The ship was still sailing when we woke up this morning. We'd left the Saone River overnight and we were now travelling south on the Rhone River. Since we'd be sailing all morning, there would be no outings before lunch and so we were able to sleep in.
I went down to breakfast at 9am and sat at a table with three Americans that I hadn't met yet. I ordered lamb chops rather than eggs. They were delicious.
The weather was better than the forecast. Although it was cloudy, the sun was shining through most of the time. So much so that I had to close the blinds to be able to see the people I was sitting with at breakfast. There is a forecast for severe weather tonight including rain, strong winds and thunderstorms.
In the lounge, there was a talk by the chef about cheeses at 11am. Suzy sent to that whereas I sat on the balcony in our room and admired the view and took the opportunity to take photos along the way.
We docked at Tain l'Hermitage at about 12:30pm. Apparently the river is the dividing line between two different local government areas. On the other side of the river, the town is called Tournus.
One of the most significant buildings in Tournus is the abbey which is close to the river.
Our outing this afternoon was a chocolate tasting starting at 2:30pm. There was no need to get a bus because it was in the town just 300m away.
Our guide showed us through some of the cobblestone streets and past a church until we reached the Cite du Chocolat Valrhona.
They ushered us into a back room where a member of staff explained the process for making chocolate. She offered us beans to smell and later small samples of chocolate to smell and taste.
Our guide then took over again and showed us through the chocolate museum and then up to the next floor which had exhibits of artwork created with chocolate. The final destination was the chocolate shop in the building next door.
Suzy and I then walked back to the ship and on the way back we went inside the church we'd seen earlier.
We were back at the ship by 5:15pm. Just as we got there, the people who'd gone on the bicycle tour returned as well. They said they'd travelled about 20km on their electric cycles.
Originally the ship had been due to leave this town at 10:30pm but they decided to leave at 5:30pm instead - possibly because of the forecast for severe weather.
At the port talk this evening, we were told that there was a concern about the strong winds with the locks. The locks might be closed if it is too dangerous to navigate the locks in strong winds.
The plan was to get to Avignon tomorrow - originally at lunchtime but possibly earlier now - maybe.
When we went down for dinner, we sat with two couples from the UK. Suzy had frogs legs. I've had them before and liked them but decided not to tonight.
During dinner, we noticed the ship was making significant waves. The captain was obviously powering ahead to get to the locks and Avignon before the weather turned bad.
At about 9pm, there was a thunderstorm with lightning close to the ship. The ship was shaking and some people in the lounge were quite anxious. It didn't help when two crew members ran through the lounge wearing life jackets.
Originally there was going to be a band providing musical entertainment at 9:30pm. The early departure changed that and instead there was a trivia quiz.
By the time we got to bed, the thunderstorm had passed.
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