Later today, we'd be starting our Scenic River Cruise on the Rhone and Saone Rivers. It starts in Lyon and finishes in Lyon.
It had been raining overnight and it was still overcast. The temperature was 14C.
We had breakfast in the hotel restaurant at about 9am. They had a device for cooking eggs that I'd never seen before but we managed to get it to work.
Originally, we'd booked to go to Jordan on the way home after we leave France. However, with all the current problems in the Middle East, we decided that this might be too risky.
Suzy has been researching alternatives to get home and last night she found a flight that would take us from Brussels to Kuala Lumpur via Dubai using Qantas Frequent Flyer points. So we booked that flight this morning.
It was disappointing to be missing out on Jordan because Suzy has wanted to go to Jordan for years - mainly to go to Petra. We'd been booked to go there in 2020 too until Covid happened.
This morning, I managed to find a pharmacy near the hotel. Google Maps on my phone was unreliable - the blue dot kept on moving all over the place and so I was going back and forwards along various streets until I saw the green cross sign.
Suzy had gone to get her nails done and didn't get back until about noon. We had to check out by 11:30 and so I waited for her near reception.
The hotel organised a taxi at about 12:15 to take us to Quai Claude Bernard where the Scenic Sapphire ship was moored. This is the wharf where most of the cruise ships are moored.
We got there at about 12:30 and were welcomed at the bottom of the gangplank by the captain and various other crew.
Inside the ship, there were more warm welcomes from various crew members. Our room wasn't ready yet and so we relaxed in the lounge and chatted to other passengers.
At 1pm, lunch was ready. As always with Scenic, it was an excellent lunch with a nice glass of Malbec. The desserts were especially good.
Our room was ready at 1:30pm and our butler gave us a guided tour of the room's features. We unpacked most things into the cupboards and then slid our bags under the bed - just like for the ship in Portugal back in May.
Our room has a king size bed, carpet, safe, fridge, narrow work desk. There is a narrow balcony with two chairs and a window that you can slide up or down by pressing a button. The ensuite bathroom has a walk-in shower. The Wifi speed is very slow.
This afternoon there was some blue sky and sunshine but later the light rain returned.
At 6pm, we went to the lounge for a pre-dinner drink and sat chatting to a couple of Canadian women. Two other women joined the group later. I'm getting the impression that there are quite a few single older women on the cruise (widows perhaps).
There was an introductory talk at 6:30pm from the captain, his 2i/c, the cruise director, the hotel manager and the restaurant manager.
At 7pm, we went downstairs for dinner and sat at a table with four more Canadians including two more single women. As always with Scenic, it was an excellent meal with excellent service.
Apparently the ship can accommodate almost 150 passengers plus crew but there only 98 passengers booked on this tour and so there will be plenty of spare space in the lounge etc.
Our waiter (and several other crew) were from Romania.
The Canadians were very tired after their flight today and retired at 9pm. We were tired too and we were not far behind.
The ship was due to depart from Lyon at 1:30am and sail north all night and all morning along the Saone River to get to Tournus.
No comments:
Post a Comment