12 days Avalon river cruise through France
 

Well, we did it. Arrived in Paris on a Sunday. We were pretty tired, but met our traveling partners (another couple) at the hotel Le Meridien and proceeded to go grab a bite. The city was alive with people, although we were told by several locals that it was actually a slow time, since all the Parisiens go on vacation in August. The hotel was very well situated, the staff was friendly, the rooms were clean and of ample size with a nice marble bathroom. The breakfast was superb. Tons of choices from the buffet. There was something for everyone and the best fresh squeezed oj, and the coffee. But I digress. We scored tickets to the Moulin Rouge on Sun nite. It was enjoyable, but I would have survived without going. We did have the best 4 course dinner before the show at a small bistro offering a fixed price of 32e per person, including a bottle of wine.
We walked around Paris a lot, did the tours, the gardens etc. They were all magnificent, and I really would like to go back to Paris, however, my husband and the other couple were unimpressed, and said it was just too big a city. On the third day, we boarded the Avalon bus on our way to meet our ship. It was a 3 l/2 hr drive with a pitt stop halfway through. The sights were magical. Rolling hillsides, full of grape vineyars, olive trees, fruits and nuts. Beautiful castles and chateaus. The countryside is pristine and we were lucky enought to have a wonderful cruise director on our bus who explained the culture, political makeup, gastronomy, taxing, education and anything else you wanted to know about France. The ship, Ms. Avalon Scenery was a clean, simple but very functional and comfortable ship. The staff/crew were impecable, going above and beyond to please. The chef on board is a very talented German young man who did a suberp job of creating 3 tasty and beautifully presented meals each day for 12 days.. The cheeses were the best I've ever had, as was the bread. I would say that 2 things would have made the ship perfect: 1. get rid of the half glass full of bad tasting water that await guest upon returning to the ship, instead, offer a bottle of water, and 2. get rid of the comforters and replace with a white down. The color of the comforter hid stains, and I don't think they're laundered between guests. I'm very picky about my linens, perhaps I'm in the minority. A small, petty complaint, I know, but I'm just saying. The cruise stopped at various locations offering walking tours, most of which were facilitated by local english speaking guides. Our 1st guide was a French man with a great sense of humor. We had him 2 days and really enjoyed him. The other guides, for the most part, spent too much time on history and I felt like I was back in school. After a few of these tours, we decided to just go out on our own, which worked out just fine, as everyone was friendly the areas were easy to navigate.. We stopped several times to grab a snack, drink or shop and did just fine on our own. I wish I could tell you about wach stop individually, but suffice to say, each was better than the last. When we finally arrived at Nice, (a beautiful place and one of my favorite) and were taken to the hotel, I was impressed. The Hotel Boscolo Plaza is a beautiful hotel across from the Mediterrean sea, in a very trendy area and I had high expectations for our accomodations. Perhaps it's the fact that Nice was experiencing a heat wave, perhaps it's time to update their a/c units,(and the hair dryers, which got so hot, I had to wrap a towel around the handle to hold it), but the room was so hot, it was miserable. It's a good thing we were only there one night. I was really bummed, because in their fancy lobby is a picture of an upscale room, with beautiful furniture and linens. A far cry from what we got, even by European standards. On a bright note, it's very centrally located with a great breakfast. I really enjoyed the river cruise and would like to do another. It's a different pace than ocean cruises, with a smaller, intimate crowd. We met very interesting people and exchanged a few e-mail addresses. Now, when does fall foliage start in eastern Canada?

Sounds delightful! Can you give a price range of cost for sailing?

We leave at the end of Sept for a trip with GCT that sounds similar but we are on the river(s) just 7 nights. I think we also start at LeMeridan in Paris. What rivers were you on? - I think we will be on the Saone and the Rhone - departing Beaune?, then thru Avingnon and ending in Arles finsishing overland to Nice. Our ship has about 40 passengers. So thanks for your trip report - a good "warm up" for my journey.

suec1 I believe that you are going on the exact same trip. We had approx 100 passengers, and met and made a few friends. The cost of the sailing is somewhere around $3200.00 per person. It includes transfer from airport to hotel and vice a versa at the end of the trip in Nice, breakfast each morning, whether at the hotel(s)or ship, and lunches and dinners on the ship. We had most of our meals on the ship, and they were delicious. You will enjoy this trip very much, as France is such a beautiful country.

Enjoyed your brief trip report very much. My aging eyes had trouble reading because of the lack of paragraphs, but I plowed on.

I, too would like to know the ports of call. Did the vessel actually go to Nice?

:-)

On the GCT trip you disembark at Arles and go overland to Nice for just one night. We are staying several extra nights there as that area has alot of lovely sights.

Our ports of call were Beaune, Chalon/Saone, Tournes, Macon, Lyon, Tournon, Viviers, Arles, Avignon, and finally Nice. Suec1, I wish we had added a few extra nights in Nice, as I also think it's a lovely place, with lot's to do and see and a very active night life. Make sure to have pizza in one of the curb side restaurants with wood ovens.