Arles - Friday 18 August

We awoke to the usual blue skies and sunshine. David was the first passenger on the boat to the gym by 6am and spent around 45 minutes there before we headed to breakfast just after 7am. There was a fabulous selection of everything you could imagine that someone might want for breakfast. There was even a separate stand for GF bread and cereal. I was told by the maitre di that all the hot buffet items were GF, so after some lovely fresh fruit I checked out the buffet. A few items held potential as typically having gluten. I avoided the sausages and asked about the hash browns. No, they had gluten in them said the cook attending these.... sheesh. Who do you believe. I also needed to check if the GF toast was being toasted in a separate toaster. So, I asked to see the chef with the intention if asking all these things once and not having to bother again. The hotel manager (a rather stern woman who reminded me of Rosemary at Essie Summers) took me to the head restaurant person, who had been the one who'd told me all the hot food was GF (does he cook the food.... a cook had told me things were NOT GF?) and I was left feeling like they thought I should just accept what was said. Hmmm, not after having two conflicting experiences already. Anyway, enough of this grizzle, but those several of you who are fellow GFs will understand the need to check.

This morning we took a walking tour of central Arles. Arles is situated in Southwest `Provence, north-east of the wilderness Camargue region. Arles is most famous for its Roman ruins and its association with Van Gogh, these were the focus of our tour.

We followed our guide, wearing our vox headsets so that we could hear everything she said. These work very well. We first visited the ancient Roman gladiatorial amphitheatre, which was surprisingly intact and is still used for bullfights today (sometimes the fights that don't kill the bull, and sometimes the fights that do...). It was interesting that, at one stage the whole arena had the arches filled in and a small medieval town built within. We also saw the remains of the Roman theatre, still used for staging events today.

We also visited the Place de la Republique and saw the outside of the Church of Saint Trophime - a Romanesque style with ornate carvings framing its doorway and depicting the Final Judgment. Next to this is the 17th Century town hall and an obelisk and fountains are in the centre of the Place. We also saw the Forum Square.

Along the way we saw places where Van Gogh spent his time, and that he painted, including where he painted one of his starry night paintings, the hospital and its cloister and gardens, the house he lived in, and a cafe which he represented in his Cafe at Night painting.

After leaving the tour, we enjoyed a coffee in one of the narrow streets, and then wandered quietly back to the boat by 12:30pm, having had a pleasant and informative tour, but also being glad to be out of the 34C heat.

Lunch was at 1pm, and was mostly buffet, but a la carte was also available. We availed ourselves of a mix of both. We sat with a lovely couple from Leicester in the UK. Andrew will be impressed to know that I enjoyed a delicious plate of cream of brussel sprout soup! The maitre di was very attentive of me and my gluten free needs, and provided me with a beautiful layered cream cake reminiscent of the coconut cream cakes I used to enjoy on the Princess cruises. I asked for cream to go with it and whether this was gluten free..... of course...

We returned to our cabin at 1:30pm and promptly fell asleep (yes, even me)! And I then set about updating this blog - typing much more easily on the standard keyboard we're used to, attached to the TV/iMac in our cabin. David headed off to do some putting on the sun deck and a bit of a mooch around. Before we knew it we were meeting in the lounge for an update from our Tour Director, Jonis. Then we joined the Todds and Barrows for another lovely dinner. We finished around 9pm but we're too tired to be bothered to see the local entertainment back in the lounge.

At 4am in the morning, we'll be leaving for Avignon. We also hope to keep tabs on the big rugby game later that morning.