Vienne is 35 km south of Lyon and its claim to fame is that it was a major center during Roman times after being captured by Caesar’s armies in 47 BCE. It was important because of its presence on the Rhone River. As a result it had a Roman Temple dedicated to Augustus and Livia, a large Roman Theater and several important medieval churches, which remain to this day.
Vienne is also famous for the 1311 Council of Vienne when the Catholic Church withdrew papal support for the Knights of the Templars, which led to their demise. In 1800 the population of Vienne was 10,362; today it is 30,059.
Morning in Vienne. There is commercial traffic on the river, not just river cruises.
AmaWaterways wisely has created three types of tours that cover the same activity: Regular, Active ( who want to do walk more) and gentle ( who walk less). Our tour today was entitled: Footsteps of Ancient Romans. There were two others: a 3km hike up to Mont Pipet for views and a 17km bike ride along the Rhone River. We chose the 2.5 hour “regular” walking tour of Vienne which left at the reasonable hour of 9AM, our kind of time. It turned out to be a bit of a “wow” tour when we saw the Roman ruins.
We get to ride the “train “ to the top of Mount Pipet. The active group was going to walk.
Description of the mountain we are on.
The Roman theater was built in 40-50CE and could hold 13,000 people, making it one of the largest in the empire. It is still used today. There is a famous jazz festival held here in the summer.
Looking down at Vienne and the Rhone River.
The ruins of an old fort overlooking the river.
Looking the the other direction.
The center of town as seen from Mt. Pipet.
That is our boat anchored in the heart of downtown.
Still have not mastered taking selfies.
The chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame de-la-Salette.
The doors on the chapel on Mt. Piper.
Inside the church.
City hall of Vienne.
A door in Vienne.
A mosaic from the days of the Romans.
A very old door in Vienne.
The Roman temple dedicated to Augustus and his wife, Livia. It was built in the 1st century CE. After the fall of the empire it became a church, a jail, a library, a court and a museum before being restored in 1852 to its original form.
After the Romans left a church was made out of the temple.
What Vienne looked like during the Roman times.
Modern art next to the Roman temple. I think it is a cow.
Thomas Jefferson was here! He liked French wines.
A very old door in Vienne.
We were back on board by lunch. By 12:15 PM the ship weighed anchor and continued it trip down the Rhone River.
Gifts we received from AmaWaterways left in our cabin while we were gone.
Today’s lunch menu.
The appetizers for the day. Each day was different.
Each day at lunch there was a tray of three new cheeses available.
During lunch we started passing these vineyards on very steep hillsides. I had never seen such steepness. There is no way you can use machinery to tend to them; it had to be hand labor.
More steep hillsides.
I cannot imagine the effort need to make these terraces with brick walls.
One of many bridges we sailed under. We had to lower the awnings on the sun deck and even the radar mast and the wheel house to have enough clearance. There had been a lot of rain before we came which caused the river to be higher than normal, requiring these actions to be taken.
Typically we dropped 30-35 feet in each lock we passed.
Seagulls were building nests on the walls of the locks.
Later in the afternoon we had the option of participating in a on-board lecture by a local wine sommelier about the wines from the Cotes-du-Rhone region near here.
The local sommelier explaining wines and challenging us with wine tidbits.
Preparing for the wine tasting.
The wines we tasted. All were priced below 25 Euros.
As former passengers on a AmaWaterways cruise we were invited to a “pre” normal cocktail hour where champagne or other libations were offered as we were thanked for our business. About 30 people were in attendance. Then there was the usual 6PM cocktail hour with Roberto entertaining us with song, followed at 6:45 by a short presentation by Helene about tomorrow’s activities, followed by dinner at 7 PM. A big surprise before we left the cocktail hour was when Roberto indicated he was a trained baritone opera singer and he treated us to a famous aria in Italian before we left. I am not an opera fan but I sure enjoyed his song.
Appetizers served at the reunion party for previous AMA travelers.
Helene, our cruise manager with Yvonne and Jane.
Roberto singing an opera aria.
Today’s dinner menu.
A good salad with a poached egg.
Salmon entree.
The beef brisket with a great sauce.
At 7PM we were already docked in Tournon where we will stay for two nights. We had sailed all of 60 km today! It was still light after dinner so we briefly went ashore because we saw a carnival that had been operating earlier in the day. It turns out Jane has a fondness for cotton candy and we thought that certainly a carnival would offer it. Sadly we saw that the rides were now shut down and the carnival was obviously getting ready to leave. We were about to return to the ship when we saw a food booth that was still open and we wandered over. Well, the rest of the story can be seen in the pictures below!
Docked in Tournon.
Sunset in Vienne.
We ordered a large one. As we watched her making it we got concerned that we may over ordered!
That is one humongous cotton candy!
Two minutes later it looked like this!
Eight minutes after it was made it was all gone!
The chefs busy at work in the kitchen. At least they have a view while working.
The after dinner entertainment tonight was by the La Dulce France trio playing semi-classical French music. We stayed a bit before retiring for the night.
The La Dulce France Trio providing the evening entertainment.
April 13, 2024: Exploring the Beaujolais Wine Region of France
We are still in Lyon but will be exploring the Beaujolais region, known as the “Pays d’Or – the land of golden stones”, named for the color of limestone used for its homes and castles this morning. Later we set sail on the Rhone River, heading south.
The breakfast buffet on board is excellent-lots of choices, the fruit is fresh and sweet, the bacon is always crispy and they put a small pot of hot coffee on each table. It is a good way to start the day.
Each morning brought three new “sweets” to the breakfast buffet.
There was a made to order egg/omelet station besides the usual breakfast buffet items.
The only tour offered today was a visit to a winery in the Beaujolais area which is located a few kilometers from Lyon. Yvonne chose to not go because she had an opportunity to get a massage on board the ship later this morning. Hint: We have learned that if you want to use the spa services your ship might offer you must book them as soon as you board the ship in order to get a time that does not conflict with other ship activities. I have my massage scheduled for later this afternoon when we set sail and there are no other conflicting activities. Another pleasant surprise was that AmaWaterways schedules their tours to leave at a decent hour. Today we were slated to leave at 9:30AM with a return by 12:30, just in time for lunch!
The countryside is lovely- green rolling hills, idyllic small villages, and many small vineyards, which surprised me as we are used to the very large vineyards we see in the US. The other surprising thing was that the vines are very short (1-2 feet) high, compared to the 3-4 foot height we see in the US.
The buses used for touring were first class!
Supposedly this was a real fossil.
All the buildings in this region of France have this “golden color” because of the limestone used in their construction.
This is the Château de Châtillon-d’Azergues, a castle that dates back to the 13th and 15th century. It is privately owned.
Château de Chessy, dating back to the 12th century, is nearby.
A smaller chateau in the area.
French road signs.
I was told houses have these shutters to keep out the cold in the winter and the heat in the summer.
A small building is commonly seen in the middle of fields, used to store farming equipment and provide a place for the worker to nap while working the vineyards.
A villa with its vineyards in Moire, France,
A small village church in Moire.
Each village has a cross to mark its entrance. It was used to let people know it was a religious community. There is also a cross at the exit of a village. These date back centuries.
The countryside in the Beaujolais region of France where we will be visiting a winery.
The village of Oingt.
A rural cemetery.
Another example of a cross marking entrance to a village. We counted over 12 during our journey.
Countryside around Oingt.
More pastoral scenes.
The two brothers now run the winery.
Our local tour guide, Alex , and the spokesperson from the Morel winery, which we were visiting.
Their dog which is named “iPad”!
Fragrant lilacs in bloom.
The rocky soil is the key to the wine’s taste.
A single vine which was surprisingly short, compared to the vines of US wineries.
The view across the valley at the winery.
The chateau where the wine is made.
Their mailbox.
The wine cellar is located under the house, complete with a dirt floor.
A dish of very dry/hard cheese and sausage accompanied the wine tasting.
I was surprised to learn they bottle over 100,000 bottles a year, mostly reds which this area of France is known for.
The three wines we tasted- a white and two reds.
I came alone as Yvonne was busy having a massage on the boat.
An ancient stone fence.
One of their three plots of vines.
The village of Oingt which has a population of 680 people. It is in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France.
I liked the light post.
A home in the large village of Chessy, population 5131.
The whole region is filled with small plots of vines.
Another example of a storage shed in a vineyard.
A former chateau in Bagnols which is now a high end hotel serving people like Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
A church in the distance.
A chateau in Châtillon.
Returning to Lyon in time for lunch. This is one of many boats that serve as permanent homes on the Rhône River.
Today’s luncheon menu.
Each lunch came with a selection of appetizers of varying types.
But several of us opted for a good, old hamburger with fries!
An eclair for dessert.
We set set sail from Lyon at 12:45PM. There was a presentation on silk painting and printing by a local producer. which, obviously, was of great interest to the women on board. Others simply sat in the lounge or up on the sun deck to watch the world go by. Before long we sent through the first of the many locks we would encounter on this trip.
Our travel itinerary for the week.
Our vessel, the Kristina.
The peaceful Rhône River near Lyon.
The shore was mostly lines with trees at this point. The other shore had hills.
One of several bridges we encountered this afternoon. Many required us to lower the sun deck canopies and even the radar mast on the ship to clear the bridge!
We saw several different groupings of swans during our afternoon voyage.
The ruins of a fort on the hillside.
A presentation on silk weaving and painting.
Some of the silk scarves for sale. The picture was taken before the ladies had a chance to buy them.
Oh, oh! The ladies were on a shopping spree.
We leave Lyon and are sailing down the Rhône River when we encounter the first of many locks.
The captain maneuvering the boat into the narrow lock. There was often less than one foot clearance between the ship’s hull and the walls of the locks.
Yvonne raved about her back and shoulder massage and after I had my whole-body, 60 minute massage this afternoon, I would have to agree. The masseuse was a young lady, born and trained in Bulgaria. I am not an expert on massages but I have to say it was the best of the 4 or 5 massages I have had. And at a price of $80 it seemed a bargain to me.
We arrived at our port (Vienne) for the evening around 4 PM where we would spend the night. As we were docked right in the heart of the town I went for a short walk before the evening cocktail hour.
Arrival in Vienne.We were docked right in the center of town.
The 16th century Cathedral of St. Maurice in Vienne.
Inside the church.
Stained glass windows in the church.
Another stained glass window. I like to take pictures of them!
Ancient door of the church.
Side street in Vienne.
A door in Vienne.
A small park near the waterfront.
One of several blooming flower beds in the park.
Statue in the park.
The evening routine was the same. The “Sip and Sail” cocktail hour is held from 6-7 when the free drink of the day and wine and beer are offered to the guests. We are then entertained by the resident piano player, Roberto. Around 6:45 our cruise manager, Helen, would brief us on the activities for the next day and the dining room opened at 7 PM for the “open seating” dinner. There were several “booths” for parties of four available and we soon found these were a favorite of ours.
Helene made a brief presentation before dinner discussing France. We all laughed at this definition of a Frenchman!
Another laugh as she described what exercise meant to the French!
Lamb chops with a terrific sauce.
Yvonne chose the fish option.
Crepe Suzette was the featured dessert this evening. We all had it.
Enjoying crepe Suzette for dessert.
Entertainment after dinner tonight was provided by a local lady who sang many French tunes.
The bridge was lighted as evening approaches. The tower on the left was used to control the river in ancient times, I.e. collect tolls from people using the river.
Commonly cruises leave the day you board the ship. This cruise started with the ship spending the night in Lyon. We awoke to a beautiful sunny day with a projected temperature of 70 degrees later in the day.
Breakfast cups of varying combinations of yogurt and fruit. There were plenty of other breakfast options available.
River cruises commonly include free excursions; we only had to select which one wanted to go on. AmaWaterways wisely has offered similar sightseeing tours that were geared to your energy level-a regular level, an active level and a late starter level. Today’s sightseeing tour focused on the sights in Lyon. There was an alternative tour that focused on touring the local market (Les Halles) in the city and the last option was a bike tour using the dozen or so bikes that the ship carries on its voyages.
We had all chosen the “regular” four hour city tour which involved a bus ride to some of the sights and a short (45 minutes) walking tour in old town, with some free time in old town. We were all proved “Whisperers” which allowed us to hear what the local tour guide was telling us without having to be standing next to her. These are a marvelous addition to making tours more enjoyable. We first rode to the top of the hill surrounding the city to view the city below and see the marvelous Catholic basilica located there.
A plaza with the ancient Roman well still standing.
Remains of a Roman amphitheater in Lyon.
A larger amphitheater nearby.
Blooming wisteria.
The Lyon Basilica of Notre Dame Fourvière, built from 1872 -1896 at the site of a former Roman forum of Trajan. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
A blind accordion player outside the Basilica.
Separation of church and state? Polticians wanted a political symbol built near the basilica and made sure it is a bit taller than the church!
People would tie ribbons with their prayers to trees located outside the church.
Views of the city below from the Basicila overlook.
Entrance to the basilica. The smooth stone facings on the lower part of the building are the result of running out of money to carve more elaborate figures.
The interior of the beautiful basilica.
Inside the church are 6 very large mosaics.
Another of the very large mosaics.
Part of the ceiling.
One of the few paintings in the basilica. The lion in the painting denotes the French monarchy.
The lower, smaller church dedicated to St. Joseph lies under the basilica.It is surprisingly large.
Statue of St Joseph holding Baby Jesus in the lower church.
It was then back down the hill where we walked through the old town area of the city. Like most old towns this one features narrow cobble stone streets, shops and many small restaurants and coffee shops-a delightful place to wander and experience. Surprisingly we learned that Lyon had/has a flourishing silk industry that dates back to the time of King Louis XI (1466). By the 16th century Lyon was the silk capital of Europe and at one time over 14,000 looms were in use.
The highlight in old town was walking through some secret passageways called “Traboules” that have existed here since the days of the French Revolution. They were established as a means of getting from one street to another without having to walk a longer way on the few streets that existed. At one time there were over 400 in the city; today about 50 still remain in use. The Traboules played an important role during WWII as the French resistance movement used them extensively to hide from the Germans.
College students and workers having lunch while lounging on the river bank. We were told that last week this was three feet under water because of heavy rains.
Church of St George.
Views of the basilica we visited earlier this morning.
Buildings on the waterfront in Old town.
Agatha, our local tour guide in Lyon.
Oh, those French bakeries!!!!
Preparing to enter the famous secret Lyon passages called “Traboules”.
Walking through one of the remaining public Traboules.
A courtyard in the middle of a Traboule offers acess to multiple buildings. That is how French resistance fighters hid from the Germans.
A door of Lyon.
Hand painting a silk piece.
Street sign and symbol.
A medieval door in old town Lyon.
Circular towers were built to show off the wealth of the owners.
A painted silk covering.
Agatha’s scandalous purse!
Signage for a local bistro offering lunch.
Pistachio and chocolate boules being sold in this shop. The smells of baking products made a stop irresistible!
Chefs at work making new boules.
One of many bistros located in old town. They were just beginning to open for the day when we were there.
The river side pub where we stopped for a Coke and an excuse to eat the chocolate boule we just bought!
Our chocolate boule which did not last long!
There is a tree lined promenade on the river.
The AmaKristina.
These river boats are quite long!
We were back to our boat by 1 PM, just in time for a sit down lunch before we retired to our rooms to take a nap, read a book, or like me, to sit on the upper deck and work on this blog and watching the river flow by. Life is tough!
John relaxing on the top deck, working his sudoku.
People relaxing on the river front near our boat.
A boat that had been rafted next to us is leaving.
A bit of trivia: There are 120 passengers on this cruise and the ship capacity is 156. The ship, built in 2017, is 443 ft long, with a beam of 38 feet.
There is a cocktail hour every evening at 6 PM with the briefing on what will happen tomorrow. Tonight we signed up for dinner at the Chef’s Table specialty restaurant, offered to each passenger at least once per cruise and featuring a special 7 course tasting menu. We did not know what to expect but it turned out to be a very pleasant meal as the 7 courses were really bite-sized portions, so the meal was not overwhelming.
Complimentary Cosmopolitans feartured at today’s cocktail hour.
Our flamboyant cruise manager, Helene.
The seven course tasting menu.
Our view as we ate.
Our chef and wait staff at the Chef’s Table, which features a 7 dish fixed tasting menu
A lovely Chardonnay from France.
Shaped tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.
Shrimp appetizer.
Cauliflower soup with a ginger oil splash. Surprisingly it was one of my favorite tastings.
Salmon trout. Yes, there is such a species, from Scandanavia.
A sorbet “cleanser”.
Our dinner at the Chef’s Table.
The final plate- medium rare steak.
The dessert medley
There was an after dinner French singer who entertained us by singing American blues tunes in the lounge. He accompanied himself on guitar and he was very good with it. For a moment I thought we were back in Chicago or Memphis!
Blues singer, Tomek Dziano, entertaining us after dinner.
The museum at night. I wish we had the time to visit it.
A nearby bridge lighted at night.
It is not uncommon to have other ships “raft” up with you when in port. A new one has joined us tonight. You might have to walk across a ship to get to/from shore.
Then it was a bed call for those of us who are not used to staying up to all hours of the night. The ship spends the night here in Lyon and will be here until mid-day tomorrow.
A bright, sunny , brisk ( 47 degrees) morning greeted us after a good night sleep. We are ready to explore! Since we cannot board our ship until 3 PM I had suggested a short one hour boat sightseeing ride on the nearby Saone River that flows through the downtown area of Lyon as a quick overview of the city. Our ship will stay in the city overnight and tomorrow we will be given a city tour of Lyon so I did not want to duplicate the activity.
Lyon is surprisingly large. It is the third largest city in France with a population of 522,000. It is noted for its universities with over 200,000 students (the second largest student population in France) and is noted for its software industry with a specific interest in video gaming. In ancient times Lyon was the capital of the Gauls during the Roman Empire era (5th century BCE-5 th century CE). Trivia: we used to use BC and AD to designate time. These days it is more common to use BCE(Before Common Era) and CE(Common Era).
Our hotel location required a cab ride to the city center where the scenic boat ride was located on the Saône (pronounced “Sone” River, which is smaller than the Rhône River where our river cruise will commence. So Lyon is blessed to have two separate rivers which meet near the city center. It was a pleasant one hour, narrated tour to see the city from the prospective of the river.
The Saone River in downtown Lyon. It converges with the larger Rhône River in Lyon.
Our Saone River boat tour.
The basicila on top of the hill behind old town, Lyon.
John and I started the 1 hour ride outside, but retreated to the warmer inside about half way through the trip.
Buildings of old town Lyon.
The is graffiti everywhere, even on chimneys of homes!
Scenes along the Saone River. Note the graffiti on the chimneys.
The cathedral of Lyon.
Church of St. George,completed in 1848.
Very old remnants of the earlier civilization.
Musée des Confluences is a science centre and anthropology museum. Most people refer to it as the “Millennium Falcon”.
The “Green” building, designed by Jakob and MacFarlane, is the home of Euronews
The “orange” building, also designed by Jakob and MacFarlane, as a complement to the green building.
Sculpture on one of the many bridges crossing the Saone River.
Example of a live abroad vessel on the river.
The iconic University Bridge, opened in 1903.
As the tour ended at 12:15 PM we decided to grab a quick lunch before returning to the hotel, and we found ourselves in an idyllic small restaurant that made crepes on a small side street, thanks to google maps. It was a classic French bistro that we all enjoyed.
The funky crepe shop on a small side street where we had lunch.
Inside the crepe restaurant.
Jambon, egg and cheese crepe. We also had a bowl of vegetable soup
I learned that Lyon did have Uber so I called one up using the app rather than calling for a cab to take us back to our hotel. It was significantly less expensive and I was delighted to find our driver was a young college student who spoke marvelous English so we learned a bit about the city and university life as we returned to the hotel.
Because of my status with Marriott we were allowed to have a late 2:30 PM checkout which simplified our lives. The hotel had arranged for us to be picked up and we were promptly taken to our ship, AMAKristina, docked on the Rhône River near the downtown area. Checkin was quick and efficient and we were soon in our rooms where we unpacked and stored our clothes before setting out to explore our new surroundings. I was surprised at how long and modern the ship is.
At 6PM we gathered in the lounge for the mandatory safety briefing followed by meeting some of the ship’s staff. Drinks are reasonable priced-my Hendricks gin and tonic was 8 Euros and soft drinks are free. There was a quick briefing about tomorrow’s activities before we were excused to head to the dining room for a 7 PM dinner.
Appetizers served during the welcome cocktail hour.
Our cruise manager, Helene Bihari, from France.
The chef and hotel staff.
Our young captain, Danny Boucher of France.
Tonight’s dinner menu. Wine is served with dinner.
Mushroom soup.
The short rib entree.
Interesting dessert.
There were no other activities this evening so we all retired to our rooms to get a good night’s sleep.
We are currently sitting in the Lufthansa Business lounge in Frankfurt waiting for our connecting flight to Lyon, where our river cruise begins. The flight from Seattle was pleasant and unexciting- which is what one hopes when flying! It was 9.5 hours long and we arrived in Frankfurt on time at 9 AM local time. Neither of us slept much as the flight left Seattle at 2PM, not a conducive time to fall asleep, but we are not fatigued at this point. The flight to Lyon is only about one hour long and I imagine we will catnap on the way.
View of the growing skyline of Bellevue as we flew out of Seattle.
Our flight details.
Interesting display of flight data.
Our luncheon menu on Lufthansa.
White wines offered during lunch. I drank the German riesling.
Thumbs up for the riesling.
For red wine lovers.
I had the sea bass lunch option.
Yvonne had the short ribs and she raved about the sauce.
Cheesecake for dessert.
An interesting breakfast option( buckwheat pudding with watermelon). Unfortunately I began to eat it before taking this picture. It was really good.
Got to love the German attention to detail and order.
View of downtown Frankfurt as we were landing.
As it turned out the Lyon flight was only 50 minutes so we did not get much of a nap! Sunny and windy when we arrived with a temperature of 57 degrees. The taxi ride from the airport was a bit pricey ($75) but it was in a fancy Mercedes sedan so I cannot complain. There were fields of yellow plants we saw from the air (still trying to find out what they are), flowers blooming along the roadside and the trees already leafed out. Spring has definitely arrived in Provence.
Because we are near Dijon we think these are fields of mustard seed.
We had to laugh as when we checked into our hotel there was another couple at the reception desk who happened to be our travel companions, John and Jane Seifert, who had traveled from Bonita Springs, FL to Paris and then taken the train to Lyon. Amazing that we arrived exactly at the same time. We all felt we needed a nap and shower before meeting for dinner tonight at the hotel.
An ultramodern Marriott hotel, amidst a conference center in Lyon. It is the most modern, alternative design Marriott than I have ever seen.
Our travel companions, Jane and John Seifert , old friends from Wisconsin.
Can’t eat at a French restaurant without some of their marvelous breads.
A Croque Monsieur
The beginning of our Provence visit has gone flawlessly. Hopefully the rest of the trip will follow suit!
“April in Paris”is a common enticing invitation. April in Provence hopefully will be as enticing as that is where we are headed today. It all began with a call in 2023 from long-time Wisconsin friends (John and Jane Seifert, who live in Florida these days) asking if we would be interested in a river cruise in Europe sometime in 2024. Not one to pass up an opportunity to travel with friends I quickly agreed, and when asked what might I suggest I suggested a river cruise in southern France, an area we had not explored before. When I found a cruise that also offered a three day extension to Barcelona, Spain, John and Jane quickly agreed as they have never been to Barcelona, which is one of those magical cities in Europe. Although we have been to Barcelona several times this trip would offer us the opportunity to visit the beautiful Benedictine Monastery at Montserrat, located in the mountains outside of Barcelona, something we have never managed to do while in Barcelona. And I added an extra day so we can visit the country of Andorra, located about three hours from Barcelona. Doing so will add country #104 to my list of UN countries visited.
We enjoy river cruising, having done most of the rivers in Europe as well as rivers in Egypt, China and the US in the past twenty years. This river cruise will be our 11th. We like them because the ships are smaller (~130-150 passengers) and you sail through idyllic vistas, stopping in small towns and villages along the way. When in port excursions are made to nearby points of interest. It is a more laid back mode of travel and is very different than cruising on ocean vessels, which seem to be getting larger and larger over time.
This trip (Colors of Provence) will be with AmaWaterways on the Rhône River in southern France. We have sailed with AmaWaterways before. Surprisingly our previous trip with them was with John and Jane in April, 2007, when we explored Holland and its tulip fields. You can see the specifics of this trip on:
We fly today from Seattle to Lyon, via Frankfurt. It turns out this was much cheaper than flying into Paris and taking a train to Lyon where we will board our ship. We are doing our usual itinerary: fly in a day early so we can readjust our time zone clock and hopefully avoid any issues with travel interruptions. We will meet John and Jane at our Lyon hotel and do a bit of sightseeing before boarding our ship on Thursday, April 11. You are welcome to follow us on our latest venture.
At 5 AM Casco Viejo was quiet and deserted, but our driver dutifully showed up and we had a quick trip to the international airport, where it was pretty busy at this early hour. If you recall I had a problem with our trip to Panama because Copa Airlines had canceled our flight. Today we are scheduled to fly Copa to Chicago with a connecting flight to Seattle, and in the back of my mind I was concerned whether this flight might be canceled. There was also a bit of concern when we checked our luggage as the gate agent was taking a lot of time checking us in, obviously having some issue. She even asked me for our confirmation code. Oh, oh…I thought, here we go again. Luckily she resolved the issue (it had to do with making sure our luggage got transferred to the Chicago flight) and all was well. In fact, she even moved us up to the premium economy section from our previous seats in the back of the plane. We quickly went through security (had to take off our shoes!) and immigration.
I had promised Yvonne we would have some breakfast at the airport before boarding our flight. Sadly we did not find the usual eateries open. However, near our departure gate we did find a snack bar where I was able to grab some coffee and a ham & cheese croissant. As I returned to our gate with the food, I found that we would again have to go through a security check (through the scanner) at the gate (never have seen that ever in all our travels) and liquids would not be allowed, so the coffee had to go! Oh, well, at least the croissant passed safely through the check!
I am also reluctant to fly through Chicago in the winter because of possible weather delays but today was not an issue. In fact it was sunny with not a bit of snow on the ground when we landed-something rare for Chicago at this time of the year. There was enough time between flights to have a decent lunch, making up for the lack of a breakfast in Panama City.
By the way going through US immigration was a breeze. No longer filling out forms, no longer scanning your passport. No longer even getting a printout to hand in. All we did was have our picture taken at a self serve kiosk, wait for a green light and told to proceed. We never did speak to a US customs agent. I am not sure if it is because we hold Nexus cards (sort of like global entry but for use too/from Canada). Entering the US via Chicago was amazing.
The flight to Seattle was on time, the ferry schedule worked in our favor and we returned to our home on Miller Bay safe and sound.
Epilogue
1. The trip was more fun than we expected, as we had been concerned about the language issues given that most of the passengers were Spanish speaking. They are a fun loving group! Language was not an issue onboard the ship.
2. Our two favorite cruise stops were Cartagena, Columbia and Curaçao. But there is a bit of bias as I like history, culture, and old towns, rather than beaches. Bonaire was the least interesting of the three ABC islands.
3. Panamá City was a very pleasant surprise and worth a visit even if you are not on a cruise. Although we did not visit any of their beach areas I hear they are very good.
4. Royal Caribbean (Rhapsody of the Sea) was a bit of a disappointment. I agree with other people’s reviews about the food quality on board having gone downhill from earlier years. I do not know if it is only an issue on this ship or is it across the entire fleet. The ship, however, was in good physical shape.
Thought for the day: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
We arrived safely back in Colon early this morning. I am impressed how well cruise ships reliably meet their time schedules. I was concerned about how we would get back to Panama City once we get off the ship, not knowing what the situation would be in Colon for cabs and other modes of transport. So before coming I went on-line and booked a private car/driver to take us back to Panama City where we have to spend the night because of airplane schedules.
Typical cruise disembarkation routine was in place. Luggage out by 10 PM last night, unless you want to haul it off the ship yourself. Surprisingly I saw a lot of people doing just that this morning when we left the ship. Cruise lines do a great job providing colored tags for our luggage which then gets transported to a storage area in the terminal, sorted by color. It works great. The ships also group people to get off at different times; you are by color when it your time to disembark. That eliminates huge lines at the exit. We had an opportunity a few days ago to select a time slot to get off and the ship usually does a good job meeting your request. There are multiple locations for passengers to have a quick breakfast before if departing and we are asked to vacate our cabins by 8AM so the room stewards can prepare the rooms for the next guests who will be boarding the ship in 4 hours! They have this down to a science. What is amazing is that virtually everyone is OFF the ship by 9 AM! Of course this can make for some congestion on land as we had to go through Panama immigration to be allowed back into the country. After my experience with embarkation day (when I smartly grabbed a porter to help us with our luggage) I immediately grabbed a porter as we went looking for our luggage. And again I made the right decision as we had to go quite a way to finally exit the terminal and the porter steered us to the right lines! It was another wise investment on my part.
We were docked in Colon before 7 AM.
Locals welcoming visitors in Colon cruise terminal.
The long lines waiting to pass Panama immigration.
The exit area for the cruise terminal is at a small shopping mall and I was unsure where to physically meet our driver. I was pleased that the company had already sent me information about his name, his vehicle type and color, license plate number and a phone number to reach him. I did call him and learned he was 10 minutes away. I described where we were and shortly thereafter he walked up to us and led us to his car. The trip back to Panama City took less than an hour.
Rather than staying at the same hotel we used before the cruise I wanted to stay in the old town section of the city called Casco Viejo (Spanish for Old Town), so we could experience it. I had also signed up for a walking tour of the area for later that afternoon. It turned out to be a great decision. The hotel was smack dab in the middle of old Panama City, located on a beautiful plaza with the cathedral across from it. And the hotel was marvelous-a beautiful renovation of an old hotel that had been used by visitors and workers when the Panama Canal was being built. In fact across the street was the original administrative building used by the French and Americans during the canal construction. It is now a museum dedicated to the building of the canal.
Our new modern room in the hotel.
We arrived around 10:30 at the hotel and knew our rooms would not be available until later. The staff eagerly checked our bags and suggested we go touring until our room was ready. We grabbed a quick bite and beverage at the bar and then walked around the neighborhood to see what there was to see. Besides the usual souvenir shops there were several formal hat stores that sold real Panama hats (which by the way are now all made in Ecuador). Prices varied from $40 to over $300, depending on the quality of the weave. I was impressed when the proprietor showed me how you can safely roll it up to carry in your luggage and then easily reshape it to its original form. I was hooked and decide to buy a modestly priced one ($80) as a real souvenir of my trip. I was impressed in that I was given a free hard sided carrying case so I would not have to stuff it in my already overpacked suitcase. Yvonne tried on a few feminine style hats but did not find one to her liking.
The lobby area of the hotel.
The bar area in our hotel, Hotel Central.
An empanada snack at the hotel.
Looking out the front door of the hotel. Across Independence Square is the cathedral.
Side of the central hotel. Our room was on the second floor on this side.
A restored building in Casco Viejo.
One of the many narrow streets in Casco Viejo.
My new authentic Panama.
This style of hat (wide, flat brim) is the REAL panama hat worn by the locals.
Funky car used by a local restaurant.
Looking across the downtown Panama City.
Bell tower of San Francisco de Asis Church in Plaza Bolivar
Altar in San Francisco de Asis Church with a marvelous mosaic.
A door in Casco Viejo.
Plaza Bolívar, named after the independence hero, Simon Bolivar.
Returning to the hotel we relaxed on comfortable couches in the spacious lobby for a bit but I decided to walk across the street to visit what is now the Panama Canal museum where I spent about 1.5 hours reading about the history (and problems) of the construction of the Panama Canal. Luckily most of the exhibits had both Spanish and English signs so it was enjoyable.
The Panama Canal: The Cliff Notes Version
The story actually began in 1534 when King Charles V of Spain sent surveyors to find a way to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific to ease shipping between Peru and Spain. Needless to say, nothing happened. In 1698 the King of Scotland tried to create an overland connection; it too failed. In 1788 the Americans suggested to Spain that they build a canal. Studies were made; nothing happened. Britain created plan for a canal in 1843; nothing happened. Then in 1850-1855 the US built a train route that traversed the country, which facilitated the growth of trade. However, there was always a desire for a canal. In 1881 the French finally undertook the construction of the canal, relying on their experience and success in building the Suez Canal. However, by 1889 the French admitted defeat. Their equipment, used to build the Suez Canal (which was digging sand) would not work when faced with big rocks. The humid climate rusted the equipment fairly quickly. And maybe the most damming issue was that malaria and yellow fever was rampant, resulting in high casualties (over 22,000). Oh, and a scandal about funds misappropriation did not help; people ended up in jail. In 1904 after a brief war about Panama independence, the Americans took over the construction and the canal formally opened in 1914. It should be noted that the discovery of the causes of yellow fever by Cuban physician, Dr. Carlos Finlay, in 1886 and later confirmed by the US bore a huge part in the success of the canal construction. The rest is history. We formally deeded control of the canal to Panama in 2000 and it has become a HUGE source of income for the country. I, for one, am amazed at how that original canal, built over 100 years ago, still functions. It should be noted that a second, larger canal was built in 2016, allowing the new, larger ships to also take this shortcut from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It was/is an amazing story of engineering excellence.
A museum dedicated to telling the story of the Panama Canal. It was vey good and I learned things I never knew about the canal.
Pottery from ancient inhabitants of the area.
Gold worn by the ancient Indians.
A sobering picture of how slaves were crammed into a ship to be sent here.
A picture of the infamous pirate, Henry Morgan, who sacked Panama City.
Weaponry of that era.
People starting looking for a way to traverse Panama as early as the 16th century.
Before the canal there was a railroad linking the Atlantic and Pacific.
Artifacts from the rail era.
A scandal by the French.
Stock certificates issued by the French to raise money for building the canal. They became worthless.
Some pictures of the canal construction.
The Roosevelt Medal.
The Roosevelt medal awarded to workers on the canal.
In 1979 the United States agreed to transfer the canal to Panama by 12/31/1999.
The formal signing documenting the transfer of the Panama Canal to Panama, effective 2000.
The museum was very informative and I only left because I needed to get back for our scheduled 3 PM walking tour of Casco Viejo. Yvonne stayed at the hotel until our room was ready, because it had become quite hot and humid and she did not relish walking in it. I joined several other people (from various corners of the world) at a nearby plaza where we met our local tour guide, who was born and raised in the area. He proceeded to walk us through the 10 block by 6 block area that comprised Casa Voejo, telling us about the history of the location ( it dates back to 1673), its buildings and its people. It was quite informative. The original location of Panama .city was about 8 km north, but it was destroyed by the pirate, Henry Morgan in 1671. That is when the city leaders decided to move it the city to this area because it was more defensible. As is not uncommon 20 years ago this area was dangerous. Our guide said he had to carry a knife while growing up here. Somehow, someone forced a change and Casa Viejo is now safe, vibrant and a crown jewel of the city. I really loved it!
A street of hats! I asked who donated the hats. Our guide said probably the hat shop on that street.
A door in Casco Viejo.
Church of the Mercy where a wedding was about to take place.
Elegantly dressed lady headed to a wedding.
Another wedding attendee.
A not uncommon sight. Women dressed to the nines; men not so much!
Lovely street in Casco Viejo.
Local ladies posing for pictures with tourists.
A young lady being photographed in the plaza across from the hotel.
Metropolitan Cathedral of Panama Santa Maria La Antigua, built in 1674.
Inside the main cathedral.
Main altar of the cathedral.
Beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers by the main altar.
Picturesque street after picturesque street in Casco Viejo.
Low tide. That is the “Bridge of Americas” in the background. it was built by the US in 1959-1962.
Low tide and ships waiting to enter the canal.
A private residence in the area.
The “new” Panama City as seen from the old Panama City.
Another of view St. Francis of Assisi church.
Our local tour guide.
Walking along a waterfront promenade.
The French Plaza. Their embassy is nearby.
A multi-generational family portrait being taken in a park.
My guess this is part of of a “La Quinceanera” celebration, held for 15 year old girls.
We completed our visit to Panama by having a drink in the rooftop bar at the hotel while listening to a local playing his guitar and singing songs we knew. We followed with dinner in a nearby “funky” restaurant that had old card as part of its decor. Upon returning to the hotel we were greeted by a young lady playing a violin in the lobby.
The rooftop pool at our hotel.
View of the city from the hotel rooftop bar.
An old church bell tower nearby.
One last drink for the road. Get a load of the size of my Gin & Tonic!
Entertainer in the rooftop bar.
Night time magic.
Our last dinner in Panama.
Entry door to the restaurant.
Great ambiance. Original concrete walls and old cars.
1955 Thunderbird on display.
An old touring car. This couple looks like they could care less about
it being there.
Carne asada tacos
A well made cuban sandwich.
The cathedral at night.
Another building lit up. Note the wet pavement. It rained a bit while we were in the restaurant. That is the only rain we saw all week.
Our hotel at night.
The violinist playing in the hotel lobby when we returned.
View from the 2nd floor.
We have a very early (7:15AM) flight in the morning which means we need to leave here by 5 AM. When I had mentioned that to the driver who brought us from Colon he offered to take us at a realistic price so I agreed. Sure makes my life earlier than trying to corral a cab that early in this quiet section of town.
This is the last day of our seven day cruise and we awoke to another day of sunshine. We did not see a drop of rain the entire time we have been on this trip (so far). Our only complaint is that the temperature/humidity was often more than we are used to (and like), but that was to be expected, given where we are.
There are a ton of activities once again, as is the case whenever you spend a day at sea.We participated in a few and watched many others, like the men’s belly flop competition!
The pool was busy today. People waiting for the belly flop competition.
Coming in for a landing. About 6 men participated in the belly flop competition.
We tried our hand at Bingo and even learned to count in Spanish as a result! Note: we were close on the cover-all winner take all, but did not win. I tried to enter the blackjack tournament but there was no interest from the other passengers so it was cancelled.
The other highlight of the day was to watch the egg drop competition. The goal was to drop an egg from the 8th floor to the “hard” landing area on the 4th floor without it cracking. And you could not encapsulate the egg in something. It had to be at least partially visible. Teams had several days to gather up whatever supplies they needed to make their entry. Only a dozen teams showed up today for the competition. Most relied on some sort of a parachute to gentle allow the egg to drop. Surprisingly more eggs survived than I would have expected (estimate 75%). There were a couple real disasters which people seemed to enjoy, including one where the egg landed, dangling on the edge of the 6th floor overhang. It was a fun event and well received by the passengers.
The event drew a big crowd of spectators.
One of the simpler designs.
Colorful parachute.
One of the more elaborate designs.
Hoping a large plastic bag will work as a parachute.
Coming in for a gentle landing.
Checking to see if the egg survived. Most did.
Oops! Call for cleanup.
The winner was selected by the viewers.
It was the last day for the trivia competition and our joint USA/Australia team prevailed, winning for the first time this week. There were only two coveted RCCL keychains awarded so we graciously gave them to our new Aussi friends. We are going home as happy campers!
Sometimes cruise line crews will put on a crew talent show. RCCL did something different, something we have never seen on any of the previous cruises we have been on. It was a flag ceremony where various staff members paraded into the atrium as a group, carrying their countries flag. Each country and the number of staff members from that country was announced as they entered the area with representative music of the country playing. There are something like 60+ countries represented on this ship. It was a joyous celebration and one I would enjoy seeing on other cruise ships.
The main theater entertainment was an aerial husband /wife team called “Duo ArtMotion” who hail from the Ukraine. They put on a nice show.
Duo Art Motion in action.
We are due back in Colon in the morning and working our way back to Panama City.
Carrying our flag.
The parade of flags carried by staff members from their respective country.
People in front are dancing to music of their country when their country was announced.
It was a colorful, well received event. Needless to say the biggest response was from passengers from their country being announced.
One lone gentleman from Croatia, the land of our ancestors.
Aruba is the 2nd largest of the ABC islands, with 69 square miles of land. Surprisingly it has a more dry, arid climate compared to the other islands. Its population is about 107,000 with the capital, Oranjestad, having a population of about 28,000.
The cruise Port in Oranjestad, Aruba.
Another ship followed us into port this morning.
The view of the downtown Oranjestad from our ship.
Our family was in Aruba briefly in 1992 and I recall it was sandy and windy! I doubt that has changed much. Again, because we are past the “beach” phase of our life we looked for a cultural tour rather than one that offered, swimming, snorkeling or diving which is a common reason why people visit Aruba and it is the focus of most of the tours offered here and in the other ABC islands. I did not find anything of interest on Viator but the ship was offering a downtown walking tour that sounded interesting. As I mentioned earlier there is a postscript on each of the ship offered tours saying that tours would be offered in Spanish, HOWEVER, if you needed an English speaking tour guide you should check with the on board staff to see if it could be arranged. OK, I did that and the excursion desk said that we would have an English spoken tour, so I did not cancel the previous reservation made before we joined the ship. Due to the 90 degree heat and humidity Yvonne decided not to go so I went alone and found myself with 13 other members who only spoke Spanish and so our tour guide spent the next 2.5 hours speaking Spanish as we walked through the town with an occasional English translation for me. Needless to say, I was peeved and complained to the ship excursion staff. Eventually the RCCL corporate offices did the right thing and refunded my money.
Our local tour guide. He speaks Engrlish but gave this tour mostly in Spanish.
There are 7 blue horse statues throughout the downtown area, honoring some famous horses on Aruba. They are colored blue to denote the sea as when delivered by the Spaniards they were forced to swim from the ship to land. This is the mare Rosalinda.
Sign explains who this horse statue is for.
Originally a mall in downtown Oranjestad. Now almost empty and rumor has it that it will be made into a hotel. The downtown area was rather depressing these days because of all the closures.
Local walk up coffee and snack shop. We stopped to try to pastechi, a cheese filled empanada.
The menu at the walk up food stand. All the islands deal in US dollars.
Sampling the pastechi, a slightly sweet cheese empanada, popular as a morning snack.
A cute swing (one of several) in a small plaza downtown.
Aruba also has some colorful buildings.
A cute shopping street but many store are closed. There were many empty buildings throughout the walking area.
Former housing complex but now a museum.
Another of the famous Aruba horses. This is stallion Ambrosio, the immortal hero of the herd.
Artwork highlighting the use of solar in the adjacent buildings.
A new government agency building.
One of the restored homes in town.
Fort Zoutman is the oldest structure in Aruba. The fort was built in 1798 and the tower added in 1868. It is now a historical museum.
The only building in Aruba made from coral.
This building is slated for restoration and will be used as a museum or public building.
A door in Aruba.
A home originally built by a doctor as a wedding present has been restored and is now used as a wedding venue.
A gecko in the plant.
Wilhelmina Park, named after Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. Note there are no benches as it was decided they did not want people to loiter in the park!
Statue of Queen Wilhelmina given to Aruba in 1955.
Statue of Anne Frank.
The small trolley that ran through the downtown area.
The walls of this funky bar are lined with real paper money.
Artwork at the entrance to the marina.
Besides our normal afternoon activities we started going to the trivia contest held in the Schooner Lounge at 5 PM a few days ago. The first couple of times we tried doing it ourselves as most of the other contestants worked as a two person team. The rules, however, said you could have a four person team and we all know, four heads are better than two! And we saw that the four person teams were having a better win rate. We had causally talked to another two person team who happened to be a mother/daughter team from Australia. They also were not having any luck winning. So today we suggested we team up to see if we could finally win! Well we had a good time talking to them but our combined four heads still put us in second place for today’s competition. We vowed to get together tomorrow to see if we can final reach the winner’s podium.
Wine prices were not all that bad.
Yvonne opted for the $16 maine lobster tail tonight.
The main entertainment tonight was the production staff putting on a show that had a country theme. After their show we wandered over to the atrium because there was going to be a “Name That Tune” contest. We were not going to compete but we did see our newly made Australian friends (Suzanne and daughter Ambrosia) planning to compete so we stayed and watched. They were super competitive, knowing a lot of the mostly US songs. The staff would play a few bars of a song and you had to race to the microphone and yell out the answer. Later in the competition you not only needed the song name/singer, you had to sing part of the song. What amazed us was how many of the songs were known (and could be sung) by the Spanish speaking passengers. Even the youngsters knew the songs! We later talked to some people who said that these people really do know and love to sing these songs. It was a fun competition to watch.
The main theater show had a country theme.
Suzanne and her daughter, Ambrosia playing Name That Tune. They were quite good.
Suzanne singing some of the verses to the song being played during the Name That Tune contest.
Tomorrow is last day of the cruise and it will again is be spent at sea.
