Today was a full day of touring in the Beaujolais and Burgundy wine country. Our 1st stop in the morning was to the Chateau des Ravatys winery in Beaujolais. We took a tour and then had a tasting in their wine cellar. After the tour we stopped for a while in the town of Beaujeu before taking a scenic ride from Beaujolais to Burgundy. We stopped for lunch in the town of Cluny before heading to a goat cheese farm way out in the country. Surprisingly, Bonnie who doe...

We had to get up early to catch a 7:15 van to the train station. There were 12 of us going from Paris to Lyon. The train station, like in the rest of Europe, was very busy. We had to wait about an hour for our train. Viking had purchased 1st class tickets on the upper level and all of us sat together. The train ride was wonderful. It was one of their high speed TVG trains which made the 300 mile trip in 2 hours. It was smooth and quiet and the rolling hills and v...

Viking offered an optional tour to Versailles this morning. Since we had already gone there on a bike tour a week ago, we decided to stay in Le Pecq to enjoy a relaxed morning. After breakfast, we went on an hour and a half walk alone the Seine. There was a path through a wooded promenade that led to a local park. There were a few animals there for kids to enjoy. We went back to the ship for lunch on the outside terrace. They had soup, salad, steak, baked potatoe...

After a scenic cruise back up the Seine this morning, we docked in Les Andelys around noon. Most of us had never heard of it. It is a very small town with only one major street that runs only a few blocks. It's primary claim to fame is an old castle called the Chateau Gaillard. It was built by Ric*************heart in the late 1100's to defend Normandy from the French King. It is mostly ruins now but worth a visit. We climbed up a long and very steep hill to get ...

Last evening we did decide to go out after dinner to see the laser/light show at the Cathedral. We were glad we did. It stays light here very late so the light show did not start until 10:30. By 10:00 the whole square was getting filled with people many with families. It is hard to describe the show but was amazingly beautiful. It was in two 10 to 15 minute parts. The 1st part paid tribute to the Viking heritage and the 2nd part was an impressionist theme. The wh...