Lyon River Cruise: Cruise Day 4

Sunday, May 25: Avignon Tour + Arles Exploration

When I woke up today and went up to the sundeck, we were docked in Avignon, and I could see the sun rising over the walls and reflecting in the river and under the famous bridge. I have such fond memories of this city from when I lived and worked in Franch in 1995, as it was my first overnight trip, so seeing this view first thing in the morning made me smile.

We left the boat around 8:30am for our morning activity, which was a three-hour tour of Avignon and the Palais des Papes. Mr. E, M, and I were able to participate in the entire excursion, but his mom, aunt, and uncle decided to stop for coffee and then return to the boat after the walk to the Palace. 

Our tour guide was very thorough and offered commentary in both English and French, so we were all able to benefit from the experience. We had some free time to explore more of Avignon before heading back to the boat for lunch and setting sail for Arles.

We arrived in Arles in the late afternoon, so Mr. E, his mom, M, and I decided to explore the city a bit before dinner. We went to the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh, which wasn’t quite what we expected, since we thought it would feature work by Van Gogh. Instead, the current exhibition was of a contemporary artist whose style was linked to Van Gogh through his treatment of everyday objects. The only Van Gogh works were two early paintings at the beginning of the exhibition, showcasing potatoes and farmers, and potatoes were referenced in one of the other artist’s pieces as well. As we continued our walk through Arles, we stopped at a pharmacy to buy small packages of Kleenex and then visited the Obélisque and passed by the amphithéâtre on our way back to the boat.

The boat remained docked in Arles overnight in anticipation of the next day’s activities.