FOOD!

Food From Our French River Cruise

Pre-Cruise In Nice & Monte Carlo

March 17

March 18

March 19

The B-E-S-T Pizza - EVER!

And the best gelato in Nice!

Monte Carlo

On Board The Buri

March 20 - Arrival in Avignon

Carre d'Agneau aux Herbes de Provence

Herb Provencal Lamb Chops, Sweept Peppers, Artichokes, Zucchini, String Beans

Crumble aux Pommes et Noisettes

Warm Apple Hazelnut Crumble, Whiskey Malted Ice Cream

March 21-Arles

Chateaubriand

Buttered Vegetables, Potatoes, Béarnaise Sauce, Jus

"Vikings" Souffle au Chocolat

Hot Molten Chocolate Souffle with Spiced Honey Sauce & Vanilla Ice Cream

March 22-Avignon

Medaillons de Filet Mignon de Porc au Jambon de Parme

Roast Pork Medallions wrapped in Parma Ham; Mushroom Sauce Croquette Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetable Skewer

Clafoutis

Soft Cake With Fruit

March 23-Viviers

Coq au Vin

Braised Chicken in Red Wine Sauce, Bacon, Mushrooms, Silver Onion Herb Croutons and Potato Macaire

Gateau au Mascarpone et Cerises

Mascarpone & Sour Cherry Cake, Brownie Streusel, Marinated Berries

March 24-Tournon & Vienne

Gateau de Crabe Poete et Son Espuma de mais

Seared Crab Cake in Corn Espuma, Shaved Fennel and Pickled Red Onion Salad

Steak de Longe de Veau

Veal Steak, Chateau Potatoes, Asparagus, Spears, Sauce Béarnaise

March 25-Lyon

A Taste Of Provence

Veloute des Champignons des Bois

Roasted Forest Mushroom Veloute with Crisp Bacon, Musroom Chips & Truffle Sabayon

"Surf & Turf" Filet Mignon de Boeuf Roti & Gambas Saute

Tenderloin of Beef & Sauteed Shrimp; Duchesse Potatoes, Béarnaise Sauce, Red Wine Jus

Crepes Suzette & Crème Brulee

Berry Compote & Ice Cream

March 26-Beaujolais Wine Region

Boeuf Bourguignon

Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms, Onions & Bacon; Egg Noodles

Napoleon Cake

With Whipped Cream & Strawberry Sauce

Lyon March 25

Lyon!

Today we find ourselves in Lyon, France which is pretty much in the dead-center of the country.  And before beginning the stories let me say that unlike yesterday, our guide today, Sophie, was EXCEPTIONAL - on the par with typical Viking guides.  From the moment our feet hit the first step of the bus until we returned to the ship it was one fascinating story after another with tons of anecdotes and interesting historical background!  HORRAY!  The tour this morning took place under mostly cloudy skies, and we had a little rain towards the end, but for the first time since Kim & I left Nice there was no Mistral!  Our hair was not blowing all over the place and the temperatures were very pleasant.  Our bus headed into the city and we drove around some of the contemporary major parts of the city before heading up to La Fourviere, the big hill.  Just before we reached the summit there was a Roman theatre in ruins.  This side is used on some occasions for Lyon city events, but there is an even better one on the opposite side of the street, which you really couldn't see into, that is bigger and used more frequently for concerts, etc. - a seating capacity of over 15,000.

Minutes later we were outside the Basilica of Lyon.  It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and our guide told us several stories that at worst were weird coincidences throughout history where the citizens of Lyon prayed to the Virgin Mary to spare them, protect them, etc. and in spite of what would have seemed odds stacked against them they were consistently spared!  When Kim and I toured Europe last summer on a Viking cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam with our best pals Sue & Dan we saw a lot, A LOT of churches and cathedrals.  But both of us agreed we'd never seen one SO BIG, with SO MUCH DETAIL.  The photos don't do it justice.  The video (coming later) is better, but even that, you can't even imagine.

You can kind of get an idea with these two photos - the one on the left is shot from near the back of the basilica towards the alter - the people give you a relative idea of the size.  Note at the top center of the photo on the left, this section of the ceiling.....the photo on the right is a shot straight up of the ceiling mosaics.

On the walls, on both sides, are several mosaics.  And again, the enormity of them is indescribable.  They all depict historical scenes of the role of the Church in Lyon, the history of the country through the eyes of the church, or Biblical stories.  But here's the unique thing, and an amazing fact.  Below is a close up of one of the mosaics.  In the bottom right corner is a close up of the very bottom - what I'm about to describe is more amazing if you first locate the row of aqua spiral symbols along the bottom of the mosaic.....this close up illustrates the bottom of one of those and then the borders along the bottom of the mosaic.  The entire mosaic - all of them in fact - are made of imported Italian, hand cut glass!  I mean, W-O-W.

We left the basilica and walked towards the back where there is a panoramic view of the city (see the shot at the top of the page).  In the foreground is the Saone River and a little farther out is the Rhone River.  In the top photo if you look towards the top right you'll barely be able to make out four towers that sort of resemble the Seattle spaceneedle.   Those are lights for pools, but they are where our ship was tied up.  This was not NEARLY as scary a drop down as yesterday's panoramic view of Vienne.  First there was a much higher and deeper wall and second it was on a hillside that at least in theory if you went over the top you'd roll down into the trees and perhaps have a chance to not fall to your end - whereas yesterday, over you go and that's the end of that.  So Kim and I had no problem asking one of the girls to take a photo of us.  The photo of Lyon for the day!

We left this overlook and drove back down into the city where we saw a really cool "painted building" (will add pics later) that depicts all the people throughout history that have influenced the development of Lyon.  Especially on the bottom level, if you weren't looking carefully you'd think there were people and shops there!  This was right along side the Saone River so I asked the twins to pose for a memory shot :)

Next was the walking tour through Old Lyon.  And this was something I'd been really looking forward to - it did not disappoint!  Again, I have to mention our guide.  FULL of stories and details that made it all come alive.  I told her as I tipped her at the end that she was, without question, the best guide of the trip!  So, this is the story of the triboules.  In medieval days all of the merchants needed to get their goods to the river for transportation.  It was much easier for them to move them in underground passages rather than weaving through the buildings on the streets while trying to avoid human, animal, and modes of transportation of the time.  So they built tunnels underground (and above) which connected buildings to courtyards, to other buildings and then to parallel streets on the opposite side.  These doors are very inconspicuous and you'd have to know what you were looking for AND you'd have to know where you were going to maneuver through them.  Apparently the doors were always left open during these days.  But when the German Nazis occupied the town the resistance could maneuver through the city and avoid the Germans by weaving through these!  So we were able to go into a few.....below shows us walking thorough one of the passages; followed by photos of two of the courtyards; and finally by photos of the spiral staircases that are characteristic of all the courtyards - these connected the buildings to each other and allowed for a means to get into and out of both buildings.

The walking tour ended with about thirty minutes of free time so the four of us wandered back to a small, local pastry shop and had our first, freshly baked French pastries.....DELICIOUS!

Ironically upon our return to the ship we knew we were having a "Taste of Provence" special luncheon spread, but what we did not know was that this included a full table full of ...... yes, French pastries!  And they were DELICIOUS as well!

Without question, one of THE BEST days of the French River Cruise adventure!

March 25 Highlights

Le Beaux de Provence

March 21 Le Beaux de Provence

Right after lunch Kim and I were off to the bus to join the optional tour to Le Beaux de Provence where I thought the highlight was a visit to a medieval fortress and town on top of a prominent point located on top of a quarry.  We had not left the parking area for the bus when the guide informed us we'd be stopping first at the quarry site where Romans had extracted limestone for construction.  And there we'd go into a quarry for a light & sound show featuring the work of artist Mark Cheggal. 

He is well known for many kinds of art, but especially for painting the ceiling of the Paris Opera.  I thought that this would be ok to kill some time, though I didn't understand how we'd see a light show in the middle of the day at the quarry.  Well, much to our surprise and utter delight we discovered that the quarry we were going to was UNDERGROUND and the images were reflected on the walls through out the quarry.  The photos, and even the video (which will be posted soon) do not do this justice.  It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and what you cannot tell (though you get a hint by looking at the size of the people in the photos below) is that the quarry was about a football field long AND wide. 

But it wasn't completely open as you see in the pics, many columns of quarry/limestone were still there making it necessary for you to wander around.  While the images were changing and moving a wide variety of music was playing - everything from Janis Joplin, to 1930s jazz, to opera music.  The show, we had been told was 45 minutes in length, and I couldn't imagine staying that long but we were fascinated and watched open-mouthed for the entire length of the show. 

Afterwards we were back on the bus for a very short ride and then the climb to the top of the village and to walk around amid the ancient buildings and see the panoramic view. 

We were back to the ship in time to quickly change, and then head up to the lounge for drinks and celebrate the day before another fabulous dinner.

March 21 Highlight Video