Colors of Provence - Rhone River Cruise
Bonjour! Greetings from the south of France!
Please click on the link above for the photo gallery. As I gain more experience with the structure of the blog, I’ve learned how to add external links, so feel free to click on the underlined text below to learn more about each experience.
For the next step of my journey, I embarked on a 7 day luxury cruise on the Rhone River in southeast France. We sailed with Amawaterways on the AmaKristina. Lap of luxury is not usually the way I roll, but this was my big retirement gift to self and the overall experience was fantastic!
We sailed to several villages, beginning in Arles and ending in Lyon, the gastronomical capital of the world. I battled a pretty nasty respiratory infection, wishing I had thought to travel with zinc, Vit C, and some antibiotics. A friend I’m with was also ill, she needed a physician for some prescriptions. We discovered that you need an EU doctor for any antibiotic (and some other) prescriptions, which you can access through the website Mobidoctor.eu. But it would have been so much easier to have come prepared! Keep this in mind as you plan for your next travel abroad.
Provence is quite stunning. Located in southeast France, the landscape is simply beautiful. There are many villages, each with its unique character and history. Architecturally, Provence has a history influenced first by the Romans, then the Medieval Ages, the Renaissance period, French Revolution, and World War II. There are fortresses, coliseums, cathedrals, amphitheaters from ancient times. Some have been excavated, some have been destroyed and rebuilt, some restored to original form. The local culture is reflected in its cuisine, which includes olive oil, fresh herbs, garlic, and famous wines. We were primarily in the Cotes du Rhone region, the wines primarily Syrah and Grenache. We also visited the Beaujolais region, with an overview of the vineyard and tasting of the wines produced by Domaine des Prevelieres in their beautiful wine cellar. This whole trip has been filled with so much amazing food and so much delicious wine.
Above is the itinerary and the villages/small cities I visited as the ship sailed north on the Rhone. I’ll touch on my favorite experiences and highlights along the way. In Arles, I took a guided tour through the village “in the footsteps of Van Gogh”. Van Gogh was drawn to Provence because of its unique light and landscapes. He only lived in Arles for 15 months, this is where he cut part of his ear off (or Paul Gaughan did during a feud, the story is not known for sure). He spent time in a local hospital and then just over a year in an insane asylum in the country near Arles. It is now thought me was bipolar and likely manic as he was prolific in his painting during this time, often completing his masterpieces in a day. He then moved closer to Paris and his brother and just a few months later he shot himself to death (or was shot by another, again the true story is not known). He only sold one painting while alive, his fame followed his death.
In Arles, there is a Roman coliseum, somewhat well preserved and renovated to an extent. Bull games are still a national pastime and they are still held in the coliseum today. It was weirdly easy to imagine what things were like 2000 years ago! There is a Van Gogh painting in the gallery, which is a depiction of people gathering for the games. When I say I saw many Roman ruins, I mean I saw many Roman ruins!
One of the true highlights was Carrieres des Lumieres, a technological immersive exhibition of the art of Claude Monet and Henri Rousseau, displayed on the walls of a massive quarry. Click on the link to get a sense of this, my words can’t do it justice (and I haven’t figured out how to post videos yet). And don’t miss it if you ever get the opportunity!
And a very special experience was a visit to a truffle farm near Gringan, France. Truffles are actually kind of rare and do not grow in many places. Two beautiful labrador retrievers, Niki and Gina, are specially trained to smell the truffles growing below the surface of the area surrounding oak trees. When they smell the truffles, they begin to dig so the farmer can harvest. It’s all a manual process. That, combined with the fact that truffles are not commonly grown, makes them highly sought after, so I assume it’s a lucrative business! The owner of the truffle farm said that some of the truffles sell for thousands of Euros per kilogram. Served with a really good local olive oil, Fleur del Sel, on a baguette, the truffles were outstanding!
I’m ending this first leg of my travel in Lyon. It’s truly a beautiful city where the Rhone and Saone Rivers converge. There is a startling dichotomy between Vieux Lyon (old Lyon), with quintessential southern France architecture, and the “concrete” Lyon, on the other side of the river, with more contemporary and now outdated 1960s and 70s buildings. It reminds me of Boston, where there is a mix of the same architectures - one so beautiful and timeless and the other an eyesore! A highlight of Lyon was a visit to Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bucose, a high-end specialty market filled with cheeses, sausages, and sweets. Bucose was a world renown three-Michelin star chef, who was really solely responsible for making Lyon the gastronomic capital of the world. We treated ourselves to dinner at Restaurant Christian Tetedoie, a Michelin-star restaurant of one of Paul Bucose’s proteges. See the photos in the gallery, the food was beyond comprehension and my ability to explain. For one night, I rested my head at Villa Maia, a luxury boutique hotel set up in the hills and overlooking Lyon. It was a real treat to self and is going to be hard to beat!
This is where I parted from my friends with whom I’ve been traveling and where I have now begun to venture off on my own. It’s been such a pleasure to travel with each of them (Debra, Rich, Jaye, Dana, Laura, and Dennis). I’m wishing them safe travels home in the coming few days. A bit of anxiety and apprehension has crept as I embark on my solo travel, but I’m really looking forward to the travel and I’m confident it will be a great experience!
Stay tuned for upcoming posts! I’m on to housesit for two golden retrievers in Divonne-Les-Bains, France, just over the border from Geneva, Switzerland, and then on to a week traveling through Switzerland by train. More info on Trusted Housesitters to follow in the next post as well.
Arrivederci for now!
Laurie