Sunday, Aug 28. Tomorrow we depart on a 20 day journey in France. We have had only a little experience in France, so this will be our first real immersion in the culture. We’re booked on two Viking river cruises, the first down the Rhone River from Lyon to Arles, the second in the area of Bordeaux. In between we’ll spend four nights in Paris. (Yes, we should have booked a south to north river cruise on the Rhone, but the original plan was to visit San Sebastian between cruises. Plans change. And yes, in hindsight a cruise in the Bordeaux region probably was a questionable choice. The ship doesn’t go anywhere we can’t ride a bicycle to from the city. We’ll see how it goes.) We’re going by train, which should be fun.

We’ve made extensive plans for Lyon and Paris. I’ve booked several excursions at the other stops on each cruise, leaving us little free time. We’ll just wander when we have the chance. Obviously, a key objective is to taste the foods and wines. No McDonald’s Royale with Cheese for us!