The Louvre and Versailles

Saturday, July 28.  Our last day in Paris and we have such a full day planned!  First the the Muse de Louvre,  the most visited art museum in the world, averaging 15,000 visitors per day, is also an historic monument.  Housed in the Louvre Palace, which was a fortress built in the 12th century as home for Louise XIV, the Louvre is home to over 35,000 pieces of art from the prehistoric period to the 19th century and covers 652,300 square feet of space.  In 1683 Louis XIV moved to his country home, The Palace of Versailles.  More about her later....

The museum is housed in the Louvre (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II.  Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection.  The Louvre was expanded and renovated several times before in 1874, especially under Napoleon, when it is temporarily renamed the Musee Napoleon.  After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, it again became The Musée du Louvre . 

The collection are divided into eight curatorial departments:  Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings. In our short visit to this wonderful museum we only saw a few of the masterpieces: The Venus de Milo, an ancient Greek sculpture created between 130 and 100 BC, is also know as Aphrodite; and the Mona Lisa, a portrait of a young woman whose identity has been debated for centuries, painted in 1503 by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, is acclaimed as the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, and the most parodied work of art in the world, are two of my favorite museum pieces. Oh for more time in the Louvre..........

Exterior of Musée du Louvre with I. M. Pei's Glass Pyramid completed in 1989

Gawking at the Mona Lisa

On to Versailles.  The Palace of Versailles is a royal chateau built 16 miles from Paris.  The court of Versailles was the center of political power from 1682, when Louis XIV moved from Paris until the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789 when the royal family had to leave Versailles and return to Paris as a result of the Women's March on Versailles or October March which was one of the earliest and most significant moments of the Revolution.  The construction of the Palace of Versailles began in 1624 as a hunting lodge for Louis XIII, and continued until after Louis XVI.  The Hall of Mirrors, the most celebrated room in the Palace, the Chapels of Versailles, the Queens Bedchamber with its hidden door through which Marie Antoinette escaped in 1789,  and the magnificant formal gardens of Versailles which represent one of the finest extant examples of "Garden a la Francaise" are among the few highlights of this great palace. 

Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles

Gardens of Versailles

We returned to Paris and began the packing for our Sunday departure.....A demain.......

Normandy, Shopping, and Cabaret

Friday, July 27.  After a morning tour of Paris, many of us made our way to Edith's favorite crepe restaurant, Ty Crepes, just a short walk from our Hotel.  Edith told us that a specialty of the restaurant is a desert crepe made of caramel made with salted butter.  After savoury Crepes with ham, spinach, cheese, or chicken and a lovely salad, we all ordered her recommendation.  Yum!  We also split a crepe with grand marnier and chocolate.  That, indeed, is a decadent combination!  Shopping followed....but no one returned heavy ladened with shopping bags.....

We left in the evening to go to a latin quarter cabaret called "Paradis Latin".  After our dinner we watched 1) a unicyclist toss cups and saucers to his head with his foot, 2) a trapeze artist swing from the ceiling, (a former trapeze artist in our group sitting next to me whispered commentary to me during his performance!), (3) scantily clad dancers and singers whose costumes, when they wore them, were wonderful, 4) a men's dance troupe, (my dinner partner picked the gentleman second from the right, I suppose as the best!) (just a little shy of the Chippendales), 4) and a singer who sang some lovely French love songs.  The master of ceremonies was a gentlemen reminiscent of, perhaps, Bob Hope, only speaking occasionally in English, but was funny anyway.  My favorite was the merry-go-round with four eventually scantily clad ladies on Suzaki motorcycles.  Very imaginative! 

Hanging out with someone who is definitely not Joe Melnyk

Eight of our group left very early this morning to travel to the beaches of Normandy, where the allied forces landed in June 1944 in a codename of Operation Neptune, within the larger Operation Overlord.  It was the largest amphibian landing to ever take place, landing on five beaches coded Juno, Omaha, Gold, Utah, and Sword.  The total number of troops who landed on D-Day is put at 160,000 troops half of which were Americans.  By the 4th of July more than a million troops had landed with over 600,000 tons of equipment.  I will get additional or corrected information when I see them.

 American Cemetery, Normandy

Time for bed.  I wish the Olympic athletes would walk in a little faster so we can see the lighting of the Olympic flame.  It's 1:30 am and they are  not there yet!  But it is beautiful what The London Olympic organizers has presented so far.      Bon nuit, and a demain........

Cooking School and Arrival in Paris

Thursday, July 26- We departed the Amadagio in Lyon at 9 in the morning and made our way to the town center and proceeded to a Lyonnaise cooking demonstration held at "In Cusine", an interesting kitchen equipment and bookstore with the demonstration area behind under some typical French skylights.  Hands on class, we made a simple three dishes suitable for a light summer luncheon.  Boeuf sauté a la Lyonnaise, Roule de Saumun a la cervelle de Canut, and Poires a la Beaujolaise.  So French! 

 Hands on cooking

More hands on cooking

We boarded our buses for the short ride to "Lyon  Perrache", the local train station.  We has assigned seats in car #8, but moved around a bit, only to find at the next stop we were in other passengers assigned seats.  So confusing.  We rode the  "fast train" (TGV) to Paris, reaching speeds of up to 200 miles an hour.  Some of played bridge with encouragement from those around us and others watched the French countryside fly by our windows. 

Playing Bridge on the train

Not our train (but this was the Gare Montparnasse that we pulled into with more successful results)

After checking into our hotel, Pullman Montparnasse, on the left bank side of Paris, we had only a few minutes to wash up, and again board our bus for our trip to Montmartre (a quaint neighborhood way up on a hill) and the Basilicia du Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart), whose white dome is a highly visible landmark above the city of Paris.  The Basilica was built in 1876 to honor the victims of the French victims of the Franco-Prussian war.  Just below the basilica the local artists set up each day under the colorful umbrellas that surround the Place du Tertre.  Salvadore Dali, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Suzanne Valadon, Edgar Degas,  and Vincent Van Gogh were among the artistes that lived and studied in this artist community.  Cindy was fortunate enough to find "just the right painting" to hang in her home, and we can't wait to see it in place! 

 Basilicia du Sacre-Coeur

Neighborhood of Montmartre 

We chose among the countless cafes around the Place du Tertre and enjoyed a lovely French meal.  After dinner we descended by funicular to the Pigalle area, known as the naughty district of Paris (referred to as Pig Alley by some), passing the famous cabaret  Bal de Moulin Rouge (below).  

Our driver, Willy, then took us on an illumination tour of Paris at night.  Our guide, Edith, who loves her city and was so proud to share it will us, took us around Opera Square, St. Germaine de pres, Vendome Square, along the River Seine,  Place du Concorde, Rue de Rivoli, Pont Neuf, Les Invalides, Le Champs Élysées with the Arc de Triumph ablaze in lights at the opposite end.  We finally arrived at the most recognized landmark in all of France (and probably the world).  I'll let you guess- but here are some hints.  It stands 300 meters high and was erected in 1889 at the entrance to the World's Fair held that year.  We embarked at the Champ de Mars, where we were able the watch in awe as on the hour it comes alive for exactly 5 minutes with an additional 1000 sparkling lights.  One couldn't help but be awed, even at this late hour of a long, long day.  Back to the hotel, hopefully with the twinkling lights still in our minds as we peacefully fall asleep!  Bon nuit!  A demain...........

Pont Neuf bridge on the River Seine

Mysterious, unidentified Tower by night

Oingt, Lyon and Farewell to the Amadagio

Wednesday, July 25.  We sailed past Lyon last night and docked in the region "Pays d'Or" or the land of the golden stones.  The quarry in the region provides yellowish colored limestone from which all the buildings in the area are built, giving the landscapes and warm and inviting feel.  The road, which at times seems more like a winding lane, passes charming small villages, church bell towers, corn fields, vineyards and fruit (cherry, apricot, apple) trees.  We travel upward to the Paire Vineyard, owned and run by a lovely French gentleman named Jean-Jacques Paire.  He explained, with passion for is calling, his process and equipment for making Beaujolais, the primary wine of the region.  In his cozy cellar we tasted three of his wines and he explained the different fruit ingredients, which made the wine taste more or less complex.  We all agreed that his Beaujolais was exceptional.

Tasting at the Paire Vineyard

As we left Vineyard Paire, we saw along the road a line of scarecrows which were part of an annual competition.  We made our way upward to the beautiful and quaint medieval hillside village of Oingt.  Quiet and charming, Oingt is a protected town with winding lanes and beautiful flowered window boxes hanging from the ochre stone houses.  We stopped for a cappuccino and then found in market store the cow/goat cheese we had tasted at the Paire Vineyard.

Village of Oingt 

Back on the Amadagio, for our final afternoon, we sailed back towards Lyon for our last docking.  The group went into Lyon for a tour, visiting the Fourvière, on a hill overlooking Lyon, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It is also known as the "Hill of Prayers" as the Basilica of Notre-Dame is located there.  We also saw the Place Bellecour, the Place Des Terreaux, and the Town Hall.

 Lyon, as seen from Fourvière Hill

Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière

Bartholdi Fountain at the Place des Terreaux

The Captain and the Hotel Manager introduced their staff members and their teams who had made our trip so pleasant and enjoyable at a champagne reception before dinner.  We thanked them all, however, Katya and Tomas, who attended the bar in the lounge we gave the most rousing applause from us all.  After our farewell dinner, we reluctantly went to our cabins and began packing our belongings, but the most abundant items we packed were our memories of this wonderful experience from Nice to Lyon, under the watchful and attentive care of the staff of the Amadagio.  A demain.......

The Bradfords at the farewell dinner

Randy and Amy Choate

Peter Whitehead, Cruise Director, with the Ladies

Vienne

Tuesday, July 24.  Good morning from Vienne, former home of the Gallic tribe of the Allobroges.  Sunny, clear, and warm.  We met off shore for our tour of this attractive and busy town, dotted with many reminders of the Roman civilization which flourished here in 47 BC.  

The Blue Group boarded the town's mini train that carried us up to the Chapelle du Mont Pipet where we enjoyed the magnificient views of the countryside and the Rhone River, and a view of the restored Roman Amphitheatre carved out of the side of a hill just below us between 40 and 50 AD, and is the site for the city's annual jazz festival this week at which Hugh Laurie of the television series  "House" is featured. 

Roman Amphitheatre in Vienne

After a ride back to the city centre we walked to the Temple of Augustus and Livia, built around 14 - 18 BC.  Because of the holes left when the inscription was removed, archeologists were able to line up the missing letters holes and were able to date the temple and know that the temple was dedicated to Caesar Augustus , son of Julius.  Our guide pointed out a nearby plaque explaining that Thomas Jefferson, once secretary of the American ambassador in France and later becoming ambassador himself, was so inspired by this temple that he returned to Richmond, Virginia, were he used the design for the city's Capitol.   

Temple of Augustus and Livia

We then wound our way through the winding streets to the Cathedrale St-Maurice, a 12th - 16th century church, not technically a cathedral because it isn't home to a bishop.  St-Maurice is the patron saint of the Army and the Swiss Guards.  The church has a gothic facade, both Romanesque and Gothic arches, and wonderful Flemish tapestries. 

Cathedrale St-Maurice

Trevoux's Fortified Castle

We returned to the Amadagio for lunch and then a splendid afternoon cruise through more locks, very low bridges (so low we were unable to sit on the upper deck of the ship), and past Lyon (France's second largest city) to Trevoux, former capital of Dombes.  We viewed lovely estates, chateaux, and were accompanied along the way be an occasional family of swans.  We docked during dinner, which was followed for a nice evening tour of the town which was home of the painter Maurice Utrillo. 

 Village North of Lyon

 Leaving Last Lock of the day

Early tour in the morning for Beaujolais tasting, so Bon nuit and a demain..........

Tournon, Wine, Chocolate, and Captain's Gala

Monday, July 23.  Day 6 - No Minstrel.  Yea!!! It lasted, as predicted, three days .  Most of our group headed off today through the scenic countryside to the village of Cornas, which is in the heart of the Codes du Rhone wine region.  Wine from here has been famous since the 10th century and continues to so today.  The wine specialist at the vineyard explained the machinery and wine making process, the AOC Ratings (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée), the care and pruning of the vines, and took them to the wine cellars.  At Cornas there are 90 hectares (about 222 acres) of grape vines that produce about 4000 hl (roughly 106,000 gallons) of Syrah wine.  I haven't heard if anyone had a case shipped home. 

 No wrath on these grapes from the village of Cornas

Wine Tasting in Cornas

Another group of us went to Tournon's Castle for a culinary tour, learning to pair red wines with chocolate made deserts!  Tournon Castle, a feudal castle dating from the 10th century, sits in the city opposite the famous terraces of the Tain-l'Hermitage vineyards.  We were accompanied to the castle by Marie-Josee Faure, owner of the Les Sens'Ciel, a sweet little wine store in Tournon, and Carrine Contessi, a chef and chocolate expert, from the famous chocolate factory located across the river.  Marie-Josee explained that the wine is chosen first, and then the complimentary chocolate ingredients (beginning first with butter, cocoa paste, sugar and spices) are prepared into sweet little delights in balance with the wine.  We began with the simplest wines and complimentary chocolate deserts, and then moved to more intense wines and more intricate chocolate desserts.  We found, indeed, chocolate and red wine can be correctly selected to compliment the other!  Where's Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp?

 Castle in Tournon where we paired wine and chocolate

All Aboard! at 12:30 to continue up the Rhone towards Vienne.  The shipped offered tours of the wheel house during the afternoon.  Our ship cruised lazily passing charming villages, churches, and vineyards, we passed through several locks and one extremely low bridge.  An excellent way to pass restful and beautiful afternoon! 

 Charming villages along the Rhone

The Largest Lock yet

Docking in Vienne Monday Night

A guest sommelier, Laurent, hosted a Cotes du Rhone wine tasting in the afternoon.  The Captain's Gala Dinner was held in the evening.  Jean and Dwight were invited to sit with the Captain, his wife, and other guests at his table as they were celebrating their anniversary.  Baked Alaska was grandly presented around the dining room as a most amazing finale to this evening!  A demain.......

Dwight and Jean Denny at Captain's Table

Captain Louis Devaux and his wife Patricia

Grignan and Dancing

Sunday, July 22.  Day 5 of our continuing adventure aboard the AMA Amadagio.  The Minstrel is still with us, however the sun is shining bright.  It is this Minstrel that chases the clouds and makes the sky clearest blue that drew the Impressionist painters to this particular part of Provence. With the light ever-changing artists, such as Van Gogh,  painted the same subject again and again with different colors.  On to our travels today...

After a delicious breakfast we boarded our bus for a trip to Grignan Castle, passing fields of lavender and sunflowers, with their heads turned to the sun. Grignan Castle is situated on a rocky plateau dominating the Drôme provençale countryside.  Our wonderful guide, Sandrine Mas, explained to us that this Renaissence palace was where the Marchioness de Sévigné lived in the 17th century.  The palace is filled with lovely tapestries, fine art and period antiques.  We were only allowed to tour the grounds, however, the views were breathtaking!  Grignan Castle is still used for many musical, literary, and theatrical events. After our tour we made our way down to the small quaint town for some shopping, stopping along the way for cappuccino and the most wonderful almond croissants Liz, Cindy and I have ever tasted.   Others settled for other French breads from the bakery, and didn't know what they were missing!

Grignan Castle amid lavender field

Market in Grignan

We again boarded our bus, riding through the plane tree lanes, viewing the so beautiful countryside on our way to La Rabassiere, the truffle farm owned by Corinne and Serge Aurel, a most delightful couple.  They are the 5th generation owners, and M. Aurel explained through Sandrine the workings of his farm with such passion and truly joie de vie (joy of life) that we were all caught up with his enthusiasm.  He explained that truffles are underground mushrooms or fungi that grow on the roots of the white and black oak trees.  M. Aurel plants white and black trees alternately in preparation for growing truffles 20 or so inches below the ground around the roots of the trees.  The truffles are harvested in both the summer and the winter, and the winter harvest produces the best truffles, about 60 kilos, for which he makes 10,000 euros a kilo.  He has a wonderful helper, his Italian bred dog, Amie, who has been trained to search for the truffles, dig them up, and carefully present them to M. Aurel.  She was a wonderful little dog who loves truffles and biscuits!  M. Aurel also cut us fresh lavender bouquets from his lavender garden.  Madame Aurel and her son prepared trays of French bread with assorted truffle toppings for us to taste along with a glass of new red wine.  Meeting M. Aurel and his family will be one of the highlights of this adventure.  As we bid goodby to the Aurel's and started our way back to the Rhone River, a car passed us and flagged the bus to stop:  to our surprise M. Aurel jumped out of the car bringing Kay's glasses that she'd left at his farm!  How nice is that???

Our hosts, Corinne and Serge Aurel, along with Amie, the truffle dog

We set sail in the afternoon for Tournon and had a great ice cream party on the way.  After dinner the Captain, his crew and Peter Whitehead, our cruise director, hosted a 60s party!  I hope someone has pictures of Linda, Joe, Joanne, Rebecca, Marion and Trish,  Vikki, Brenda and David, really doing a great job on dance floor.  (Sorry if I've left any one out---the dance floor was very crowded!).     Bon nuit and a demain.....

Ginger and Fred Astaire (aka the Bolins) at the 60's party Sunday night

Avignon

Saturday, July 21.  We woke and were greeted by the "Mistrel", also know as the master.  The Minstrel is a very strong wind that blows down river at up to sixty miles per hour at times during the year.  The gardeners and farmers have planted barriers of cedar trees to block the wind from their crops.  The Rhone River runs through a valley that funnels the wind that blows for 3, 6, 9 and even 12 days in succession.

We began today docked at Avignon, a lovely former Roman river town.  The first thing we noticed were the city ramparts, the bridge of Avignon, and the Palace of Popes, right in the town center.   Avignon is referred to as the City of Popes, and was designated a World Heritage Site.  The city was selected by Pope Clement V as his residence in 1309, causing a riff with the Catholic Church which would last for almost 70 years.  Eventually it returned to the French in 1791.   One of our groups toured the Palace which was built in by Benoit XII in 1342.  the Palace is known for it's reception courtyard and wonderful 14th century frescos by Simone Martini.

Palace of Popes, Avignon

Another small group were met at the boat by a local chef who accompanied them to Les Halles food market, where they saw a skinned rabbits, fish, vegetables, and spices among other French specialties, and  where they bought necessary ingredients to cook a simple French lunch.  Among several other dishes, they prepared a lovely olive tapenade.

Inside Les Halles Food Market

Our third group toured the Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gard River.  It was constructed in the first century to carry necessary water, about 40 million gallons daily,  between Uzes and Nimes, about 30 miles.  The Pont De Gard is a masterpiece of Roman engineering consisting of three separate levels or arches.  The stone was measured and individually cut and numbered at a nearby quarry.  It is one of the best preserved Roman aqueduct and was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1985.   The group went on to Uzes, a medieval hilltop town, which is still home to the Dukes of Uzes. The group wandered through the weekly market selling many items, including lovely pottery for which Uzes is known.

Pont du Gard, Roman aqueduct bridge

We continued our trip up the Rhone River passing through a number of locks, including the largest one on the river.  We docked after dinner at Viviers, an amazing walled city which has been the home bishops since the 5th century.    

A lock on the Rhone River

The walled city Viviers-sur-Rhône

Cathy Marston, blog content master, Sunday morning in Grignon

Peter Whitehead-our cruise director and the girls

Bon nuit, and a demain......