Day 27 - Thursday 26th October 2023

Overnight the ship had left Avignon and we were now docked at Arles. It was another cloudy morning with a mild temperature of 15C.

We had a very pleasant view of the city of Arles. Across the river from the ship we could see the ruins of an ancient stone bridge. Further on was the city with its stone walls, stone buildings and churches.

This morning I ordered the minute steak for breakfast as a change from eggs and omelettes. It took longer than a minute but when it did arrive, it was delicious. Back home, if you order breakfast steak, it's normally pretty ordinary but this was perfect.

This morning we'd decided to do the walking tour of Arles starting at 9am.

There was a ship moored between us and the dock and so we needed to climb up the stairs to our sundeck, across a ramp to their sundeck and down spiral stairs (fairly dicey) and then along various ramps to get ashore. So we'd already had good exercise before reaching dry land.

Our guide informed us that Vincent van Gogh used to live in Arles (even though he was Dutch) and much of her commentary was about him on the tour.

Initially she took us through city streets and plazas. Her effort to try to make it sound attractive wasn't helped by noisy construction work on the streets and buildings.

The first destination was the Roman amphitheatre which is in reasonably good condition considering it is 2000 years old. Most of the external stone arches are intact.

She led us into the amphitheatre and we sat in the grandstand just like audiences would have done over the centuries.

She described how the amphitheatre had been used for various forms of entertainment such as gladiator fights, animal fights and bullfights.

Next she took us to the ruins of the Roman theatre. She explained that a theatre is a semicircle shape whereas an amphitheatre is two theatres joined together to form an oval shaped arena.

Although you could see the semi-circular seating of the grandstand in the theatre, there wasn't much else left standing apart from some stone columns and walls. It wasn't a functioning building like the amphitheatre.

Further on we walked through the botanical gardens to a monument commemorating French soldiers. The garden also has a monument to Vincent van Gogh.

She escorted us through various city streets to the city square which has a tall monument in the middle and various stone buildings on all four sides including a church. We had 20 minutes free time to explore the square. Suzy went shopping instead and bought herself a shirt.

There was a pharmacy nearby and I realised this was my opportunity to get some more Panadol. So I walked up to the counter and said "Bonjour je veux de paracetamol". It worked. The pharmacist did not hesitate. She spun around and placed the packet down on the counter in front of me.

When the guided tour restarted, the guide explained the stone carvings at the entrance to the church. I'd already been inside the church during our free time break.

Next she took us to another plaza that would normally have been crowded with people in the summer.

The final destination of her tour was a building which was originally a hospital but is now a library. Although she gave us 20 minutes to explore it, Suzy and I went out to a nearby plaza to sit in a cafe and enjoy an espresso coffee.

To get back to the ship, our guide showed us through the main square again, into the city hall, down more charming narrow streets with lots of shops, past the ruins of the Roman baths  to reach the river.

Next to the river, there was an elevated stone walkway all the way back to our ship. We reached the ship soon after 12:15pm.

By this time, it was a pleasant 20C.

For lunch in the dining room, I enjoyed an excellent fish and chips, a couple of glasses of red wine, chocolate mouse cake and ice cream. Decadent.

The ship left Arles at 6pm and started sailing north again.

We'd been invited to a special dinner tonight, L'Amour, in an area at the end of the lounge. Everyone gets a turn and tonight was our turn. Surprisingly, there were six or seven empty seats.

It was a special meal prepared by the chefs. There were three starter dishes followed by a beef main course, dessert and finally limoncello.

The entertainment this evening in the lounge at 9:30pm was a combination of name that voice and name that movie.

We were in bed by 11pm.

Day 26 - Wednesday 25th October 2023

The ship remained moored at Avignon overnight. It was another pleasant morning with blue sky and a temperature of 12C. Daylight saving doesn't finish until this weekend and so it was still dark when I went down to breakfast at 7:30am.

This morning, Suzy and I would be going on different outings. Hers was shopping expedition with the chef at the Avignon market and it left the ship at 8:20am.

My outing was to Chateauneuf du Pape which was located near Roquemaure where the ship was moored the night before last. It would include wine tasting.

The bus left at 8:45am. Luckily I managed to get the front seat of the bus on the right side so I would be able to take photos out the front of the bus as we travelled through the countryside.

From our ship moored in the Rhone River, we look out on the city fortifications and so the bus needed to drive past the city walls into the inner area of the city before emerging into the rural areas beyond. For much of the way, we travelled on highways or motorways.

The name Chateauneuf du Pape refers to three things: the castle, the town or region and the wine. Our guide told us that this is where the French appellation system for wine was invented.

It took more than half an hour to reach the town and we stopped at the site of the castle ruins at the top of the hill. This gave us great opportunities to take photos of the town below and the countryside beyond.

Naturally, there is a vineyard next to the castle and our guide took the time to talk about the local wine. She said the main grape here is grenache and that often it is blended to create a GSM wine. The grenache vine is very capable of finding water at considerable depth below ground.

She said the town has about 2000 residents and 375 wine makers but only one bakery.

The bus then took us down the hill to one of the wineries, Bouachon, who specialise in cellar tours and wine tasting. Pauline, one of their staff, gave us a very informative and entertaining introduction to their wines and then took us to a different room for wine tasting.

Rather than just taking about the wine, she showed us how to hold the glass, how and when to sniff the wine, how to check the colour of the wine and various ways to drink the wine. All very good information. 

They presented us with samples of three wines - a white, a red and a premium red. Unfortunately I didn't particularly like any of the wines. They don't ship to Australia anyway.

Next the bus took us to the foot of the hill and our guide showed us up to the main square and then up various local narrow streets. Naturally there was a church at the top of the hill. Along the way we took photos of the street scenes and the town below.

By this time, it had warmed up to 17C in the sunshine. We were back on the bus at noon for the journey back to our ship.

As we approached Avignon, our guide told us about a children's nursery rhyme which is popular in France that sings about dancing under the bridge at Avignon. We were back on the ship by 12:45pm just in time for lunch at 1pm.

This afternoon, Suzy went to a painting class in the lounge followed by a cooking class.

After the special occasion last night, the schedule was back to normal tonight with the port talk in the lounge at 6:45pm and dinner in Crystal Dining at 7pm.

Day 25 - Tuesday 24th October 2023

When we woke this morning, the ship was safely moored at Roquemaure which is on the Rhone River north of Avignon. There was no sign of severe weather now. The river was calm, there was no wind, there were grey clouds but the sun was shining most of the time. The temperature was a pleasant 18C.

We went down for breakfast soon after 9am.

The ship departed from Roquemaure at 10:30 and headed for Avignon.

Just after 11:30, the ship was approaching a lock and so we went out on deck to observe and take photos. The captain told me that the lock was 22m tall but it didn't look that big to me. The signs said it was the Avignon lock.

Even though the temperature was 18C, it felt cool on deck and there was a hint of a sprinkle of rain - nothing like the dire forecast from yesterday.

One thing that was different about this lock was the overflow next to the lock which was gushing like a waterfall.

At about noon, we reached Avignon. Instead of heading straight to the dock, the captain steered the ship close to the famous Avignon Bridge. No doubt he was giving us the best opportunity to take photos of the bridge and the town.

The original bridge was built more than 800 years ago and it had 22 arches of which only four remain.

Up the hill from the bridge, you can see the Popes Palace where we will be going tonight for a fancy dinner with Scenic. This is where the popes lived in medieval times.

At 1pm, there was a barbecue lunch in the dining room with chicken, steak, pork and fish. Another delicious lunch.

Our outing this afternoon was to the Pont de Gard. This is a massive aqueduct bridge across a valley 25km from Avignon. It was built by the Romans about 2000 years ago to supply water to the city of Nimes.

Our bus departed at 2pm and took us on a 30 minute drive through the French countryside with vineyards most of the way.

Suzy and I had been here before - probably about 18 years ago. It was quite different from what we remember of the previous visit because it is much better organised. There is now a building near the carpark that has a museum and shops.

They split us into two groups each with our own guide. First she took us through the museum and then to a cinema to see a film about the structure.

Then it was a ten minute walk along a wide path to get to the monument itself. At first, you see it through a few trees and then soon you are standing near it looking up admiring this engineering marvel. There are three levels of stone arches.

Our guide then took us down a gravel path near the river on the opposite side to the car park. This gave us an excellent view of the structure partly because it was fully lit by the sun on this side.

Next, we walked across the bridge. At the the top of the lower set of arches, there is a path that is now a footpath but was used by vehicles at various times in the past. Some people then climbed up the hill on the other side to get to the top of the structure but Suzy and I decided not to do so.

It was well worth the visit. It was one of the highlights of the cruise. We were lucky that by the time we arrived the rain had cleared, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. The temperature was a pleasant 20C.

We were back at the ship at about 5:45pm.

The outing this evening was a dinner at the Palais des Papes on the hill at Avignon. Scenic refer to it as a Scenic Enrich event. We left the ship at 7:30pm.

To get there, Scenic had organised small novelty trains that were only wide enough to fit three people side by side on each of the seats. It was necessary to have a narrow vehicle because some of the streets were very narrow.

Most of the way up the hill, they drove slowly over the cobblestones until they approached the steepest part where they accelerated to be able to get to the top.

The building is a large structure made of stone as usual. We climbed several stone staircases to get to the hall where the dinner would be held. Apparently this was the dining room used by the popes when holding a banquet.

The dining room had large circular tables for the guests and there was a string quartet playing on the stage.

It was a three-course meal with wine. We'd been asked to select the main course several days ago.

The event finished by 10pm and the trains took us back down the hill to our ship. We were in bed by 10:30pm after another very memorable day.

Day 24 - Monday 23rd October 2023

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.

Day 23 - Sunday 22nd October 2023

Overnight the ship had sailed further north on the Saone River and was moored at Chalon Sur Saone. This time, I was woken at 4am when the ship departed the previous port.

It was a cool morning (7C) with plenty of blue sky. It was a tranquil scene from our balcony looking out to the buildings on the other side of the river.

This morning we had booked to go on the outing to the the city of Beaune. The buses left the wharf at 9am with Sophie as our guide and took us through beautiful green countryside.

Sophie told us that the most popular sports here are soccer, rugby and basketball. They are particularly proud of their basketball team.

These towns are in the Burgundy region which is famous for its wine. She told us that most of the wine here is white wine but they are best known for their red wine such as pinot noir which sells for higher prices that their white wines.

She pointed out the limestone cliffs and said the limestone soil gives their wine its distinctive flavour. On either side of the road, we saw vineyards stretching into the distance.

Occasionally we'd drive through small villages with narrow streets. The driver had to be very careful because the streets were often only just wide enough for the bus.

Most of the houses and buildings are made of stone. Houses are usually two storey because they use the ground floor as their wine cellar and they live on the upper level.

The buses reached Beaune at about 10am. They had to park outside the city walls and we then walked a few blocks into the town where Sophie showed us the meeting point where we had to return by 12:15pm to head back to the ship.

She guided us through some narrow cobblestone streets and plazas before stopping at her favourite shop that sells chocolate, jams and other delicacies.

The main purpose of our trip to this town was to visit the Hotel Dieu which is also known as Hospices Civils de Beaune.

It was established in 1443 as a hospital for the poor as is now a museum.

Initially, Sophie took us into the central cobblestone courtyard where we could admire the architecture. The building is a solid construction with large stone blocks for the walls and heavy slate tiles for the roof. There are numerous towers and spires.

It's little wonder that it has lasted for so  many centuries.

Our tour would only go to ground floor rooms. The first room we stopped at had large paintings and various statues. The lighting was subdued - probably to protect the artwork.

After going through other rooms, she took us to the large hall that was used as a hospital. Here they had reproduced the beds on each side of the room.

At the end of this hospital room was the chapel with its altar, statues and tall stained glass window.

Towards the end of the tour, she took us through the kitchen to the pharmacy. Naturally their was a gift shop near the exit.

After the hospital tour, we had free time to explore the town of Beaune. Suzy and I found a coffee shop in the main plaza. It was pleasant sitting there in the sunshine even though it was still cool (13C).

For the return trip to our ship at Chalon Sur Saone, the bus took the motorway instead of the scenic route through the countryside. We were back at about 1pm - just in time for lunch.

At lunch we met another Australian couple and another couple from the UK. I had the duck dish for main course and the Malbec wine. Another excellent lunch.

Suzy went for a walk after lunch but there wasn't much open in the town because it was a Sunday afternoon.

The ship departed Chalon Sur Saone at about 3:30pm and headed south towards Lyon. We could admire the scenery from our balcony. From time to time, we saw swans on the river.

Suzy spent most of the afternoon rebooking our holiday now that we are no longer going to Jordan. Between Paris and Brussels, we'll be going to Strasbourg in north western France.

At about 6:15pm, we entered a lock and so I went upstairs to the sun deck to take photos. It was only a small lock - perhaps only 3m.

Apparently we'd be going through only three locks on the Saone whereas there would be twelve locks on the Rhone and they would often be much bigger.

Before entering the lock, they'd lowered the control room and a crew member was driving the ship from a small control panel near the railing.

As usual, Danielle gave her port talk at 6:45pm and we went down to the dining room for dinner at 7pm. We sat with two Australian couples (Adelaide) and another couple from the US. Everyone has interesting travel stories.

At 9:30pm, we went back up to the lounge where they ran a name that tune competition.

I was exhausted by the time we got to bed at about 10:30pm.

Day 22 - Saturday 21st October 2023

There were no outings this morning because the ship was sailing to reach our destination at lunchtime. So we were able to sleep in. When we opened the curtains, we were in a lock. We found out later that there are only three locks on this trip on the Saone River.

We went down to breakfast at 8:40am. As always, it was an excellent Scenic breakfast with plenty of choice and attentive friendly service. I had an omelette cooked for me by the chef.

This ship is bigger than other cruise ships we've been on and so there was plenty of room in the cafe area.

After leaving Lyon last night, we'd been sailing north on the Saone River. Perhaps the scenery wasn't as good as on our river cruises. The area was flat and the river was lined with trees. On many other cruises, there were more houses, towns, hills, mountains, . . . Maybe that will change later in the cruise.

The weather was much better than yesterday because it wasn't raining. There was plenty of blue sky with hardly a cloud to be seen. When we went up to the sundeck after breakfast, it felt cool (14C) but obviously much warmer than it had been in Iceland and Scotland.

At 10am, there was a compulsory safety talk for all passengers. Everyone had to have their name marked off as having attended.

At 10:30, there was a talk in the lounge area about the outings for the cruise. Before we boarded, we'd been asked which outings we wanted to do for the first couple of days. The talk ran through a description of the subsequent tours so we could tick the ones we wanted to go on.

There was plenty of choice and it wasn't necessary for both of us to go on the same outings. For example, this afternoon I'm going to a castle (chateau) and Suzy is going on a truffles outing.

At 12 noon, there was a demonstration of the Scenic Tailormade app on our iPhones. We were familiar with this app from our river cruise on the Duoro River in Portugal back in May. So we already had the app on our phones.

The ship was docked a small town called Tournus.

Lunch was an a la carte meal in the dining room. We sat with a young couple from the Gold Coast that we'd met earlier on deck.

My tour to the Chateau de Cormatin departed just after 2:30pm. There were 44 of us on the bus and I sat next to a man from rural Victoria. His wife was on a different outing this afternoon.

The bus took about 30 minutes to reach the castle. Along the way, we were treated to beautiful scenery - green pastures with cattle and sheep, small town with houses made of stone, churches and forests. We were lucky that it was a nice sunny day.

The castle is a very impressive building set on a large area of land surrounded  by well-maintained gardens. The castle is a national monument but is privately owned. The tourist fees help pay for the upkeep of the property.

Our tour guide showed us around the gardens first. Then we walked across a timber bridge over the moat. Apparently there was a drawbridge here originally.

She showed us through the castle room by room including the library, the marquise bedroom, the marquis bedroom. entertainment areas, etc. One of the features was an internal stone staircase.

Most rooms had paintings. Some of the people in these paintings had clothes but, as is so common in these countries, most of the people were nude. There were also nude statues.

The bus got us back to ship at about 5:40pm where were greeted once again by the captain. He seems to be everywhere.

We went down to the lounge at 6:30 for a pre-dinner drink. At 6:45, there was a presentation for all the heads of departments for the ship followed by the port talk giving information about tomorrow's outings.

This was followed by dinner in the dining room at 7:15. This was the Captain's Gala Dinner.

It was another classy meal - Scenic fine dining. We both had shrimps starter, leg of lamb main course and crepe suzette dessert all accompanied by an excellent French red wine. At our table, we sat with an Australian couple and a UK couple.

After dinner, we went back up to the lounge where the band started playing at 9:45pm. About half an hour later we retired to our room.

Day 21 - Friday 20th October 2023

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.

Day 20 - Thursday 19th October 2023

Today we were booked to fly from Edinburgh to Lyon in France via London Heathrow with British Airways. The first flight was due to depart at 11:15am.

There was a severe weather forecast for today. They were predicting heavy rain but when we woke up it was just light drizzle. The airport terminal is about "5 minutes walk" from our hotel.

British Airways had sent a message saying flights might be delayed because of the bad weather.

We checked out of the hotel at 8:30 and set off to walk to the airport terminal. Although it was only light rain, there was a strong wind blowing. We reached the terminal at 8:45.

At the airport check-in, my bag weighed 22kg (within the 23kg limit) and Suzy's was only 21.6kg.

It was a different layout to most airports because after checking in, you need to cart your bags to the conveyor belts behind the check-in counters. Mine sat there for 5 minutes before it eventually disappeared, leaving me wondering about whether it would turn up in Lyon safely.

After going through the hassles of a crowded security, we found a cafe to sit and wait for our flight.

All passengers were on board at 11:15am but the flight didn't depart until 12:05pm. The captain said the delay was caused by the weather and delays with loading luggage onto the plane.

Although we were travelling in economy class, we had aisle seats near the front of the plane just behind business class. Luckily, there was an empty seat next to me. In fact, in quite a few rows the middle seat was empty.

The captain managed to make up some of the lost time and we landed at Heathrow Terminal 5 at 1:20pm. The plane parked on the tarmac a long way from the terminal and so we had to cart our carry-on luggage sown the stairs from the plane and then get a bus to the terminal.

The terminal was very busy and we couldn't find a table in the cafes and so we bought takeaway sandwiches from Pret a Manger.

The plane we were going to catch was running late - no doubt because of the weather. Interestingly it came from Edinburgh.

By the time we reached the departure gate, I was limping and Suzy asked a staff member whether I could board early with the people who "need special assistance". The answer was yes.

While we waited near the airbridge, I chatted to a man who was flying home to Belgium. He said all the direct flights had been cancelled because of the weather and the only way he could get there was in multiple legs via Lyon.

Once again, we had aisle seats just behind business class. This flight was very full and they'd made multiple announcements saying there wouldn't be enough room on board for everyone's carry-on luggage. They needed some people to put theirs in the checked luggage. We were OK.

The flight left half an hour late at 3:45pm and landed in Lyon just after 6pm Lyon time (5pm London time). We waited ages for our bags but they did turn up eventually.

Scenic had organised a driver to take us to our hotel. He was waiting for us when we emerged from the terminal at 6:45pm. The traffic in Lyon was very heavy and we reached our hotel, Hotel de L'Abbaye, at 7:45pm.

This hotel has lots of character and the staff were very good. It's the kind of hotel where you sit down at a reception desk when you arrive. A pretty young girl then organises all the paperwork. Most of the staff were French but one girl was English.

They'd upgraded us to a better room on the third floor. It had a king size bed, lounge, table with two chairs, safe, wardrobe.

The bathroom had a large walk-in shower which should have been safer than a shower in a bath but, when we had a shower before dinner, the floor was very slippery. Quite dangerous. Later I asked for a non-slip mat. They could find one and instead gave us two extra towels to lie on the shower floor.

For dinner, we went to the hotel restaurant which was an elegant upmarket restaurant. For main course, I ordered deer which I'd never had before. We shared a delicious chocolate dessert.

Day 19 - Wednesday 18th October 2023

Today we'd be leaving Fort William and driving back to Edinburgh. Surprisingly it was warmer this morning than it had been for a while (10C). There was no blue sky - just a uniform high grey cloud cover. It was sprinkling lightly and there was a strong gusty wind.

We left the B&B soon after 9:30am and drove down the hill to a carpark near the main street of Fort William.

There were clothes that we wanted to send back to Australia rather than carting them around for the remainder of our holiday. This included the suit I'd brought along for the wedding, Suzy's long boots and thermal underwear that we'd used in Iceland.

We'd packed them all in a box and I fronted up to the post office to send it by British Post. I was amazed find it was going to cost 115 GBP. Much more than I expected. In the end, we decided to pay it.

Suzy had planned to get her nails done but the salon said they didn't have the necessary equipment.

So we left Fort William at about 10:30. On the way to Edinburgh, the plan was to visit two places that people had recommended: the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies - both of which are close together and near Edinburg. So we set the satnav for the Falkirk Wheel.

Once again, we travelled on narrow windy roads. Much of the time the road followed the edge of various lochs. At other times, it went through a valley surrounded on both sides but tall rugged rocky hills. Great scenery.

At about 12:30pm, we stopped at a cafe in the middle of nowhere for lunch. It was very busy because a brightly coloured double decker bus full of tourists was already there. We set off again at about 1:30. By this time the weather had improved with plenty of sunshine and blue sky.

For some of the journey, we were travelling on highways such as the A9 or motorways such as the M9. However, to get to the Falkirk Wheel, the satnav led us through narrow suburban streets.

We were only about 3km from our destination when we came across a bingle that was blocking the road and we had to find another route. It seemed as though two cars had a head-on collision trying to go through a narrow archway that was barely wide enough for one car.

The Falkirk Wheel is described as a feat of engineering. It provides a method to transfer boats from one canal to another nearby canal at a higher level or vice versa. It does this using a huge wheel that rotates with the boats inside. They say it's the world’s only rotating boat lift.

We saw it in action and we set off again at about 3:30pm and reached the Kelpies by about 3:45pm. This attraction consists of two huge silver horsehead sculptures. It reminded me of attractions back home such as the Big Banana.

The satnav guided us successfully to the Enterprise car rental drop-off area but this was a problem because we needed to fill up with petrol before dropping the car off and we turned around to find a petrol station. 

Petrol here cast about 1.60 GBP per litre (about $A3).

We got there in the end but it was difficult navigating the roads in the area.

In the end, we delivered the car to Enterprise at about 5pm. Luckily, the Hampton by Hilton Hotel was just across the road and so we carted our bags there without having to get a taxi as we had originally planned.

Our room has a queen size bed, carpet, large work desk, safe, kettle etc, wardrobe, comfy chair, plenty of power points, Wifi about 15Mb/s in both directions. The bathroom has a large walk-in shower. I imagine most of their customers only stay for one night and this room would be quite suitable.

Suzy made the comment that she needed a stiff drink after the navigation problems we'd had but we managed to wait until about 7pm when we went downstairs to the hotel restaurant for dinner.

Day 18 - Tuesday 17th October 2023

This morning we woke to a cold day (1C), blue sky and the view of a pretty fog over the lake.

Today we were booked to go on the Jacobite Steam Train from Fort William to Mallaig. This is also known as the Hogwarts Express because it was used in the Harry Potter series.

The train was due to depart from Fort William railway station at 10:15am and we were advised to be there 20 minutes before that. So we headed off from our B&B at 9:30 and walked down the long steep path down to the main street and then along to the station.

When we got there, the train was already waiting at the platform and there were already lots of passengers on the platform and on board the train. It's a long train and we found our carriage about halfway along.

I then got off and walked all the way up to the front to take photos of the steam engine. This engine (45407) is known as the Lancashire Fusilier.

There was steam coming from the engine and there was steam billowing from carriages along the train. On the platform, there was salt which must have been used to eliminate snow.

The train left the station right on time at 10:15.

Each carriage has groups of four seats with a table in between on each side of the carriage. As it turned out, we were sitting opposite an Australian man from Canberra. We had a lot in common. He was a graduate from Sydney University (a couple of years after us) in mechanical engineering before spending most of his career in computing.

He was travelling alone because his wife does not like travel. He travels a lot and we had plenty to talk about. He was good company.

The scenery along the way was better than I had expected and so there were plenty of photo opportunities. Apart from forests and hills, we saw lakes and paddocks with sheep and cattle. Luckily we were on the right side of the carriage for the best views.

Taking photos from a train or a bus is always a challenge. You have to be quick to get a photo in the gap between trees etc. Reflection off the window glass can be a problem. Today we had the extra problem of the windows fogging up.

About 20 minutes into the journey, we crossed the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct which is more than 300m long, has 21 arches and dates back to 1898. Although the viaduct is curved, it was hard to get a photo of it from the train.

Shortly after this, we stopped at Glenfinnan Station for about 20 minutes, Apart from giving us the opportunity to stretch our legs, there was a museum at the station.

During the trip, staff on the train came through with trolleys. One was for souvenirs such as Harry Potter items and another was for drinks including whiskies.

At a table near us there was a French family including two children both of whom dressed up in Harry Potter costumes. Elsewhere other children wore costumes too such as the school uniforms.

It was interesting that many people brought their dogs on the train. Near us, there was a large dog that blocked the aisle mainly because he wanted you to pat him. It must be common because there was a sign asking people not to let their dogs onto the seats.

The train arrived at Mallaig at about 12:30pm and we set off to find somewhere for lunch. We were surprised to find that the first three or four cafes we went to only accepted cash. We didn't have any cash and so we kept moving until we reached the Bakehouse that does accept cards.

We ate our lunch on the balcony outside the Bakehouse overlooking the harbour. It's a pretty location. On the harbour, there are moored boats. Further on, there are larger vessels such as a car ferry and on the other side of the harbour, there are hills and quaint housing.

Mind you, it was still chilly (8C) with a gentle breeze - especially out of the sunshine. Then again, there was plenty of sunshine because there was hardly a cloud in the sky. We were lucky with the weather. Lots of blue sky and no rain.

The train left on time at 2:15pm for the return trip to Fort William. This time we were on the other side of the carriage so that people got to share the view. The steam engine had moved to the front of the train but, although it was pulling the train, it was facing backwards.

We reached Fort William on time just before 4pm. It was a great outing.

Suzy had booked to have her nails done tomorrow morning (whatever that means) and so she wanted to find the salon in High Street. We eventually found it because Google Maps got it wrong.

We climbed back up the long steep pathway back up the hill to our B&B. We got thee at about 4:45pm.

For dinner, we'd booked at the Garrison West Restaurant for 6:30pm. It was a very nice meal. They specialise in seafood. Suzy particularly liked the affogato dessert.

We caught a taxi back up the hill to our B&B. The driver said he only took cash which was a problem because we didn't have any. Eventually he found he had an app to accept Mastercard and it worked.

We were back in the B&B at about 8:15pm. Another great day.