When we woke this morning, the ship was moored at Chateauneuf du Rhone (not to be confused with Chateauneuf du Papes where we'd been yesterday) which is an industrial town near the ancient town of Viviers. However, the dock was not close to the town and so we mainly had river views.
It was slightly cooler this morning (11C) and there was plenty of blue sky.
Our outing this morning was a walking tour of Viviers. To get there, Scenic had organised buses to take us from our ship to the town. Although there are moorings at Viviers, they were all fully occupied. The bus trip was about ten minutes and reached Viviers soon after 9am.
There we met our guides for the tour. Initially our guide led us along a long road lined with plane trees. She said this route used to be where the Rhone River flowed many years ago.
She guided us through the narrow cobblestone streets explaining the architecture of the buildings as we went. Slowly we were making our way up to the cathedral at the top of the hill.
We were lucky with the nice sunny weather - not just because it was a pleasant day but also because the sunshine lit up the cathedral.
She said this cathedral is the smallest cathedral in France. We were allowed to take photos and we were allowed to walk around the altar area.
After leaving the cathedral, we walked to a large adjacent grassed area on the same level as the cathedral that had fabulous views of the city below, the river and the mountains in the distance. At the top of a nearby mountain, there was a large statue of the Virgin Mary.
She told us that there are two power plants in the area - one hydro and one nuclear.
Next she led us down more cobblestone streets to get back to the buses that were waiting to take us back to the ship. We were back on board by 11:30am.
Our afternoon outing was scheduled to start at 1pm and so lunch was earlier than normal at 12 noon.
The primary destination was to be the Chauvet Cave which is also known as the Pont d'Arc Cave or Caverne du Pont-d'Arc. This cave, which was discovered in 1994, contains artwork that dates back 36,000 years.
We wouldn't be going to the original cave because it's protected. Instead we'd be going to a full size replica of the cave known as Chauvet 2 or Grotte Chauvet 2. It would take about 90 minutes to get there.
The bus left the ship at about 1pm and took us through rural areas including vineyards and small towns.
They'd warned us about windy roads and had even suggested that people consider taking seasickness tablets. Some of the roads were windy but seemed tame to me compared with others we'd encountered earlier this year in Scandinavia and Portugal.
About an hour into the journey, we stopped beside the road at a lookout that had excellent views of the valleys and the river below. We had time to take photos.
Further on, the bus slowed down so we could take photos of the Pont d'Arc which is a natural 50m high rock arch over the Ardeche River.
When we reached the replica cave site, we were divided into groups of 20, supplied with headsets and allocated to a guide.
We were told we weren't allowed to take photos inside. If I'd known that, I would have left my camera on the bus instead of having to lug it around the exhibit for an hour and a half.
The exhibit used subdued lighting in an effort to resemble the real cave. There is a metal walkway that meanders through the various parts of the cave.
Overall it is very impressive that they have managed to reproduce the cave in so much detail such as the contours of the cave and the stalactites hanging from the roof of the cave. They even show footprints from bears and the areas where bears used to sleep to hibernate.
The guide led us from one viewing area to another. The final one had the most artwork showing many different kinds of animals.
The tour lasted for almost an hour. I struggled with this because there was nowhere to sit down. On other guided tours, I usually manage to find a seat so I can listen to the guide.
When we emerged from the exhibit, it was drizzling.
The bus trip back to the ship was shorter than the journey to get there and we were back on the ship at about 5:30pm. It was raining when we got out of the bus.
This evening, we'd been invited to another special dinner called Table La Rive. It is held on a table at the back of the lounge area and can accommodate six couples.
It is a 10-course degustation meal with excellent food that is well presented. Before each course, the chefs and waiters describe the dish. Although they provide a different wine with each course, Suzy and I stuck with the red wine all the way through.
The waiters make the evening very entertaining. For example one waiter showed us how he can balance one empty wine bottle on another empty bottle before finally revealing that they were stuck together with a cork. It was a lot of fun.
The entertainment in the lounge was a disco night with music that suited our generation. People were dancing, singing, chatting and having a great time. It was a wonderful evening. It doesn't get better than this.
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