Tracey and I have gone on Viking’s Paris to Normandy cruise twice – in 2012 and 2015. On the first cruise our ship, the Viking Spirit, docked in Paris near Parc Citroen. On the second cruise we were on a new longship, the Viking Rinda, that was too long to be able to navigate into … Continue reading Elegant Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Colmar is a medieval village in the Alsace region of France, not far from Strasbourg. Its ancient buildings and winding streets provide a fairy tale-like experience year-round, but it takes on a special charm for the holidays with Christmas Market stalls erected around the church, in front of shops, and by the old Custom House. … Continue reading The Enchanting Village of Colmar
Ahead of our Rhône river cruise through Provence with Viking in 2018, we took an all-day wine tour with Olivier Hickman of Wine Uncovered that we wrote about in our post: Our Wine Tour in the Southern Rhône. We are delighted to learn that Olivier is now also sharing his deep knowledge of wine on … Continue reading Throwback: Terroir
As we have noted in our Trip Album page, we’ve enjoyed Viking’s Heart of Normandy cruise twice; once in 2012, and again a second time in 2015 along with Tracey’s mother and her sister so that they could also visit a family member’s grave at the American Cemetery in Normandy. This cruise is not that … Continue reading Throwback: In Rouen
We’ve had the privilege of visiting the American Cemetery in Normandy twice. Our first visit was on Easter Sunday in April 2012 during our first Viking River Cruises trip. We visited the grave of Tracey’s great uncle Merton McDonald, who had died in Normandy in July, 1944. We were the first members of the family … Continue reading American Cemetery in Normandy
Our vacation in France was all the way back in November, 2018, but at our usual non-real time pace, it’s taken nearly six months to wrap up the recounting of this trip on our blog. Our last stop was a pleasure. Coming in with little in the way of expectations, we found Lyon full of … Continue reading Last Stop: Lyon
On the afternoon of our first day in Lyon with Viking, we chose to take Viking’s optional excursion, “Timeless Tour of Pérouges” to the nearby tourist destination east of Lyon. This hilltop stone village from the 13th century dwindled into irrelevance as a travel stop on the trading route from Geneva to Lyon once railroads … Continue reading Medieval Pérouges
Our Viking River Cruises’ trip from Provence to Lyon gave us two full days docked at our final stop in the city of Lyon. We sailed the short distance from Vienne to Lyon starting before dawn. Our morning was taken up by a panoramic coach tour of the city. In the afternoon we toured the … Continue reading Basilica Notre Dame de Fourvière
Fog, Again. And this time, plenty of rain to start our day on the Rhône at the village of Tournon. We started out with a brief stroll around the village with its rustic stone buildings: One of the fun sights was the recycled former phone booth (which no one uses anymore since the arrival of … Continue reading Tournon, Train & Temple
The tragic April 15 fire that severely damaged Notre Dame cathedral in Paris prompted us to revisit the photos we’ve taken in Paris of the Cathedral. Between April 2012 and November 2018 we have been lucky enough to stay in Paris and see Notre Dame four times, and have visited inside twice, so we had … Continue reading Notre Dame Memories
Halfway There Travelers 