Welcome!  Join our journey to postcard-perfect destinations. 

All blog posts are based on our personal travels around Europe, penned by J. Christina.

Subscribe to receive the latest blog post  

Travel dates: July 26- August 8, 2022

  Avignon. Ver-Pont-du-Gard. Viviers. Tournon. Tain L’Hermitage 

Provence is one of the most beautiful regions of France, stretching from the lower Rhône River in the west, to the Italian border in the east, all bound by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Rhône River occupies some of France’s most picturesque scenery and it is the only major river in Europe that flows into the Mediterranean Sea.

Our European River ship, the S.S. Catherine is moored for the night in Avignon within steps of the timeless rampart walls, and near the ruins of Pont Saint Bénézet bridge, made famous by the children’s French song Sur le Pont d’Avignon, commemorating the bridge.  At the end of a perfect day of sightseeing, the river cruisers settle in for a beautiful sunset cocktail hour, overlooking the Rhône, accompanied by a gourmet meal, paired with local wines.

Join us today on our 8-day European river cruise with Uniworld and savor the historical towns and villages along the banks of the Rhône, where we begin day three in Avignon, the heart of Provence.

Avignon is easily explored on foot, where we step off our boutique river ship today with anticipation to discover this historic town. It is an easy stroll along the warren of winding, cobblestone streets through the ramparts that encircle the UNESCO World Heritage sites.  The river cruisers join an immersive tour to the largest gothic palace in the world, Palais des Papes, once a fortress, and now a museum.  We admire its many frescoed walls by Italian artist Matteo Giovannetti while discovering its turbulent history of rebellion, pilgrimage, and massacre.

Another of today’s must-see is Les Halles, known in French as Les Halles d’Avignon, a Provençal indoor market.   Where locals, tourists, and chefs shop for fruit and vegetables from Provence, inside this contemporary-style building with a vertical green wall designed by botanist Patrick Blanc.

After an onboard lunch, we travel 30km west by motorcoach to Pond du Gard aqueduct located near the present-day town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard, on the Gardon River.  This is in France’s southern region of the Occitanie near the Mediterranean Sea. This ancient aqueduct is considered the most impressive site of the Roman Empire.  At 50 km long, the three-tier aqueduct is constructed with 50,000 tons of golden limestone, built by 1000 workers to transport water from Uzes to Nîmes. This structure remains an engineering marvel today with its mortarless construction from 2000 years ago.

All aboard!  The S. S. Catherine is sailing 83 km north tonight to Viviers, France, the smallest city in southern France.  During the evening our ship navigates three lock and dam operations: Avignon, Caderousse, and Bollene, the deepest on the Rhône River at 23 meters. Captain Pascal uses his skill and 30-year career on the river, to safely slip through the 14 lock operations on our route.  All river ships are built to strict dimensions i.e., the S. S. Catherine is 443’ long, and 37'.5 wide to navigate the narrow locks, and the pilot house retracts for low bridges.  There is no major long-distance sailing on this route, but the mooring sites are scheduled for the arrival and departure of river cruise ships and river tourism on all of Europe’s rivers.

Before dawn, our ship docks in the lower town of Viviers (vivje), at a small marina (Allée du Rhône), in the south-central department of Ardéche. It is an enchanting village where time seems to stand still with a modest population of 4,000. It is an uphill climb to reach the upper town of Viviers crowned by the Cathedral of Saint Vincent from the 12th century, the smallest cathedral in France.

The afternoon is spent sailing 80 km north and navigating four more lock and dam operations; Châteauneuf de Rhône, Logis-Neuf, Beauchastel, and Bourg-les-Valence. Our destination tonight will be the twin towns of Tournon and Tain L’Hermitage and our finale in Lyon, France.

Continue this journey by subscribing to www.scribblesandsmiles.net or follow-on Instagram and Facebook.