We booked a cab (very clever) for 11.30am to take us to the river front where we bought tickets for a 4 hour lunch cruise on the Rhone River.
The boat, which is a converted barge, left and went up stream past the Pont Saint-Benezet which has only 4 arches remaining of the original 22. The bridge was the inspiration for the French nursery rhyme Sur le Pont d'Avignon, and it is now a World Heritage Site. We had view of the city walls.
We went down stream to the bottom of the island
that the old bridge used to connect to and then swung around and went up steam on the other side of the island passing through a 12 meter lock. At this point of the cruise it began to rain.
We travelled for another hour before reaching the Chateuaneuf-de-Pape, which was built by Pope John XX11 as a summer palace.
The food on the cruise was great - it was a 3 course meal and was very well presented. There was a French family on the table in front of ours, who were celebrating a birthday. It was great to watch the interaction between parents, children and grandchildren. Reminded us of our own family at a family function. It was a very relaxing way to spend and afternoon, we thoroughly enjoyed it.
After catching a taxi back to the apartment, we decided to call Philip, hoping to be to able to catch up tomorrow. He was still working in his shop (ladies clothing), but suggested we go to a bar just around the corner from the apartment for drinks :) We spent about 2 hours sitting and talking, as though we had been friends for years. We exchanged email addresses and hope to be able to stay in touch. We came back to the apartment and had cheese and olives for dinner (from the Les Halles market). How very French !!!:)
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