France 2025 Cruise Week 2

 

Bon Jour Fabulous Followers! It’s been awhile since we chatted, but this had been a fast paced, active trip. Let’s talk about week 2 on our AmaWaterways river cruise adventure. We left the Seine River on the AmaLyra and headed to the AmaCello where we cruised the Saone and Rhône Rivers viewing lovely towns, chateaus and wine tasting. Before we reached the AmaCello, we stopped in Chablis. Guess what we had??

As we head to Nice, check out our ports of call.

Chalon-sur-Saône - I was not feeling well this day, so Joe and I walked around town and found a pharmacy. It was market day and we enjoyed seeing how the locals shop. This town dates back to the Middle Ages for its architectural heritage.

Tournus - pronounced tour-new ( Did you know French people have a hard time saying the letter r and s? When they attempt the letter r that’s when they sound as if they are coughing up a hairball.)

Visited a medieval castle overlooking the Brancion village. This castle was built by the lords of Burgundy between the 10th and 13th centuries.

The picture above is the banquet hall.

Climbed over 100 steps to the top and the views were magnificent. And that means we went down 100 steps.

Mâcon - pronounced May-cone

Enjoyed a walking tour of this southern Burgundy town.

These magical ribbons symbolize Macon’s connection to the French crown.

The above is St Pierre Church and walked in to hear a portion of the Sunday service.

Beaujolais- pronounced Bo-ju-lay

Well, fancy this is a wine making area and went wine tasting.

We may or may not have shipped back some of the local wine.

Even though some vineyard owners consider eating a grape is theft, this owner did not mind. It was fun plucking a grape and popping in your mouth. The harvest was already completed, so left over grapes seen above are picked to make jellies.

After wine tasting, went to a small village, Oingt - pronounced Wan-gtt. Pretend you are coughing up phlegm. It was so cute.

Lyon - pronounced Lee-own not lion the animal

Enjoyed walking tour seeing how locals live, shop and eat.

In Lyon, you can go inside doors seen in town. It takes you to these corridors and this is where the locals live. The only rule is you need to speak softly.  Hundreds of years ago, the rich lived on the bottom floor and the poorer you were lived at top. Those at top had to climb the most steps. This concept is the complete opposite today- the rich live in the top penthouse.

Joe made a friend.

We loved Lyon. It has a St. Augustine vibe with history and food.

Viviers - pronouned Vee-va

Here we did something different. We went to a truffle farm to see how dogs sniff out the truffles. The family invited us in their home for truffles and wine.

We had an overnight stay in Viviers and went on an evening ghost tour. It was lots of fun!

Next stop is Avignon and a visit to the Pope Palace.

Pope Palace

Virgin Mary at Pope Palace

Avignon town center

Arles- pronounced Arl 

A walking tour took us to a Roman coliseum built 10 years before the coliseum in Rome! It looked just like the one in Rome. Remember the Romans invaded France, so Roman ruins are throughout France.

This concludes week 2 on the AmaWaterways River cruise. 

It was a wonderful experience seeing the sights and sounds of how the French live, work, eat and shop and appreciating the architectural beauty of their homes, shops and churches.

Stay tuned for more of our journey.

Au Revoir and blessings!