the development of the Jacquard loom in 1801, which could be programmed to weave even more complex patterned textiles.

We wandered out of old town and after the tour, we stopped at a sidewalk cafe for a coffee and a glass of wine. then back to the ship for another sumptuous dinner. As there is a lot of food on this trip, we will try not to bore our readers with pictures and descriptions of food at every stop. Trust us to say that the food has been amazing. We will continue to feature some special highlights.

Lyon lies just to the south of the province of Beaujolais, divided into 12 appellations and further subdivided into three categories of wine; Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages and Beaujolais cru. The wine making region is larger than any single district in Burgundy, with more than 55,000 acres of vines planted in a 34 mile stretch of land 7-9 miles wide along the Rhone. Beaujolais and Beaujolais Noveau wines are from the southern half of the region and the none of Noveau wines can be made using grapes from the cru regions. Wines from the Beaujolais Villages appellation are higher quality and represent 25% of the total production. Beaujolais cru wines are the highest quality available.

Lyon has a great culinary history stemming from the 16th century marriage of French king Henry II to Italian Catherine de’ Medici. Catherine brought her own cooks from Florence who began using local ingredients for the royal food. Bringing such traditional dishes as potatoes Lyonnaise, coq au vin and any number of specialty sausages. the fruity Beaujolais wines or a bold Rhone red augment all of these foods.

The Viking Heimdal casts off from Lyon at 2:30 PM and heads down river to our next port, Vienne. 

Wednesday morning we are docked in Vienne,  having arrived around 6:00 PM the previous evening. The offering today is a walking tour of the town of Vienne, one of the oldest towns in France. There were two types of walks, the easy one and the gruelling one.  Everyone but Don, Deb and Mark took the gruelling one because they like to show-off their senior agility skills.  Don took the easier walk but, as he has a bum knee, that was to be expected.  Mark also has a good excuse, as he spent 4 nights in hospital with pneumonia.  Deb, on the other hand, is just lazy but used Mark’s illness as a reason to skip the walk.  Somethings never change!

There are still Roman artefacts dating from the 1st century, and it is considered the gateway to the French countryside. Its Roman amphitheater, nestled in the hills of Mont Pipet is one of the best preserved in the nation. Other landmarks include the Abbey of Saint Pierre and the Church of Saint-Andre’-le-Bas.

The St. Maurice Cathedral, also known at the Cathedral Saint-Maurice occupies a spot where a church has stood since the 4th century. The current cathedral, begun around 1130, rises majestically from a terrace overhanging the Rhone; it is a national monument of France. It took almost 500 years to construct the entire cathedral, but was damaged by the Protestants in the French wars of religion (1562-1578.) 

In 1312, Pope Clement V organized the council of Vienne, whose principal outcome was a papal edict abolishing the Knights Templar. the Pope was strongly pressured to do this by Philip IV of France who owed the Templars money and coveted their land. during the first centuries of the current era, the city embraced Christianity; its first Bishop is said to have been a disciples of the Apostle Paul.

After learning all of the above, we were exhausted (the wine at lunch did not help) so we all went our separate ways which included Mark wandering around, Howie for a nap, Lee wandering around, Glenda rounding up the passengers for a sing-a-long and then, possibly, for a mutiny due to only marginally good food.  Don was napping (but not with Howie), Ann was on another tour or looking for another tour and Deb was trying to find a quiet spot to put her feet up.  This did not happen and she ended up talking to a woman from New Jersey who wanted to tell her how wonderful her entire life is non-stop.  Where was Glenda when Deb needed her??  She showed up and made a comment about Trump.  That stopped the tirade. 

Dinner this evening included Coq au Vin, Cream of Chestnut soup, Pike Perch with a parsnip purée, and a delicious Potato & Chanterelle mixture in a pastry wrap, with a creamy mushroom sauce. The dessert of favor was a Cassis Bavarois - moist sponge cake with layers of black currant jam and mousse.   

During the afternoon, we had cast off and by the early evening, we were docked at our next destination, Tournon sur Rhone.

May 8-11, 2025; Paris France

While Mark was testing the medical practices of the American Hospital of Paris (excellent by the way,) the rest of the party was enjoying the City of Light. What can be better than Springtime in Paris? Sounds like a great song title. Since Glenda and Deb had been to Paris some 20 times, they were on their own, although Deb, a saint in the making, kept close to the hospital area. Glenda went wandering in the morning while Jeff joined the other four on a Paris bus tour, hitting the highlights. Jeff had been once before, Howie and Lee had accompanied Deb and Mark and “participated” in the infamous burning of the Notre Dame a few years back (see previous Paris posts of prior years) Ann had not been since she was 15 years old and probably had other things on her mind than tagging with her parents. Don was a Paris virgin! 

The bus tour was very enlightening, hitting all the landmarks and a few of the lesser known spots.

The Sorbonne University of Paris for example is not necessarily on every tourists list of top sites. However the Arc de Triomphe, Tour Eiffel, and Shakespeare & Company books almost always make the list and do not disappoint. The restoration of Notre Dame, while still underway, has brought back the amazing nature and artistry of this iconic Paris landmark.

Dinner at the restaurant recommended to Howie by the hotel Concierge did not disappoint all diners, particularly those who chose flaming duck or sirloin beefsteak. However the chopped sea bass and mashed potatoes stuffed into a pita, although different, was not such a big hit. The wine was good, some may have over indulged but a great and grand time was enjoyed by all.  The dessert sorta of made up for it as did the free open bottle of Calvados the waiter left on the table.

The next day Glenda and Jeff struck out on their own for a self guided tour, taking in the famous Metro underground system while visiting the Parc Monceau with Deb before she headed to the hospital. This park was lovely and picturesque in every direction.  Ann, Don, Lee and Howie headed for the Musée d’Orsay for a day of Impressionism and lunch at the museum. Everyone compared distance walked the evening while waiting for the UBER to show up and take the group (minus Mark who had been coerced into another day at the hospital) to the Bateaux Parisian Dinner Cruise at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.  It was a late dinner for all but everyone came through in their own way and we had a ball.  Lots of champagne and wine and great desserts.  The scenery was wonderful too!

Saturday night was also “set out the luggage” night for our crew, as the luggage truck was leaving at 6:00 AM. Our group was due in the Rochester Hotel dining room Sunday morning for pick up of a box breakfast, universally reviewed as tasteless both in style and ingredient. Onward to the coaches for a head count and trip to the TGV. The headcount was a bit disjointed as two (Mark & Deb) were missing, and two names from another group were not on the list. Finally sorted, they were off to the Gare de Lyon train station for the two and one-half hour trip to Lyon. Scenic countryside at upwards of 225 kph through rolling French farms and villages before arriving at the gourmet center of France - Lyon. ( Recently un-seated by Marseille, Lyon had been the second most populous city of France.)

The troops were herded onto another coach for what they were told would be a 45 minute ride to the ship. Luckily the driver was not a native English speaker and, 4 to 5 minutes later the coach arrived at the dock. All were piped on board and assigned their cabins. While luggage was distributed to the cabins, lunch was served in the dining room. In the afternoon, the Hosfords and the Needelmans took an offered walking tour of the Lyon area where the docks were located, while Glenda and Jeff struck out for the Resistance Museum and an in-depth look at the French Resistance movement during WW II.

Back from their strolls all repaired to the lounge for a beverage and a rest. Meanwhile, Mark & Deb had arrived and the now intact group of eight joined the rest of the passengers for an hour long mandatory safety and discussion with the ship crew. Then on to Dinner, and what a dinner it turned out to be. There was plenty of wine available, multiple bottles on sample, and an amazing chef’s special for this evening that 7 of the 8 chose, a Salade Lyonaise followed by braised boneless beef ribs and swirled potato cakes with asparagus. For dessert a cherry filled clafute. Mark, still a bit on the mend, chose a sweet potato soup spiced with curry and followed by a mushroom ragout and puréed potatoes. The evening ended on a quiet and filling note. All crept into their cabins for a well earned rest.