Days 40-42 - Saturday 21st - Monday 23rd October - Tarascon - Nice - Frankfurt - Singapore - Melbourne

What a lovely feeling to not have to worry about packing last night or this morning!  Our suitcases had to be outside our door by 9am for our 10.45am departure time which meant we had a much more relaxing morning than those who were leaving the ship as early as 7.30am. Relaxed breakfast, back to the room to put last couple of things in the cases, put them out then went to the lounge to wait for our call. We exchanged email addresses with our Canadian friends and our bus left on time. We were pleased to find that Emmanuel, our guide from Avignon, would be our guide/chaperone to the Nice Airport. The drive took 3 hours but the bus was very comfortable, airconditioned and Emmanuel entertained us with commentary along the way. We stopped at one of the massive Auto Grills they have on the highways in Europe and had lunch. We were surprised at just how hot it was when we got out of the bus. Just before we got to the airport Emmanuel treated us and sang La Vie En Rose. What a gorgeous gorgeous  voice and fabulous way to end our wonderful trip. Then the waiting game started. We arrived at the airport at 2.30pm and our first flight wasn't until 7pm! We had all decided not to bother going into Nice for a few hours because we couldn't check our suitcases in until 2 hours before our flight, the cost of storing our bags at the airport was €14 per bag and the taxi was €25 each way into town.  So we sat, read, caught up on the blog, walked around and repeated that endlessly. We finally boarded our 2 hour flight to Frankfurt and thankfully the connection with our flight to Singapore was short. Then was our long leg which seemed to go quite quickly except that I think we were in an older plane which definitely had less leg room, even for me. We got to Singapore in the afternoon which was different for us because we'd only ever had middle of the night arrivals and departures. But we had a 5 hour layover! It's an enormous airport so we were able to walk and stretch our legs and we (I) bought a few things but we were already quite tired. We decided to go to the butterfly house because it has always been dark when we've been there. I opened the door to the little area before you go through the plastic curtain and took a step inside. I was met by a wave of stifling hot humid air and promptly reversed out. No thanks! We then found a quiet place to sit, wait and for me to cool down. Our flight was on time but full of kids and as John put it, seemed to be on a tuberculosis ward with all the coughing, spluttering and sneezing that wad going on. We managed to sleep a little and luckily it wasn't until our descent that one child a few rows behind us started crying. It wasn't a baby but a toddler whose mother let him stand on the seats and pretty much do what he wanted during the flight so I guess he didn't like being tied down. All the passengers around them shot dagger looks at the mother when we landed. It's always a culture shock to hear everyone around you and announcements spoken with an Australian accent. It sounds so much worse when you haven't heard it for so long. Anyway we made it home safe and sound and then fell in a heap and, not surprisingly, both got sick! Another fabulous, memorable holiday (let's hope my foot recovers soon). As Dr Seuss said "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened".

Day 39 - Friday 20th October - Cruise

Last day on the ship today. Last excursion and it was nice to know we weren't leaving until 9am. Half an hour makes a lot of difference. Originally we had chosen to visit another picturesque hilltop village with uneven cobblestones but my foot had had enough!  So instead we went to Arles, a city on the Rhône River in Provence, which is the area we're in now. Arles was also a provincial capital of Ancient Rome so not only did we walk into another picturesque town but a town full of Roman ruins which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We walked into the town with our guide and within a couple of minutes of walking we could see, looming before us, the Arles Amphitheatre built in 90 AD! Much smaller than Rome's Colosseum and this one is mostly intact and it's white like the Arena in Pola. What a beautiful and unusual structure to see in a pretty town in the south of France. It used to hold 20,000 spectators who watched chariot races and gladiator battles. These days it holds 12,000 and they watch bullfighting, plays and concerts. Who knew that bullfighting was such a big thing in southern France. We went inside the amphitheatre with our guide and sat on the original marble tiers while we listened to our guide. Fabulous! The narrow streets of Arles wind their way between these ancient buildings which makes this little town more interesting than others we've seen. We saw the Roman Theatre, with the seating mostly intact but the stage has only a few columns still standing, and passed by other ruins as we walked along the windy, but flat streets. Our guide pointed out 2 columns incorporated into the facade of a building many, many years ago. These columns are all that remain of the Roman Forum. Arles is also famous because Van Gough fell in love with Provence and lived in Arles for 16 months and produced 200 paintings and 150 drawings in his time there. Around the town there are information stations positioned to show the very spot where he painted the  most famous  of the paintings he produced in Arles, with a picture of the painting and a bit of background for it. What a wonderful way to showcase certain spots. So we made our way along the streets to the hospital where Van Gough spent time after he chopped part of his ear off, before going to the asylum in St-Rémy-de-Provence. Among the way we saw the place he painted the Yellow Cafe and there was the cafe, still standing. We saw the spot he painted Starry Night over The Rhône River and where his Yellow House was and the spot where it was painted from. At the hospital we saw the cloisters and garden as he had painted it because it has been restored and painted in the colours it was at the time he was there and the garden's been planted as it was. Such a great experience to see all this. We then had free time so we strolled around a little then stopped to get what would probably be our last French crepe. The fellow asked us where we were from, even though John had spoken to him in French, and when we said Australia he told us he had family in Perth and knew a lot about Australia. So that's two French people we've met in our weeks in France who have family in Perth. We ate our delicious crepe sitting on the edge of the fountain in the main square and them followed our guide back to the bus. It was nice to have only a 30 minute drive back . When we got back we went down for lunch and then I was keen to get stuck into the packing so that we then could properly relax for the last little bit of our trip. The Cruise Director made an announcement to say that rather than just stay tied up at Tarascon, he would cruise us down to Arles and back again which would take all afternoon. So John very wisely stayed on the balcony and out of my way while I stuffed everything we had come with and all that we'd acquired along the way very well into our cases. We were very pleased that they each only weighed less than 22 kgs. To celebrate we opened the bottle of wine from our room bar (all included) and enjoyed it on our balcony with some cheese we'd brought back with us after lunch for this very moment. We enjoyed the lovely scenery as we cruised along and when we'd finished we changed and went to the lounge for coffee and then a few pre-dinner drinks before the farewell drinks and final next-morning instructions. We thoroughly enjoyed our last dinner on board knowing it would be our last decent meal for a while and then danced the rest of the night away with regular rests. I decided not to worry about my foot too much because I knew I wouldn't be doing any dancing and not much walking over the next many hours. We had a room credit as an extra bonus and I'd used some for my facial and some washing but we still had some to use up so we decided to use it on some top shelf Grappa which we both thoroughly enjoyed.

Day 38 - Thursday 19th October - Cruise

The ship sailed out of Avignon while we were asleep and we woke up in Tarascon. A bit sad because it's our last port.  Up for an early start for an 8.30 excursion departure. Sadly we're not in a picturesque spot in this port. We're just out of town and no views. Anyway we hopped on our buses and drove for 1.5 hours to another picturesque village called Aigues-Mortes. The countryside wasn't pretty at all. It was grey, flat, rocky and no pretty villages. It probably didn't help that it was a cloudy day. We got to Aigues-Mortes which was once an important harbour with a fortress from the crusaders' time. We didn't have a good view of the perfectly preserved city walls and towers because a fun fair  was setting up for the school holiday period starting the following week,  right in front of the gates to the town. We walked through the main street as this sleepy little town was just waking up at 10am with a few shops starting to open. Our guide took us to the little church with unusual and unattractive modern stained glass windows and the main square and that was about all there was to this town. We could have walked right around the top of the town walks but once you start, you can't turn back. Given my sore feet and the few rain drops we decided not to go. Instead we wandered around a few of the streets, bought some chocolates and then went to a cafe for a cup of coffee. On the way back to our meeting point we passed a shoe shop that had opened and John tried on and bought a nice pair of leather summer sandals which are made in Spain. Then we piled onto the bus for our 1.5 hour drive back. Back in time for lunch and then we had a free afternoon. John and I decided to take a couple of the bikes available on the ship out for a spin. They've got new e-bikes sinDay 38 thurs 19 oct cruise The ship sailed out of Avignon while we were asleep and we woke up in Tarascon. A bit sad because it's our last port.  Up for an early start for an 8.30 excursion departure. Sadly we're not in a picturesque spot in this port. We're just out of town and no views. Anyway we hopped on our buses and drove for 1.5 hours to another picturesque village called Aigues-Mortes. The countryside wasn't pretty at all. It was grey, flat, rocky and no pretty villages. It probably didn't help that it was a cloudy day. We got to Aigues-Mortes which was once an important harbour with a fortress from the crusaders' time. We didn't have a good view of the perfectly preserved city walls and towers because a fun fair  was setting up for the school holiday period starting the following week,  right in front of the gears to the town. We walked through the main street as this slept little town was just waking up at 10am with a few shops starting to open. Our guide took us to the little church with unusual and unattractive modern stained glass windows and the main square and that was about all there was to this town. We could have walked right around the top of the town walks but once you start, you can't turn back. Given my sore feet and the few rain drops we decided not to go. Instead we wandered around a few of the streets, bought some chocolates and then went to a cafe for a cup of coffee. On the way back to our meeting point we passed a shoe shop that had opened and John tried on and bought a nice pair of leather summer sandals which are made in Spain. Then we piled onto the bus for our 1.5 hour drive back. Back in time for lunch and then we had a free afternoon. John and I decided to take a couple of the bikes available on the ship out for a spin. They've got new e-bikes since our last cruise which are even better than the last. If the pedalling gets a bit hard you just increase the amount you want the bike to assist you and it takes over. It's  great!  Nicholas, the cruise director, suggested we cycle over the bridge to Beaucaire, the town on the other side of the river for a look around. We (I ) decided to ride on the footpath but had to go out onto the road for a short distance because the footpath just disappeared. We cycled past Tarascon's beautifully preserved castle and the statue of their mythical monster and over the bridge, stopping to take photos along the way. Beaucaire also had a castle which we could see at the top of a hill. We cycled to the base of the cliff it was built on and took photos looking up at it but didn't find the road to the top. We cycled around the quiet streets of the town which wasn't anything special so we made or way back to the bridge and left it to cycle around Tarascon. This was a much cleaner and prettier town with arches around every corner but also not much to see so after cycling under many arches and pulling over to let cars pass down the narrow little streets, we headed back to the ship. On the way back we cycled into the courtyard of the castle and had a look around but didn't go inside because there was nowhere to lock up the bikes on. That was enough for the day so we sat in the lounge, sipped cocktails, John read and I caught up on the blog. Then it was time to get ready for the Captain's Farewell Cocktails and then the Farewell Gala Dinner. Then we went back to the lounge for our usual after dinner drinks and dancing.

Day 37 - Wednesday 18th October - Cruise

While we were in the lounge last night talking to some people the idea was floated that we didn't have to do an excursion just because we'd put our names down so when the alarm went off at 7am for our 8.30am departure we both decided to stay in bed and wag our excursion. Someone had said the night before that after a while you thought ABC - Another Bloody Castle/Church/Picturesque Village. As it turned out there were many people who'd had the same thought and had wagged their excursions. The trip we were supposed to do would have been great but a day of rest and blog catch up was just what we needed. We would have gone to Pont-du-Gard, which is an ancient Roman aqueduct, a museum about Roman life and Uzès which is yet another picturesque Medieval town. Apparently the trip was very good but instead we had a late breakfast, spoke with Sophie to wish her a happy birthday, read in the lounge for a while, then went for a leisurely walk into and around Avignon. We stopped for coffee and croissants where our guide Emmanuel had said to go, in Place de Change. We wandered and wandered, did some gift shopping,  John bought me a lovely Desigual handbag for my birthday, and we stopped every now and then to rest. We got a little lost because we'd forgotten to get a map when we left the ship, so I asked a policewoman, who was giving a car a parking ticket, for directions. She hunted in her big bag for a map and was more than happy to show us which way to go. We were soon going in the right direction and decided to head back to the ship for lunch. After lunch we went back into Avignon so I could get some souvenirs and to go to Pont d'Avignon so we could actually walk on this famous bridge with the pretty song. Again we got a little bamboozled by the signs but eventually found our way to the bridge. We walked to the end,  down to the lower level,  along a side walkway and took lots and lots of photos. We didn't dance on the bridge as prescribed in the song because by this time my foot was killing me and we still had to make the trudge back to the ship. We had time for a relaxing drink and rest before getting all dolled up again for our special dinner at the Pope's Palace. We were picked up at the ship by two of the little tourist sightseeing trains which was cute. A few people decided to walk, but we chose the bus for a little bit of fun but going over the cobbles was interesting.  The walkers got there first of course. We were shown upstairs (many stairs) to the private banquet hall in the palace where we'd been the day before. It was arranged with beautifully set round tables for our dinner and a string quartet was playing gorgeous  music.  We sat with Nelly and Bill, our Canadian friends and enjoyed the food, wine,  music and company. What a great night. Then the trains were back to transport everyone back but John and I decided to walk back very slowly. We took photos of the Palace lit up at night and on a beautiful balmy evening we had a lovely slow stroll back through the streets of Avignon and still beat the trains. Tired and sore feet so we headed off to bed.

Day 36 - Tuesday 17th October - Cruise

This was the first day of the cruise that we didnt wake up to a beautiful sunny day but we had a lovely relaxing morning routine because our excursion wasn't leaving til 9.30am. All passengers were being taken by bus to wineries in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which is one of the most prestigious and famous wine growing areas in France, for some wine tasting. So we would have to drink wine first thing in the morning again. Life's tough at the moment. We drove through very interesting countryside. The vineyards are planted in the VERY rocky soil. The rocks came from the mountains thousands of years ago when the Rhône River flowed through that area and formed the riverbed. At some point the river changed its path and the land was left covered with rocks. And it is indeed covered with rocks. The vines are completely surrounded by rocks rather than soil. In France it's illegal to water vines and to use any chemicals at all on them. Our bus went to a winery called Botte where again we were instructed in the art of wine tasting. Again we failed and just smelt wine. That's not exactly true, we could tell the wines tasted different, just couldn't really identify what we could smell. They were all delicious though. The was a wine museum inside which we walked through which was just a little bit interesting. We bought a beautiful sommelier's bottle opening tool which John is very excited about. Then we were back on the bus and on our way to see the old ruins of the Pope's summer palace dating back to the 14thC. Wandered around, took photos but because of the thick fog we weren't able appreciate what would have been the beautiful views over to the Alps from the scenic terrace which once would have formed part of the palace. So we piled back on the bus and got back to the ship in time for lunch and during lunch we set sail did or next port,  Avignon, which was the headquarters of the french Popes for about 50 years in the 14thC. After lunch our cruise director, Nicholas, gave a presentation on the World of Fragrance. He had worked in the perfume industry years ago. Part way through the talk I started to get a headache which just got worse so I left John to take notes  (haha) and took myself of to bed with lots of drugs because it was showing all signs of turning into a migraine. Luckily I was able to sleep and when I woke we were at Avignon. Headache was better so we went up on the deck for a Pont d'Avignon party and photo stop. We sailed right up to the bridge, which is actually only half a bridge, then sailed past it,  then back again, all the time with the song Sur Le Pont d'Avignon blaring away and everyone singing along and entertaining the tourists on the bridge. The fresh air really cleared my head and we sang, drank champagne, took photos and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The Pope's Palace was resplendent up above the city which made a perfect background for selfies. What a fabulous way to arrive in a new place. Shortly after our arrival we were taken in groups into the city of Avignon to visit the Pope's Palace. We went with a gorgeous young Frenchman, with beret and all, called Emmanuel. His accent was beautiful and he was a great guide.  Avignon was again, another beautiful old city with lots of history, gorgeous buildings and was so clean. Not too many cobblestones but enough to kill my poor feet. Emmanuel told us the history of the place as we walked through the streets and eventually we got to the magnificent buildings of the Pope's Palace. We walked through several rooms, including what was the Pope's bedroom, the private banquet hall and up many stairs to the next level where we looked down into the huge courtyard from the fancy windows where the Pope used to stand to do his hand waving stuff I guess. Then we went into what was the chapel. There was a group of Asian tourists there and one of the group was singing in a beautiful voice, which showed off the acoustics of the building. We all clapped when he finished and then Emmanuel, our guide,  told us we'd now hear some real singing. Well he sang in the most beautiful counter tenor voice which made the other voice sound a little ordinary. It was just so beautiful. Then the group behind us, also from our ship, came in and their guide asked Emmanuel if he'd sing another song and he sang a french song which was equally beautiful. We felt extremely lucky. Someone asked if he'd been taught to sing and he told us he'd had private lessons for 7 years. From here we went through the last rooms and then out of the palace and back to the ship. By the time we got back to the ship it was 6.30pm and we had a reservation at the fancy restaurant on board, L'Amour, at 7.15pm so we didnt even have time for a drink at the bar but went straight to our room to get our fancy clothes on. We wanted to book for the 18th so we could celebrate Sophie's birthday but the 17th was the last night available,  so we toasted her birthday early.   We had said we were happy to share a table with others and when we went in we found ourselves sharing our table with the fellow that was the size of the side of a house. His name was Steve, a Jewish boy from Brooklyn, now living in San Francisco. He was in the film industry but had retired 4 years ago at 53 and was now spending a lot of time travelling. We had a lovely evening and he was a lovely fellow but just so enormously fat. From some of the things he said about things he'd done in the past, sounded like he hasn't always been this size. Everything he did seemed very laboured, walking, sitting, getting up. We're not sure how many excursions he did because he wouldn't have been able to go up or down steps or keep up with a group. Sad really. Anyway our 6 course dinner paired with wine was absolutely lipsmackingky delicious and after we sat in the lounge for a couple more drinks and a few dances and went to bed very late.

Day 35 - Monday 16th October - Cruise

Another beautifully sunny day ahead of us. All the cool weather clothes haven't been used at all. After breakfast the entire load of passengers were divided into groups and with several guides we set off on foot, no buses, in to visit the little medieval town (yes, another one) of Viviers. Our guide was Pierre and what a wonderful character and excellent guide he was! He was a comedian and made lots of corny jokes which added to our entertainment. He is a ballroom dancing teacher and came 6th in the European  championships years ago with his wife. Pierre walked backwards a lot of the time so he didn't have his back to us, up the steep streets of this tiny town, which was impressive. He pointed out all the interesting buildings as we passed them, talked about the various styles of architecture and was thoroughly entertaining and very knowledgeable. We were making our way to the top of the hill to see the smallest working cathedral in France, St Vincent Cathedral. This cathedral once had 6 beautiful tapestries hanging in it made in the middle ages but there were only 4 hanging. Years ago 3 were stolen, 2 were found in a cave in Italy recently but the 3rd has never been found.  When the Italian police found out where they were from, they brought them back and were promptly arrested by the French police on arrival because they didn't have any documentation for them. Pierre got us to sit in the pews while he told us the history of the cathedral and we were soon joined by all the other groups. Then they introduced the celebrated organist who played a lovely private organ concert for us. I'm not usually a fan of organ music but this was just beautiful. After the concert we walked out to a terrace at the back of the church where we had amazing views over this pretty little town and the scenic countryside. We took lots of photos then took a short cut back down via set of steps after set of steps to we got to the square where Pierre pointed out some interesting things including large holes at the base of several of the Sycamore trees (we call them plane trees). He explained that during WWII the Allies put ammunition boxes at the base of these trees to mark the way for the soldiers to find their way to the river. The ammunition boxes were never removed and caused a disease to eat away part of the base creating these very large holes in the trunk. One was big enough for Pierre to stand up in, he said he used to play hide and seek in that tree with his mum. He told us that during the war his mother & father hid a Jewish doctor on their roof while a German officer lived in their house. He survived the war and was their family doctor for many years. His uncle was shot by the Germans when he was only 20 because he wouldn't tell them where the doctor was hiding. We wandered down their "Champs Elysees", an avenue lined on both sides with Sycamore trees, which led us back to the ship, the same route the soldiers took, we farewelled Pierre and thanked him for a wonderfully entertaining tour. Back on board we headed to the Crystal Diningroom for lunch. Then after lunch it was time for our 2nd excursion for the day. It's hard work being on holidays. So this was the day we are going to do the kayaking trip down the Ardeche River through the deepest gorge in Europe but the kayaking companies closed the season early,  maybe because they had such a long hot busy summer. We were disappointed but nothing is guaranteed. Anyway we then chose the trip to the Ardeche National Park and a visit to the Caverne Pont d'Arc which was absolutely fabulous. The drive on the Tourist Road was brilliant and we stopped at a couple of scenic lookouts for the most spectacular views you could imagine over the gorge and the river. At one of the stops we saw the famous Pont d'Arc over the Ardeche River, a large  natural rock bridge formed when the Ardeche River broke through a narrow gap. It's 59m wide and 34m high and a magnificent sight to photograph. From here we continued on to the Caverne Pont d'Arc also known as Chauvet-Pont d'Arc Caverne. This cave was discovered in 1994 by 3 speleologists, cave explorers, led by Jean-Marie Chauvet. In it they found some of the best preserved cave drawings in the world and the oldest in Europe, some dating back 37,000 years. The cave has been sealed off to the public  and a replica cave was built at a cost of €50m and opened in 2015. This is what we saw and once inside you would never have thought you weren't inside the real thing. It was fabulous! !! Reproduced down to the tiniest detail. It's the largest cave replica in the world and the art is reproduced full size, with even the temperature,  darkness, acoustics and humidity reproduced. What a fabulous experience this was! In the gift shop I bought a foldout series of photos of all the cave drawings we saw because you can't take photos inside the cave. Then it was back on the buses to head for the ship which had sailed down to St.-Etienne-des-Sorts to meet us so that our ride back wasn't so long. When we were listening to Port Talk we sailed off to our next port, Châteauneuf-du-Pape. After dinner we were entertained by Véronique de Zan who sang some French songs. She was a lady in her 60s who was quite flirtatious with the men so John was glad we were sitting in a position where he wouldn't be picked for audience participation. The singing was nice but not good enough to buy her CD. When she finished her show we had a few dances to Richard's music then fell into bed yet again after a very long day.

Day 34 - Sunday 15th October - Cruise

Nice relaxing morning again as our chosen excursion didn't head off until 9.45am.  We were a little too relaxed though and had to have late breakfast in the River Cafe. We chose to go back to Tournon Castle for a tour inside and a wine tasting class so we headed off with our guide,  Sofi. We walked through a flea market in the park in front of the ship and heard a little bit of history of the town and the castle which was built in the mid 12thC and then mostly pulled down during the French Revolution. The church was built into the fortifications of the castle and during the revolution all the side chapels were sold off and people built multi-storey houses in these. So looks very odd to see houses and shops built into the side of the church. We arrived at the castle and first went to the wine class. We sat at long tables and watched a presentation and listened to a lovely young man, Guillame, who talked to us about the wine of the immediate region which is Syrah or Shiraz. He showed us on a map of the region and which wineries made which wine. Some made only white and some made only red and there was only one that made both. We then were  treated to tastings of some delicious and apparently expensive wines. We swirled the wine in the glass as he showed us, smelled it and then had to say what we could smell. John and I  kept saying 'wine'. Some know-alls, especially one woman from SA, thought they knew it all and came up with all sorts of things they could smell. Our little group decided they must be making this all up otherwise our noses were broken. Some silly people even spat out the wine after swilling it around in their mouth and some poured the rest into the buckets provided!!!! Not our group!  We drank every delicious little drop of both red and white and thoroughly enjoyed them even if we could only smell wine. We also enjoyed the sheep's cheese, salami and sausage we had to go with the wines. Following this we went into the castle for our tour and we learnt that a fellow from Tournon invented the suspension bridge and they still have boat jousting tournaments in Tournon. We went out onto the North Terrace and had more spectacular views over the town and the valley. Then made our way out of the castle and back to the ship where a barbecue lunch was cooking on the upper deck in the glorious sunshine. We went to our room to deposit things and collect our Maltese sunhats before heading up to lunch. What a barbecue!  Not like any we've ever prepared. There were 4 types of meat, tuna, various types of sausages, salads, vegetables, baked potatoes and yummy bread. Needless to say it was hard not to fill one's plate with food. Then we had several flavours of icecream to enjoy for dessert.  We sat with 2 ladies we've eaten with before, 2 teachers from Perth who travel together (one apparently a real aristocratic Lady). They're quite lovely and seem to share the same prejudices as we do of the bogan Aussie travellers. So that was enjoyable. After lunch we had a stroll in this tiny quiet little town,  walked through the flea market and marveled at some of the junk people try to sell. There were some interesting things like bows and arrows, a lamp bad made from 3 rifle butts, many pressure cookers and a couple of old gramophones. The lady selling the gramophones played a record and sang along to a lovely French song with a glass of wine in one hand. Not a lot to see so we headed back to the ship and before we knew it the ship was moving Away from the dock before 3 when we were due to sail off. I went up on deck to watch us do a u-turn before heading downriver and discovered that someone had been left ashore. We could see a man at the end of the little pier madly waving his arms in the air and pointing to his watch. After the u-turn the captain brought the ship up to the pier for the man to jump on. That's when we saw that it was our piano player, Richard! Apparently he hadn't logged off and even though he got to the dock at 2.45 they thought everyone was on board which meant they could set off a little early. The Captain didn't look happy. So we're now on our way to Viviers going through several locks to get down the river. We had a very relaxing afternoon sailing and I went down to the new salt room. Our ship is the first of the fleet to be fitted out with a gym and salt room as well as now having a spa tub on the deck. The salt room's floor is covered with a thick layer of rock salt, there are 3 comfy lounge beds, the lighting is subdued, there is soft music playing, and the temperature is controlled. You just lie there, relax and breathe deeply. It's supposed to be good for the respiratory system - the warm air circulates through the salt on the floor and releases the minerals into the air that you breathe. Well, it was so relaxing that I fell asleep. I said to a lady who was in there with me, "I hope I wasn't snoring". She said I did a little but that I was rythmical. Then there was port talk and then dinner. After dinner our tour director held a Movie Music quiz night which was lots of fun and John and I got 14/15 ! I think I got most of them but John made some great contributions. We didn't win though because the 2 teachers from Perth got them all right.  After a few dances and a few more drinks we fell into bed again.