Day 4 Onward to the River

The hotel we have been staying at, the Anantara Plaza, has been a 5 star experience.  They haven’t missed a trick. Breakfast has been wonderful. Plenty to choose from.   We had our luggage outside our door at 7:30.  So, right after breakfast, we loaded into our bus.  

We like sitting right behind the driver.  On our way to the boat in Arles, we stopped at the city of Aix-en-Provence.  A charming little town.   Howard’s knee was still hurting, so when they left us to explore on our own, we found this darling chocolate/cafe.  We had some lunch and he stayed put while Lynda went exploring.  The streets twist and turn and Lynda got lost.  Thank heaven for Google Maps. She eventually made her way back.  She was cold and a little frustrated with her excursion, so it was time for some comfort food - a cup of hot chocolate.  When the beverage came, it was way different than the way we usually get it in America.  It was "Do It Your Self" Hot Chocolate.  It came with a small ramekin of real chocolate (hot), a pitcher of hot milk, and a cup and saucer.  `it was up to you to figure out how much of each to use.  Lynda used it all as the chocolate was the same as the chocolates they made. She was in heaven.

Finally back on the bus as we made our way to Arles and the riverboat.  We went past a Roman Aqueduct Ruin and a very unusual sculpture on top of a building. We finally arrived at the ship, the AmaCello, an AmaWaterways riverboat. We had decided to upgrade to a room that had a French balcony so that we didn't have to walk down the spiral staircase to our original room, given that Howard was having trouble walking with his knee. Our new room is on the floor that has an elevator that went to our floor, reception/lounge, and dining room.  We unpacked and got settled in. The room is small, but we really are only going to be in it to sleep, and change clothes.  Oh yes, and for Lynda to write the blog posts at night after Howard has gone to sleep.

We went to the welcome Sip and Sail, where we met the Captain Adam (who is very young) then off to dinner.  Be prepared to see lots of food pictures.  The portions are small However, with 5 courses, you don't go away hungry. When it came time for dessert, they surprised us with an anniversary cake as well as another person at our table who was celebrating a birthday.

Cheers 

Toot and Teaser