Travel itinerary for Provence France June 17 - June 28
Monday 6/17 & Tuesday 6/18 in Aix De Provence
Wed. 6/19 bus to Tarascon to board the Delling ship
Thursday 6/20 sail south to Arles then sail back to Tarascon for the night
Friday 6/21 sail north to Avignon
Saturday 6/22 Birthdays for Wayne and GG. We sailed north to Viviers, our favorite medieval town. We had the best guide, a local named Janet. There were stunning views from the top of the hill where the Catholic Church was built. So beautiful!!
Sunday 6/23 sail north to Tournon
Monday 6/24 sail north to Vienne - No morning tour but we bused to medieval town of Perouge about an hour away. Awesome medieval town with a fortress church. It's often used as a movie set.
Tuesday 6/25 we sailed north to Lyon during the night. Lyon is a big, busy city, with tons of traffic and many, many stop lights. Very slow going at rush hours. I was happy that I wasn't driving.
Wed. 6/26 we're still docked in Lyon and all packed up. We needed to have our bags in the hallway at 5:45 am in order to depart for the Lyon airport at 6:30. The trip back was a nightmare because of the Aer Lingus was on strike. We ended up taking a taxi back to the bowels of Lyon ($75 EU each way) to stay at the filthy Restid Hotel. Oy Vey!
Thursday 6/27 after our flight on Lufthansa Airline (German) was postponed to Frankfurt. We stood in line for 3 hours to finally get some help from a Lufthansa Airline supervisor. He somehow managed to get us on flight from Frankfurt to Washington D. C. and then from D. C. to Bradly Field. We finally arrived home at 2am on Friday 6/28.
We're both sick with this international bug were calling Le Crud Francaise
Thursday 6/27 we start out at the Restid Hotel and take a taxi (Amir) back to the Lyon airport. It was morning rush hour and slower and more costly. We arrived for a 10:40 am flight to Frankfurt that was postponed until 1 pm which meant we would miss our connection to Washington D. C.....After 4 hours with a Lufthansa Representative and thanks to him he did get us on a flight to D.C. with a connection to Harford CT. We didn't know if we would have to stay another night this time in Frankfurt! Oy
Friday 6/28 we arrived back in Leyden about 2 am!
I shot this image of a fountain in Aux de Provence on our first day with my Sony mirror-less camera. Aux is known for it's many fountains.
We spent Sunday night flying to Paris, then Monday flying to Marseilles then a bus to Aix de Provence, north of Marseilles, spending Monday and Tuesday at the Grand Hotel Roi Rene in Aix. I was toast but I did a Round of Taiji (right side) in the hotel room focused on consistency.
Tuesday morning I did a brief round in our room of The 10+ and a Round (right side) using the 4 square feet method.
Wednesday I did another inside the hotel room practice in a super small space. Later I did a Round of Part I in the park down the street from the hotel.
On Wednesday we left Aix and did a three hour bus ride to Tarascon. We stopped at the oldest still standing Roman bridge. They no longer allow cars to drive over it. You can walk or ride a bicycle across. We kept riding north to where we met up with Wayne and Bobby and boarded the Viking Delling Ship for the week. The river cruise sailed north up the Rhone River through 12 locks and 6 stops at medieval towns, churches and castles ending in Lyon for the last two days.
Thursday morning we sailed south to Arles. I did another Round (right side) in a small space in our state room on the boat, before breakfast and the morning tour of Arles. It reminded me of doing a Round in a airplane bathroom!
The original "Starry Night" exhibited in Arles, where Vincent painted it when he was living there. Arles is also where he was hospitalized and where he lived for a short time with Paul Cezanne. was vibrant,with so much depth. Truly a sight to see! It was worth the effort. We got there early enough and it was raining pretty hard, all of which kept the crowds down. Yay!
On the tour of Arles, we got to see the original "Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh . It was incredible in person. We also got to tour a Roman Coliseum that is still standing and in regular use. It was amazing!
Later on Thursday we sailed back to Tarascon overnight. Early on Thursday we sailed south to Arles. Later on Thursday we sailed north up the Rhone to Avignon to see medieval ruins. We were originally supposed to spend two days in Avignon but the Olympic Torch was traveling through Avignon on Wednesday so Viking changed the plan to start in Tarascon instead. So we only got one day in Avignon.
Later on Thursday we sailed north to my favorite medieval town Viviers.