Food

Day 5 - Viviers

Saturday, June 11th, 2016

Food

The word for today is Food.  To be perfectly honest, my word for today on any day on a Viking River Cruise could be food because food is such a large part of our ship experience.  The meals on the ship are all wonderful.  It is a good thing that we walk as much as we do because otherwise all the food would do very bad things for our waistlines.  Paul laughs at me because I take pictures of our food but I am in awe of the presentation – it is an art form in and of itself and when I make the book of our trip I always like to include at least one page of food pictures. Yesterday I took lots of pictures of food at a lovely market in Avignon.  What can I say, I love food.

This morning, we all enjoyed a walking tour of Viviers’ Old Town with its medieval and Renaissance buildings. The town is very small but it has an amazing bakery so a few of us stopped on our way back to the ship for a mid-morning delight.

Lunch was lovely as always and at 3pm this afternoon we were treated to a French Tea with more delightful French Pastries.  Traveling to new countries gives you the opportunity to try regional delicacies that you might never experience at home. I see on the menu for tonight that we can try frogs legs –not common in Halifax but oh so French.  For those not so adventurous, there is always Caesar salad. 

It has been a most enjoyable afternoon as the ship cruised past the steep banks of the Défilé de Donzère, a particularly scenic stretch along the Rhône River. We have gone through a number of locks and just enjoyed a less than busy day.

This afternoon the chef offered a galley tour which a number of our people enjoyed.  It is amazing what delicious food gets prepared in such a small space.  There are 11 people working in the kitchen, the Executive Chef, a pastry chef, 7 sous chefs and 2 dishwashers.  They work as a team to feed more than 180 guests plus the crew.   

They will soon be hard at work preparing tonight’s feast and once again we will enjoy.  

 

Busy

Day 4 - Avignon

Friday, June 10th, 2016

Today as been a busy day with many of us doing two different tours followed by a cocktail party for guests who have sailed with Viking in the past.

Dinner last night was exceptional. I enjoyed the chef’s recommendation; scallops as an appetizer, Chateaubriand and a sumptuous chocolate dessert. It is a good thing we walk lots because the food is fabulous.

This morning a few people chose to sleep in (they traded being busy for a more restful start to the day) while many of us went out on a guided walk of Avignon, nicknamed “City of Popes” because it was home to seven popes from 1309 to 1377. We strolled, through the historic centre, then made our way to the Palace of the Popes for a guided tour through this rambling maze of Gothic architecture that served as papal residence, fortress, church and palace. 

Then we walked through St Peter’s church and on to the city market where we could taste a variety of olives and pickled garlic as well as numerous other things.  I decided to treat myself to a chocolate eclair which was heavenly.  This afternoon there were two optional tours.  Many of us went to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, visiting the vineyards and tasting the famous wine, while a few others went to see the Pont du Gard Aqueduct, one of ancient Rome’s great architectural wonders built 2000 years ago.  The system was designed to carry 44 million gallons of water each day over a tiny gradient of 25 inches per mile for 31 miles.

The lovely thing about a Viking cruise is you can choose just how busy you want to be – for those with boundless energy there is something to do all day and for those who prefer a less busy schedule there are lovely places on board the ship to sit and read or just watch the world go by.

We have just finished another great dinner and shortly there will be a demonstration of lovely French cheese.  Later tonight we will arrive in the quaint town of Viviers which we will explore tomorrow.

I will tell you all about that tomorrow.

Wind

Day 3 - Arles

Thursday, June 9th, 2016

The word for today is in honour of the Mistral Winds which blow in this region of Provence about 120 days per year.  They blow from the north and offer a lovely cooling breeze on a warm day.  They have also made it difficult for the folks who wanted to sit out on the sundeck this afternoon and more than once Paul has had to go running after his hat as the winds took it off his head.

We had a very enjoyable dinner last night and I think most of our group was in bed by shortly after dinner and fast asleep.  We woke up refreshed this morning and ready for another great day

The ship left Avignon early this morning and sailed to Tarascon which is about a 25 minute bus ride to Arles, a town famous for many things including the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh who lived there and painted many scenes which became famous paintings.

This is a copy of the painting of the courtyard of the hospital, in the courtyard of the hospital,

where he went when he cut off his ear.

Arles has amazing architectural highlights and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS). The city’s vibrant colours and striking quality of light that have inspired many artists. Arles is also the site of some impressive Roman ruins, including Les Arènes - an arena that seats 20,000 and is still in use; and the 15th century Church of Saint-Trôphime. 

Some folks came back to ship for lunch while quite a few chose to stay in Arles for a few more hours and enjoy this quintessential French city.  Paul and I enjoyed meandering the quaint streets and sitting at a table at a sidewalk café where we had the most fascinating “conversation” with an elderly man.  Our French is limited as was his English but through a few words and sign language we found out he was originally from Portugal, had lived in Arles 34 years and he strong views that religion could be very destructive.  

My lost luggage has returned and tonight we will enjoy the captain’s cocktail party before dinner.  I am very happy to have something different to wear!