Rouen to Paris via Les Andelys - Tuesday 29 August

Everyone enjoyed today's later start and David still managed to do his stint in the boat's gym. We left Rouen during breakfast, and had a very pleasant morning cruising along the Seine to the villages of Le Petit Andely and Le Grand Andely (together called Les Andelys), where we docked at lunchtime.

David and I took different tours during the afternoon (in which the temperature reached 38C). I visited the twin villages named above and then viewed Châteaux Gaillard, the castle built by Richard the Lionheart in 1196-98. He was King of England and also Duke of Normandy, but died in 1199 after an eventful life, going on the third crusade, then being kidnapped for more than a year in Germany and held to ransom before his return to Normandy. 

During the tour we also visited another small church, and then another Notre Dame (built after Richard's death by his rival, Philippe August, the King of France who also then took control of this area).

David went on the visit to the Chateau de La Roche-Guyon which was built in the 12th century, controlling a river crossing of the Seine. It is unique in that it is built into the the mountainside and despite the exterior temperature being close to 38 degrees the interior was a cool 13 degrees, a temperature that is maintained even in winter. The limestone is the the significant factor. 

On another historical note the Chateau was famous for being the base of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel who defended Normandy against the Allies in World War 2 from a bunker located there. Rommel conspired to assassinate Hitler and was required to kill himself to save his family from a similar fate.

After this guided tour there was "free time" which involved a steep 250 step climb to the top which was rewarded with a spectacular view of the Seine and the surrounding landscape. Caution was required on the descent but in the end he got home safely passing Monet's Garden in Giverny on the way back to the ship.

At 5:15pm we set sail for Paris, where we are expected to arrive at 7:30am tomorrow morning.

At 6:30pm there was the Captain's Champagne Reception in the lounge, with a thank you to all the crew who have been looking after us for his week - we disembark on Thursday, and will be very sorry to farewell our marvellous Hungarian Cruise Director.

This was followed by the Farewell Gala Dinner. Mind you, every meal is awesome!

Rouen - Monday 28 August

Deciding not to go on the very full day tour to the Somme Battlefields (I get too emotional - the Barrows went but the Todds stayed behind like us), we were able to enjoy a late start to our day with breakfast at 8am. We then walked into Rouen (we're docked very close), with our Rick Steve's guide notes suggesting our route. The temperature today was due to hit 30+ (it did), and we thought we'd make the most of this quieter and cooler part of the day.

We walked past St Maclou, along a street of half-timbered buildings (I wondered how much longer some of these wooden beams could last...), and around to the Plague Cemetery. In the Middle Ages up to two thirds of the people here died. The area where the well now stands became a mass grave, with bodies dumped in a pit and soaked in lime to hasten decomposition. The bones were later stacked elsewhere around this courtyard. There were many ghoulish carvings on the buildings surrounding the well.



We passed the Town Hall and a statue of Napoleon, and then reached the Palace of Justice - the parliament building, dating from 1550, in a gothic style. This was situated on the Street of the Jews and the area of what had been the Jewish Quarter from the 10th century until the early 14th century, when the Jews were expelled from France, their homes destroyed and their land taken and used for this building.



We reached the Joan of Arc Church and the place where she died (marked by the Cross), burnt at the stake in 1431 in the old market square and beside an older church on the site prior to this modern church (ruins of an older church can also be seen). Joan of Arc is the Patron Saint of France. The inside of this church was very beautiful.



We then passed under the Great Clock (Gros Horloge), dating from around 1528.



Further on was Notre-Dame Cathedral. Looking at the facade, it was amazing to think that Monet had painted close to 30 paintings of it, at different times of the day. Indeed, there was a panel on the spot where he stood his easel, with a photo of one of his impressionist paintings. The cathedral was closed until 2pm, so we returned to the boat for lunch, had a bit of a catnap, and then headed out again around 2:20pm. We decided not to do the afternoon walking tour of Rouen provided by APT, having seen most of it this morning. We went straight to Notre Dame and used Rick's notes to guide us through the cathedral.



We were excited to see a tomb that once contained the heart of Richard the Lionheart; another for Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy and the leader of the first Vikings who decided to settle here after attacking Paris (interesting for those of you who would have watched the Vikings TV series) - he was also the great great great great grandfather of William the Conqueror. There were statues of a number of saints, another chapel dedicated to Joan of Arc.









After this, we stepped out into the heat, and headed for a cafe and enjoyed a couple of apple cider brut. Then it was back to the boat for some more refreshing drinks and a chance to relax.

The buses were late back from the Somme tour, so they had a very long day, that also sounded very emotional. I definitely would not have coped as my eyes welled up just with Jan telling me about it and some of the awful stories of what had happened during those battles.

Rouen - excursion to Honfleur - Sunday 27 August

Very early this morning we docked in the capital of Normandy - Rouen. We will remain docked here for two days.

This morning we thoroughly enjoyed our half-day excursion to Honfleur (about one and a quarter hours away by tour bus - just about everyone went). It was a glorious morning, not too hot, and before it got too busy with tourists.

Honfleur is an very picturesque port and fishing town set in the Seine estuary, and close to the English Channel, opposite the city of Le Havre (accessible via a huge bridge). We enjoyed a one-hour guided tour of the town, and then a quiet hour on our own, before the return journey to the boat.

Originally a Viking port, the 17th century harbour is ringed with 15th and 16th century buildings, very narrow and very high too! The town dates from the 11th century and changed hands between France and England many times during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). From the 16th to 19th centuries Honfleur was a centre for trade with North America and Asia. Indeed, the French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed to Canada from here in 1608 and founded Quebec. The 19th century painter, Eugène Boudin lived in Honfleur, and attracted visits from others including Monet. The musician, Erik Satie was also born here. Honfleur was lucky to escape World War II bombings - and so we were able to appreciate the beauty of this old, quaint and colourful town.

We loved walking around the old port, and along the narrow cobbled streets. We saw the old surviving gatehouse (remaining from the original fortified wall), a bronze bust of Samuel de Champlain, many old timber-framed Norman buildings, the Rue de la Prison, old cobbled courtyards, the old salt warehouse with its old wooden ceiling, and I got a peak into the wooden and wood-shingled St Catherine's Church. Fortunately, a World War II bomb that had fallen through the roof of the church did not explode! The separate bell tower was also quite unique.









David and I sat and enjoyed the wonderful views across the ancient harbour, with a glass of cider brut each - a very popular local drink. We decided not to sample the local salted caramel, and might taste the Calvados apple brandy later - an acquired taste, according to some of the other passengers.



We returned to the ship for a late 1:30pm lunch, where I have to say I endulged in two small plates of the best casserole I have ever had - a Boeuf bourguignon. Wow - I described it as stunning, and Jill described it as exquisite. Then, we relaxed in the lounge for the afternoon - it was quite hot outside - 28C). We will have a tour of the town of Rouen tomorrow, and I have to say that this lunch and afternoon were my most relaxing time of the whole trip.

Dinner this evening was our booking at the Chef's Table restaurant at the stern of the boat, with their very gourmet degustation menu. Some of us struggled with the escargots, but I did eat a couple of millimetres of the end of one... Mark helped us out with the others!






In the lounge after dinner, I sampled the Calvados brandy.... I managed probably a teaspoonful!

Caudebec-en-Caux and Normandy D-Day Landing Beaches - Saturday 26 August

We sailed hard against the tide during the night and arrived in Caudebec-en-Caux just before our early 8am start for our full day tour to the D-Day landings on a group of Normandy beaches. We were given packed picnic lunches to take with us - a GF one for me.

These D-Day beaches cover 54 miles of the Atlantic coast, from Utah Beach, to Sword Beach, and they represent the largest military operation in history. It was incredible to think that these now serene beaches were descended upon, by sea and air, by thousands upon thousands of soldiers, at the crack of dawn on 6 June 1944.

The journey to Arromanches-les-Bains took two hours - a long day was ahead. This town is now a seaside resort lying on the English Channel. During the Normandy Invasion of World War II, this town and its beach were part of the Gold Beach landing area and was taken by the British 50th Division on D-Day (June 6 1944). Arromanches became one of two assembly points for the Mulberry artificial harbours, temporary jetties of prefabricated concrete supports, steel spans, and floating piers that were towed across the channel in sections and aligned perpendicularly to the beach. Our first stop was at the 360 Degree museum for the 20 minute film clip presentation of films and photos from the actual D-Day and subsequent winning back of Normandy by the Americans and Commonwealth forces, from the Nazis. It was very moving... Then we went down to the town itself, for our picnic lunches and to view or walk on the beach and see the remains of the artificial harbour - the pieces having been floated or brought in behind the thousands of troops being shipped in and bombarded mercilessly by the Germans. This was the site of the largest amphibious attack ever.

We then visited a similar harbour on Omaha Beach, but this one had been destroyed by harsh storms. There was a lovely memorial work there, on the beachfront, between some flags.

We were also taken to a section of Hitler's Atlantic Wall, where he had strategically placed huge concrete gun batteries with guns that could shoot as far as 14 miles.

Next we travelled to the huge American Cemetery, where the thousands of white crosses were a poignant reminder, beside the Omaha section of beach, of the sad loss of life of so many young men coming in to these beaches to liberate Normandy and France.

Finally, we visited the Commonwealth Memorial, a much less formal and manicured site, but equally emotional. In fact, we had a wreath-laying ceremony here, the words read by the tour guide from our bus (an outstanding guide, who had brought some very complex strategic events to life for us, in a clear and interesting way, with stories and facts). I found this a bit too emotional in the end and walked away with a few sobs escaping from my mouth and tears from my eyes.

Then began the two hour journey on the bus, back to our boat. A long but forever memorable, and VERY important day - worth our journey to Europe on its own - to see these beaches and to hear of the planning and sacrifices made by so many.

Vernon and Giverny - Friday 25 August

It was good to have a lie-in this morning and time to relax and read, the morning tour not leaving until 10:45am. We had sailed through the night and morning, along the Seine from Paris to Vernon. I couldn't lent help but think of how 1100 years ago, the Vikings had raided Paris by sailing up this very river. We were docked up against a Viking Cruises boat, and had to cross through their sun deck and reception area in order to get ashore. When we returned from our morning outing, another boat had docked beside us, so our boat was like the meat in a sandwich.

The morning tour was a visit to Chateaux de Bizy, hidden behind trees in a huge estate. Our group started with an activity involving trying to determine the scents of herbs and flowers hidden in some small containers. Then there was a tour of the stable entrance area, a courtyard, a look from the terrace over the park-like gardens and dried up ornamental ponds, and then into some of the rooms while we heard some of the difficult history of the families who had owned the estate over the years since before Louis XIV. The tour finished with apple cider cocktails and nibbles.





After a late lunch back on the boat we headed out again, to Giverny, famous for the house and gardens of the Impressionist master, Claude Monet. The artist lived there for more than four decades and immortalised the flowers, footbridges and stone structures of his country estate in some of his most famous paintings, including his renowned Water Lilies series. We loved the gardens, and also had an excellent tour guide. Although it was very busy, we still kept moving and our guide kept us interested without overloading us.









In the evening we had the Gala Welcome dinner (with a special menu) for this one-week cruise. We sat with a couple from Perth who had just joined this leg of the cruise, and another couple from Whakatane who we have sat with before. We set sail for Caudebec during dinner, and had been warned that the engines would be working hard tonight, as we would be fighting the incoming tide further down the Seine (it rises 4 metres at high tide).

Lyon to Paris - Thursday 24 August

An early start this morning, with breakfast at 6:30am, suitcases out by 6:45am (being taken separately to Paris by truck), and buses leaving for the train station at 8am. 

Our TGV fast train was only in the station for 10 minutes, with a huge crowd of people boarding, but still left on time at 9:04am.

We sped north at up to 322km per hour (that is not a typo) and arrived in Paris just two hours later. It was a pleasant journey and the landscape was very pleasant. 

Arriving in Paris, we then enjoyed a two-hour bus tour of some key sights. Then we joined a tour boat just under the Eiffel Tour for a two-hour cruise up and down the Seine, while we enjoyed a lovely three-course lunch. We then returned to shore and drove for two minutes, to where our next APT cruise was to start on the AmaLyra. 99 of the 136 passengers were like us and had continued from the Rhône trip.

Dinner was the usual pleasant event, with a new staff looking after us, but continuing with the same Cruise Director. We popped out onto the bow of the boat at 9pm to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up, and then it literally sparkled on the hour, for five minutes.

Lyon - Wednesday 23 August

This morning we awoke to what was to become a 33C day in the beautiful city of Lyon, France's third largest city on the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. The city is known for its gastronomic delights, as well as its history - including being the birthplace of cinema thanks to the Lumiére brothers.

David and I both chose the morning bus and walking tour of Lyon, firstly visiting the painted walls (trompe l'oeil) or mural frescoes on frontages of buildings and telling the history of Lyon.



We drove past the Place Bellecour with its equestrian statue of Louis XIV and saw a number of other key buildings and sites (City Hall, Palais de Justice, and more) before stopping to walk through some of the cobbled streets of Vieux Lyon (old town) and a couple of interesting Traboules (shortcut passageways leading to courtyards of old apartment homes). With some free time, David and I then enjoyed a brief visit to the gothic St Jean Cathedral and its beautiful 13th and 14h century stained glass and its medieval astronomical clock (1383).



Next stop was the interesting Les Halles food market, with a tour past some amazing food stores, and then a sampling of classic Lyon delicacies. Most of these did not appeal to David or me (very fatty and sometimes unappealing parts of pigs, and mostly not gluten-free).



A special Lyonnais lunch was held back at the boat (including escargots and frogs' legs for those who wished to endulge, and I was treated to specially made GF crepes)! We had a quiet afternoon before getting ready for the Farewell Cocktails and then Captain's Farewell Gala Dinner (tonight is the last night for what is a seven night cruise for 37 of the 136 passengers on board).

Dinner had a very special and rather fancy menu. Then we headed to our cabin to pack for our early departure in the morning - by TGV fast train for a Paris, where we will join a different APT boat (the Amalyra) for our seven day Seine River cruise.

Belleville - Beaujolais & Dombes region & to Lyon - Tuesday 22 August

This morning we arrived in Belleville on the Saône River, just north of Lyon. Today David and I did different tours again. I wanted to do something completely different than one of the many wine visits on this river cruise, and I was in a 'select' group of just 24 people who took a tour into the Dombes region to visit the picturesque town of Chatillon sur Chalaronne (where Vincent de Paul had lived for a year). We had a short tour of the town, followed by the opportunity to taste the regional specialty of frogs' legs (Cuisses de Grenouille) at a local hotel restaurant. I had four leg portions that were cooked separately, just fried in butter. But in this region, these are typically dusted with flour before being fried. They tasted exactly like chicken - in fact, it was a bit like eating a chicken wing. Only the upper joint of the hind leg is served, which has a single bone. We had a small glass of wine with these. Frogs have recently been declared a protected species in France, so today they are mostly imported from Eastern Europe or Asia.

We then travelled further into the Dombes region, passing by huge fields of corn, or sunflowers; and also a few of the thousands of ponds the area is known for. These often get drained by farmers during particularly hot and dry conditions, as they have this summer.

We then arrived at a snail (escargot) farm. These are known to be high in protein, low in fat, and rich in fatty acids. This farmer was cultivating around 160,000 snails on his medium-sized farm. But because of the heat wave, he was expecting a bad year, losing around 40,000 snails. We heard about the process involved in farming these (from the snail eggs), and saw the farm area set aside for this. We heard how the snails are killed by boiling them alive for 10 minutes. Then they are put into a 'soup' to tenderise them, and then these may be used in this form, or mixed with a garlic sauce, or Provençal style tomato sauce, and made into something rather like a pâté to spread on toast. I was only able to sample one such pâté with a plastic spoon. The other samples were all on toast or in small pastry shells. It tasted fine, but someone else reported that the tasting of small pieces of snail was a bit rubbery.



David did the tour that involved visiting the medieval village of Oingt and a Beaujolais vineyard. The drive in the bus was picturesque through the rolling hills of Beaujolais. The climate is ideal for growing grapes with lots of sunshine and granite-based soils that add structure to the wines. Three wines were sampled, a rose, red and Chardonnay. All were very pleasant and the Chardonnay went very well with the goat's cheese and bread.

Back on the buses (noting the temperature was 33C) we were heading back to a 1pm lunch on the boat. I did see a race track on the way back - David would have been interested. For lunch I enjoyed soup, a beautiful piece of sole rolled around some salmon mousse, and a specially made gluten free cheesecake.

At 2:45pm, the boat turned around, and headed back down the Sâone towards Lyon. It was a very serene and picturesque journey, stopping just before 7pm at L'Abbaye de Collonges - the Michelin-starred restaurant of Paul Bocuse, a French chef who is famous for the high quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine. He is apparently one of the most prominent chefs associated with nouvelle cuisine, which is less opulent and calorific than traditional classic cuisine.



We walked the short distance to the restaurant, on what was a gloriously warm and still evening, for our decadent feast and evening entertainment. We arrived to the sound of lovingly restored fairground organs. We sat with the Todds and the Barrows, and a nice couple from the UK, and enjoyed a multi-course menu, served by rather stern waiters (all men...) in white jackets. We had crayfish, and veal, and cheeses, petit-fours, and then dessert (the latter served by some of the waiters racing downstairs carrying multiple plates at once - a health and safety nightmare). A lovely evening was had by all. At 10pm David and I were amongst the first to head the three minute walk back to the boat. Shortly after, the boat set sail for the hour and a half journey back to Lyon.