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Down a Lazy River to Africa
  • Paul and Nancy. We travel
  • Paul and Nancy. We travel

Down a Lazy River to Africa

A two week African Safari has been on the Bucket List for awhile and since we are going that far, we thought it would be a good idea to add on a river cruise and visit with some friends in France to get us started. En savoir plus
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  • Début du voyage
    19 mai 2025
    Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel

    And we’re off . . .

    19 mai 2025, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Here we go again . . . an early morning flight out of YVR to Lyon, France with a 3 hour pit stop in Montreal to break up a long transatlantic flight into 5 hour and 7 hour legs . . . Easier on the old bones 😎😎.

    This time a Trip in 3 Acts .

    Act 1 . . . a couple of days in Lyon where we plan to eat our way through the city that tags itself as the Foodie Capital of France. We will be joined by our good friends Jill & Matt, who will drive from their home not too far away near Toulouse. I will provide their amusement with my attempts to speak French while they convince us to try eating weird French cuisine. Or is it French cuisine with weird names?

    Act 2 . . . will have us saying adieu to Matt & Jill then we hop on the Emerald Liberte riverboat for a cruise along the Rhone River ending up in Arles. Of course there will be stops along the way to sample more French wine and cuisine and more attempts for me to refine my Stand Up comedy abilities attempting to speak French.

    Act 3 . . . this trip’s Main Event . . . Nancy’s Big (39th!) Birthday African Serengeti Safari. We’ll catch a flight out of Nice, via Doha, Qatar (!) to Arusha Tanzania for a 2 week safari that includes a dawn hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti. We end up in Zanzibar where we hear there is some world class primo snorkelling and then the loooong trip home via Germany with a day in Frankfurt.

    Then a month to recover . . . Tally Ho!    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel

    When the Travel Gods handout lemons . .

    20 mai 2025, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    . . . Make traveller’s lemonade!!!

    So we should be in Lyon by now, but a series of flight delays getting out of Vancouver yesterday and some other “May the travel gods mess with you” stuff meant we missed our connecting flight out of YUL and booked into a downtown Montreal hotel for the night.

    Air Canada had a couple hours worth of aircraft mechanical issues that they resolved and we were on board and would have made our connecting flight but then . . , the tractor/tug vehicle that pushes the aircraft back from the gate decided to hack a furball (cat people rejoice!) with its brakes locked up so another almost hour Airport Ops delay pushed us out of the connecting window.

    The bad news . . . We miss a day in Lyon

    The good news . . . We had a day to explore a bit of Old Montreal and had smoked meat for lunch👍👍. We spent a few hours wandering around Old Montreal, some of the old Expo 67 site and we checked out Montreal’s Cruise Ship Terminal (for future reference). A pleasant day all in all.

    Heading back out to YUL soon to get our flight to Lyon

    Hopefully the travel gods are appeased    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel

    Lyon . . . Romans, silk & gourmet eats

    21–24 mai 2025, France ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We made it! An extra day en route but no worries. We will begin exploring tomorrow

    Lyon, the 3rd largest city in France 🇫🇷 is situated at the confluence of the Rhone and Saône rivers in southeast France and was founded by who else . . . The Romans! It was the capital of Roman Gaul, a Christian hub by the 2nd century and became a world centre during the Renaissance for silk and printing technology. Loyal to the French King, Lyon faced great turmoil during the French Revolution, and led 19th-century French industrialization, becoming a birthplace for modern organized labour & associated labour revolts. A WWII Resistance stronghold, modern Lyon is a gastronomic and cultural powerhouse, with its historic Vieux Lyon a UNESCO site since 1998.

    A beautiful city, easy to get around, our brief stay will help us walk off the jet lag while enjoying the local cuisine. We plan to enjoy Lyon and its famous “bouchons” . . . traditional small cozy style restaurants serving hearty, rustic Lyonnaise cuisine, dressed appropriately.

    We plan to try as many as possible✅✅    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel
    2

    Flat cities are good cities . .

    22 mai 2025, France ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    A first full day to explore the city . . . we like flat cities that make walking easier✅✅. Now if only there weren’t so many hard on the feet cobblestone streets!

    We ventured over the river into the older part of town, checked out some of the Traboules (see below) and had a fine day, despite some showers, of walking off our jet leg and urban exploring in France.

    https://thisislyon.fr/things-to-do/historical-m…

    Our friends Matt & Jill who live in France near Toulouse have joined us for a few days and are fun to explore with. Always helps when you have people who know how to navigate and since both are retired pilots, they are both excellent at it. And they also know how to navigate the public transit system and buy booklets of bus passes so I didn’t need to embarrass myself attempting it in my version of trying to speak French😂😂

    Dinner at a local Bouchon is on for tonight

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouchon    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel

    One of two possibilities . . .

    22 mai 2025, France ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Either the Mayor of Lyon heard some famous Canadians were in town and decided to serenade us from the plaza in front of our hotel or the local Medieval Cosplay Club was having a rehearsal for the upcoming summer season.

    Believe what you will😂😂😂    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel

    Lyon. The soul of French Gastronomy

    23 mai 2025, France ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    In France, a good meal prepared from high quality fresh local ingredients is a treasured moment. The French are intensely proud of their reputation as food experts and Michelin Chefs are major celebrities.

    Lyon claims the title as the foodie capital of France and after a few meals here I think I know why. Today we wandered through a market, “Halles de Lyon-Paul Bocuse” named after the famous French Chef Paul Bocuse . . . “The Pope of French Gastronomy” and the incredible variety of stuff was amazing. Stalls selling cheese in endless varieties, fresh seafood, pastries and incredible types of bread, meat, sausages and chocolates . . .

    All this amazing food worked up our appetites and after a wander along the river we lunched at barge restaurant and then did a slow half hour “digestif” walk back, via Lyon’s City Hall and Opera House Plaza, to our hotel for a little Jetlag Afternoon Nap😴

    Tomorrow we board our boat the Emerald Liberte while Matt & Jill have a 5+ hour drive back to their home in village of Cestayrols north of Toulouse. A little luggage re-packing for us, another fine meal at a nearby Bouchon this evening and then we bid au revoir in the morning.

    It has been a fun few days. Lyon is a really nice city to visit and I highly recommend adding it to your “Places in Europe I should visit” list    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel

    A moment of early morning tranquility

    25 mai 2025, France ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Boarded our ship yesterday and have already settled into the calm, tranquil routines of the river

    Calmness is good for the soul

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel

    Burgundy wines in Beaune

    25 mai 2025, France ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    After heading north overnight and passing under some very tight squeeze bridges, we docked at Chalon sur Saône and then visited the ancient town of Beaune. Historically significant for its charity hospitals, it is now the wine centre of the region.

    It is said a museum is where time stops rushing and quietly waits for you to listen, look, and wonder. Beaune did that for me.

    Also, if you want multiple wine shops within a 100m radius selling 1700€ bottles of very fine Burgundian wine, Beaune is the place for you.

    In related news, it was a 3 rotisserie chicken truck (if you know, you know) local market in Chalon and Nancy mastered the art of ordering a draught beer in French!    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel

    Another Onboard Checklist Item ✅

    26 mai 2025, France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    As you might be aware, one of my favorite onboard activities on any cruise is to rise early and take in the tranquil calm of a quiet, sleeping ship on a lazy river. A big part of that morning routine is using the fancy shmancy espresso coffee machine in the lounge, timing my morning cappuccino with the arrival of the tray of freshly basked, still warm croissants👍👍

    I routinely joke with crew that “if this coffee machine is missing on the last day, do not look in my suitcase because it will NOT be there”. Today I was able to witness the retirement of our ship’s old machine and the installation of a shiny new extra fancy shmancy espresso machine!

    I think I missed a golden opportunity 😂

    My river cruising checklist gets another item ticked and my early mornings will be good to go.    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel
    1

    Lyon, encore une fois

    26 mai 2025, France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    As we continue our voyage to Arles, we have again passed by Lyon and the ship made a Day Stop which was an opportunity to explore other parts of the city we didn’t get to last week.

    The views from top of the hill, that originally attracted the Roman’s to build their fort, are excellent. The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière is very impressive and along with views, provided the background for a nice outing.

    Later this evening we will cast off and continue down the last kilometre on the Saône River and then join the Rhone, continuing our journey to our next stop, the small town of Tournon    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel

    Tournon on the vine

    27 mai 2025, France ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Tournon-sur-Rhône is in the Ardèche region of France, with the foothills of the Alps in the distance and traces its history to at least the 9th century. A key medieval stronghold, it prospered producing premium wines and expensive silk fabrics. It is now famous as the only town in France without an airport or a train station!

    The imposing vineyards that surround the town are famous in France for the Saint-Joseph appellation produced from the Syrah grape. Summers here are hot, +40 is common and the Rhone Valley acts like a giant wind tunnel with periods of up to 3 weeks of unrelenting high winds reaching as much as 100kph . . . apparently that keeps bugs away and grapevines like that!

    A very quaint and quiet little French town. Our journey continues down the Rhone to Viviers. As European rivers go, the Rhone is much less busy than the Rhine, more like a wider version of the Moselle.    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel

    110 x 11.6 meters of ship

    28 mai 2025, France ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    As requested, some ship pictures.

    The Liberté is very well appointed and she has treated us very well. The meals have all been excellent

    And for all the cruisers out there, because we know you want to know . . . best showers on any ship we have been on!

    In case you were wondering about that odd 11.40m in width . . . single locks on the Rhone River are 12.0m in wide. We just fit !

    And for you hardcore types . . . 3 x Marine Diesels, north of 2000hp driving multiple cross bussed generators for an “electric ship” and a bank of hydraulic pumps driving 3 x Azipod style omnidirectional thrusters for propulsion and all deck equipment such as capstans and gangplank cranes.

    And a hands on Captain (with a very long ponytail) who helps his crew when it is time to shore the garbage bags from the boat to the waiting truck on the dock. Great guy to talk to . . . He loves talking about his ship.    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel
    1

    Viviers . . . survived and still going

    29 mai 2025, France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    A beautiful old French town, one of the only places in France to never have been conquered or occupied in any of the multiple waves of violent uprisings that litter French history! Now still a quiet village where people are quite well off from employment in one of two large nuclear power plants or a massive LaFarge cement plant located nearby . . . Longterm steady employment seems to make people content.

    We did a very informative guided tour that took us firm our ship’s dock to the top of the town’s old fortified heights. Most of the streets leading to the heights were built very narrow so they could be easily defended if and when “undesirables” showed up. The design makes attackers approach in a very narrow front, which makes it very difficult to swing a sword . . . While being bunched up into a Target Rich Environment for the defenders with crossbows👍👍

    On a clear day we were told they can see the Alps . . .    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel
    3

    Chateauneuf du Gordon

    29 mai 2025, France ⋅ 🌬 26 °C

    Or as it is more popularly known, Chateauneuf du Pape.

    We opted into a tour of a private winery in this famous wine producing region. If we had come this far and skipped this opportunity, someone we know what have excommunicated us.

    And since we are docked in Avignon, the ancestral home of the whole excommunication thingy, we take that kind of stuff seriously.

    A very informative visit to the Bouachon family winery. They really, really take their wine seriously here.

    And for the keen eyed Tour de France fans out there, yes that is Mount Ventoux out there in the distance    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel
    1

    Avignon: A Broken Bridge and 2 Popes.

    29 mai 2025, France ⋅ 🌬 26 °C

    Is there anyone who doesn’t have a childhood memory of the famous nursery rhyme?

    Sur le Pont d'Avignon
    L'on y danse, l'on y danse
    Sur le Pont d'Avignon
    L'on y danse tous en rond

    Well that bridge is still there, still broken and still a huge part of Avignon history. Constructed as a toll bridge to make the owners rich, it was destroyed in one of the frequent floods and was never repaired.

    Back in the day, a schism in the Catholic Church resulted in two Popes vying for power. The French pope contender set up shop here in Avignon and his Italian rival pitched up in what is now the Vatican. We all know how that worked out for the French

    Rumours that an itinerant French walnut farmer from the Tarn region who recently passed through Avignon and fixed the bridge are false    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel
    1

    Arusha arrival

    1 juin 2025, Tanzanie ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    After a long 30ish hours of travelling we have arrived in Africa, in Arusha. All our paperwork being in order, we cleared Immigration and were greeted by Tauck, our Safari organizers and transported an hour away to our hotel. Roads in this neck of the woods are often 5kph shock absorber killer experiences.

    A nice slow day, catch up on some sleep, get some laundry done and have a good look around.

    We start in with our program tomorrow . . . Orientation Day and then we head off to our 1st bush camp    En savoir plus

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  • Paul and Nancy. We travelDown a Lazy River to AfricaPaul and Nancy. We travel
    1

    Day 1 . . . Out of Arusha

    3 juin 2025, Tanzanie ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Oh Dark Thirty in the parking lot, meet the drivers, get sorted into 6 to each Land Cruiser and off we go.

    Through the madness of rush hour market day in Arusha and then out to the bush.

    Animal spotting is a lot of fun, even when we upset a young bull who thought we got to close to his momma & sister. Gave Nancy a bit of a startle!

    And then we end up the day at Teeetops Jungle Hotel for 1st Class Primo treatment.

    Tanzania is a magical place, we have so much more to experience    En savoir plus

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