Trip to France Sept. 28-Oct.14

[robin]

Thank you for your trip reports. They sound fascinating. You will need a vacation after your vacation to get some rest....Is Aruba in the near future?

January 21 if our Panama Canal Cruise does not get cancelled. If it is cancelled, then Jan. 2.

[sgt11946]

Sounds like you are taking one of my bucket list trips through the Panama Canal!! No matter what happens you two will be having an enjoyable trip.

[robin]

Today we did a very wet and windy walking tour of Libourne. The rain did stop part way through the tour. We had some time time to wander around on our own before heading back to the ship have a warm drink, and have lunch. After lunch we boarded our bus to drive through the vineyards and do a walking tour of Saint- Emilion. Luckily the rain is gone and we should not have any more. Saint-Emilion(the whole city) is a UNESCO site(as was Saint Michel). After the tour, we went into some underground caves where wine is stored and then stopped into a bakery that is known for their macarons. The recipe goes back to 1620 from a group of nuns. This area of France has many famous vineyards/chateaus especially for Merlots. There was one bottle from 1945 that is for sale for a mere 14,000 Euros or $16,235.37. That is more than I made when I started teaching. The ship moved to the town of Bourg and that is where we are until midday tomorrow. These rivers are tidal and the ships movements are based on tides-too low they can't go, too high they can't go under some bridges. Tomorrow we don't have any tours until the pm once we get to Blaye. We will probably walk around Bourg on our own in the am.

[bhoffdhoff]

Your trip sounds AMAZING!! I don't think I could ever do all that walking. Stay safe and keep us posted.

[robin]

I never thought I'd have my fill of wine or sweets, but that is exactly where I am right now.

Yesterday morning Stu and I walked around the sleepy town of Bourg. It is quite charming and scenic. During lunch our ship, the Forseti moved on to Blaye, where we toured the Blaye Citadel which is UNESCO site and was built in the 17the century. We had some gelato in a garden after the tour ended and then headed back to the ship to our daily briefings and other stuff before dinner.

This morning we did another walking tour in Blaye which started with a glass of wine(wine is just grape juice with a kick, right?) and then visited a garage with classic cars, a wine cellar and a small winery and an apartment for rent, and artist studio(all owned by the owners of the wine shop) and an antique shop before going back to the wine store for more wine. I ended up buying wine infused salt. The shop also owned a really cute delivery truck(I'll have to get those pictures from Stu). On the back it said, "In case of accident, bring crackers and cheese, lots of crackers and cheese". Then it was back on the ship for lunch as we sailed across the river for our next tour.

Our afternoon tour was a bus tour through the Medoc and Margaux wine country. We saw lots and lots of vineyards and beautiful chateaus(I did doze off). Right now they are harvesting the grapes(a few weeks late) and it was interesting to see. Some chateaus use machinery to pick and others do it by hand-we saw both from the bus. We went to one chateau for a tasting and we able to watch as they came in with tractors pulling flatbeds with pallets of grapes in open stackable crates. People were dumping the crates and others were sorting and cleaning them(removing stems, etc.) We then saw them going into large concrete vats to start the fermentation process. They do not press the grapes, but let the natural juices seep out for 2.5 weeks, they remove the juice then press the remaining skins, etc. for other wine. Next we did the taste testing. After we were done we went to a chateau for dinner and wine pairing. The dinner was prepared by our ship's staff and all our waiters were there. It was a lovely room. After dinner we boarded the bus for our ride back to the ship which was now in Bordeaux again(the ship always as to move depending on the tidal bore).

On Tuesday, all of us on the same flight started getting text messages, emails and phone calls from the UK saying that we had been in close contact with someone with Covid and to quarantine for 10 days. Since it was over a week ago we were on the plane and since we are tested everyday on Viking, we are ignoring the calls as per our travel agent, however; we have to go back through UK to get home next Thursday(16 days since our flight to Europe). I hope she knows what she is saying. The UK just dropped Covid testing for those who are fully vaccinated but we will have to test to get back in the US.

I've added a lot of pictures to my album. I don't have Stu's pictures yet or our friend's pictures.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iSFrRxUhFtsJ4mJr7

[Andrea J.]

I am enjoying every word.

Robin, are all or most of the tours included with the price of the Viking River Cruise?

[cpjones]

Busy, busy days..... and lovin' your daily adventures..... kinda wish I enjoyed wine... but I don't....!

[Pegmeister]

Loving your photos and appreciate that you are sharing them. Too much wine and sweets sounds like a perfect vacation! wine infused salt sounds quite interesting!

[schexc]

Stu looks very touristy. Was he wearing the "grape" pants?

[cpjones]

Amazing photos.... the stone work in those old buildings and especially the old churches is incredible ......