I was very sleepy when I wrote the previous post; I’ve gone back and added a little explanation about the establishment of the silk industry in Lyon, and also a video explaining designing for the Jacquard loom. Go back and check it out if you wish!
We spent seven days on the Rhône River on the AmaWaterways Colors of Provence cruise. The AmaKristina can carry 156 passengers; we had 126. It’s very different from ocean cruising because of the size; things are on a smaller, more intimate scale. We went through 12 river locks on this trip; that was very interesting! Many of the locks are also hydroelectric dams.
I hadn’t realized how much the name Rhône shows up in things I’ve heard of. Côtes du Rhône wines, or banks of the Rhone. There are a lot of wineries, mostly Syrah grape in the section we cruised. Valrhôna chocolate, which is based in Tournon. The ViaRhôna, a bike path that will eventually go from Geneva to Marseilles (we rode on just a bit of this for one of our excursions).
I wish we had a little more time in Vienne. We opted for the bike ride on the ViaRhôna, but that meant missing a walking tour that included the 1st century Roman Temple of Augustus and Livia. Well preserved, because it has served as many different things during the ages: a medieval church, Temple of Reason during the French Revolution, 19th century courthouse and library. (Thanks, Smithsonian lecture!)
Also seen on our ride. The left tower dates from the 14th century, and the house from the 16th century. Living on the west coast of the USA, our house is old at 105 years. Quite a difference.
We had a wine and chocolate tasting at Château de Tournon. It was interesting to have a white wine with chocolate! I was the only person who said they didn’t like this wine; it was a Marsanne that had been barrel aged. I don’t like oaky whites. But pairing it with milk chocolate made it better for me. So, if you like something about a wine, you can pair it with a food that emphasizes that characteristic, but if there’s something you don’t like, you can pair it with something that diminishes it. I hadn’t thought that hard about pairings before, just what I like or don’t like. Good to think about the why. PS that middle chocolate was amazing, dark chocolate with coconut praline. Perfect with the wine it paired with.
We stopped by the Valrhôna gift shop, but didn’t take in the museum. Samples were delish! On to Avignon…
We woke up in Avignon, and went on a food tour to Les Halles Market. Wine before noon? Why not?
The Taste of Avignon began with olives and olive spreads. The garlic? Pickled for months, didn’t taste pickled, and it was delicious.
Next up, a very lovely wine. Chateauneuf du Pape, Domaine du Bois de Saint Jean, 100% Grenache.
It was paired with cheeses from another shop. The rectangles towards the back are sheep cheese, and a little firmer than the 3 goat cheeses. All were fabulous, especially with this wine.
We also stopped at a shop that had cookies and candy on the way back to the ship. Nougat is a Provençal specialty; I bought some to share with my workout buddies at home.
We had some time to wander through the old town before heading back to the ship. There was a flea market in the square outside Les Halles.
No room for these treasures!
In the afternoon, DH took a nap, and I went to see the Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct that was built to carry water from Uzès to Nimes over the Gardon River in the first century AD. The drop averages about a centimeter per 600 feet over 31 miles.
I hiked up to the top with some new bike buddies from the day before.
There were kayakers in the river; that looked like a fun expedition.
Is it old? YES.
I struggled to catch a glimpse of the other famous bridge from our bus. I think we cruised past it early in the morning; I wish I’d known. Sur le pont d’Avignon, l’on y danse…It’s actually the Pont Saint Bénézet, made famous in the song. The first bridge here was built in the 12th century, and rebuilt in the 13th century. It washed out during floods several times, and it ceased to be usable in the 17th century. Four of the 22 arches of the rebuilt bridge remain.
Or final stop was in Arles. We opted to explore the old town on our own in the morning.
The Roman amphitheater is the centerpiece of the old town. It was built in 90 AD and can seat 20,000 people. There are still events held here, including concerts and bullfighting.
We saw an enormous cat here, larger than a typical house cat or feral cat. And this little black charmer.
We took a van Gogh-centric walking tour in the afternoon.
There are signs like this all over town, showing where van Gogh may have painted. This is on the bank of the Rhône, and it looks like he was as captivated by the Big Dipper as I was.
This one is outside the amphitheater. He was more interested in the people than the arena the painting is named for! Note the woman in green with the white scarf; this is traditional Arlesienne clothing. (Thanks, Smithsonian lecture!)
This church was built between the 12th and 15th century, and is Romanesque architecture. The sculpture over the door is the Last Judgement. The columns are repurposed from older Roman buildings.
To the left of the portal you can see the saints going to heaven, and to the right you see the damned in chains, the flames of hell licking up their legs. If your populace was illiterate, it was a way to get the message across! (Again, thanks Smithsonian lectures!)
This is a pretty busy square (Place de la Republique), with the church, city hall, and a 4th century Roman obelisk. So much history!
Our last morning in Arles saw a weather change. Misty. And the mosquitoes came in with the mist! We had a very swatty walk that morning, then headed to the train to return to Paris for our flight home.
The first leg of our train trip took about 3 hours, and traced our way back up the Rhône to Lyon. Seven days, or 3 hours. The cruise was great! AmaWaterways had comfortable staterooms, great food, and well curated excursions, which were included in the price of the cruise. We’d consider doing another one…someday. (DH can tell you I took a lot of pictures of my food; it was so well presented, as well as delicious. But that’s a lot of storage space, so I’m not sharing them.)
Now I’m home and it’s time to get back to work. I’m teaching a class tomorrow at For Yarn’s Sake. Colorwork, one strand at a time. Guess I should get my materials together!
