Our next stop on our Mediterranean cruise was the French city of Marseille.
Well, that’s where the ship stopped, all we saw of the city is what we could from the harbor and from the bus that drove us an hour and half inland on a tour titled, “In the Steps of van Gogh.” I should point out that it’s not pronounced , “van go” like many people do. It’s a Dutch name that apparently can only be properly pronounced by a Dutch person. Our French tour guided didn’t even try, she simply announced that the French can’t pronounce it either so she’d call him, “Vincent.”
The tour was a trip to Saint-Remy-ed-Provence where van Gogh spent time in the local psychiatric hospital. First stop was in the town of Saint-Remy for a restroom stop and 30 minutes for shopping or rather panic about only having 30 minutes to shop. After that we were taken up the road to visit the Monastery of Saint-Paul de Mausole that in 1889 housed the Saint-Paul Asylum where van Gogh admitted himself for treatment. The events leading up to his seeking admission were his break with fellow artist Paul Gauguin and incident where van Gogh cut off most of his ear.
This was one of van Gogh’s most creative periods and the building and grounds of the hospital are the subjects in many of his paintings. Here he painted well known works like The Irises, and Olive Trees. It was interesting to see where he worked and lived during his stay. The building where he stayed is now a museum with a gift shop, but there is still a mental hospital nearby which uses art therapy as one method of treatment. Some works by recent patients were for sale in the gift shop and there were a number of artists on the grounds painting and drawing.
Our next stop was supposed to be lunch at a French country restaurant. No, didn’t happen. When we got to the bus we were informed that the bus wouldn’t start and a mechanic had been dispatched to fix it and get us going again. Yeah, right. There were a few of us mechanically inclined folks on the tour who were sure that the problem was more than a dead battery and that the mechanic wouldn’t be able to fix it.
Turns out we were right and eventually another bus was dispatched to fetch us from the field where the bus was parked. By this point we’d missed lunch, and weren’t in good humor. This wasn’t entirely Viking Cruises problem as they contract their tours out to local operators who have to meet Viking’s standards. We were told by our guide that there were a lot of tours out of Marseille that day and most of the buses were on other trips so we had to wait.
I was delighted when our replacement bus arrived and we could be on our way. We did make one more stop in a walled city on top of a hill that Heather and I didn’t really like, but there was a nice gelato shop where we got a treat before heading back to the ship.
A few days later we received a letter in our cabin from Viking admitting the problem and refunding half the cost of the tour. It was nice to have them do that without us having to demand it.
On our way out of port we got a nice view of Chateau D’if, the famous fortress and prison in Alexandre Dumas’ novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Heather was interested in viewing it as we passed as this was a book she read as a teen.
Next stop was the small nation of Monaco, the second smallest nation in the world. Only the Vatican is smaller. Later I did see the Vatican so I can now say that I’ve seen the two smallest nations on the planet.
Again, we didn’t spend much time in Monaco, but we did walk half way across the tiny nation to get from the dock to our bus that drove us into France for our tour of the day. Our first stop was Antibes, a walled city and harbor. We had a short tour of the city and then were let loose to shop and get lunch on our own. Here Heather and I sought our favorite French food: A baguette sandwich. We did find one and enjoyed it.
Then it was off to visit the home, now museum of the French painter Renoir. In his later years Renoir suffered greatly from rheumatoid arthritis and moved to the south of France for the warmer weather. The museum houses many of his later works and has preserved his studio from that time. It was interesting to see where he spent his final years.
Then it was back to the ship and an evening meal at “The Chief’s Table,” one of the two specialty restaurants on board the ship. It was also our anniversary that day so this was a special treat. The restaurant was billed as a kind of culinary experience with a set five course menu. The menu changed every three days and on our day it as an asian seafood, wine and duck dinner. Each small course came out with a preselected wine and much description from our waiter. I don’t really remember all we ate except for the Peking Duck burrito that was the main course.
Sadly, while the meal was nice and I drank more wine than I should have, it upset Heather’s tummy and she didn’t really recover from that till we got home. You don’t want the details …
Our next stop was Tuscany and the port city of Livorno. From here you could get tours for Pisa, Florence and other places in Tuscany. Being in the cheap cabins, the good tours were gone when we went to select one so we got a tour of Lucca. Yup, I hadn’t heard of it either before I booked the tour. Turns out to be a medieval walled city with a nice gelato shop. We had a long bus ride, a short walking tour and a couple of hours to wander on our own. We found a nice restaurant for lunch and the gelato place.
I don’t remember what we did back on board ship other than comment how much Italy and Tuscany looked like California.
The next stop was the port at Civitavecchia. Yes, that’s how it’s spelled. I never did figure out how to pronounce the city name, but that’s where the cruise ships dock near Rome.
Heather wasn’t feeling well that day so I set out on the tour of Rome alone and vowed to take as many pictures as I could. Most looked like this:
Rome is a crowded city and the population of four or five cruise ships made it even more crowded. The tour was basically a bus ride to the Colosseum. From there Viking had setup a shuttle service to take you to the Vatican, Piazza del Popolo (near the Spanish steps) and back to the Colosseum. I found lunch at a pizza place and managed to stop at each of the shuttle stops. I walked to Saint Peter’s Square, but since I didn’t have a ticket, I didn’t actually get into Vatican City, but I got pictures.
I didn’t really enjoy Rome without Heather and the crowds and insane traffic didn’t make it a nice place to be. When I got back to the ship I asked myself if I’d ever go back to Rome and my answer is, “I’d go back to Madrid, I liked Madrid.”
Well that’s it for this week. Next time I’ll finish talking about our trip starting in Naples and ending in Venice.
As we come out of our food induced coma, we ask two things — did I really eat all that food and does Andrew really make up all those jokes he posts? The answers are Yes, and no. I figure I won’t need to eat again until next Tuesday and today’s one-liners were sent to me by a friend. This proves, that I don’t make this stuff up and there are other minds like mine out there. That might worry some of you …
Which side of a turkey has more feathers? The outside. Why did the banquet turkey come with a microphone? He was ready for a roast. Turkey pickup line: Is that your pop-up timer or are you just happy to see me? What do you get when you cross a turkey with a centipede? Drumsticks for everyone! Why did the turkey stand on stilts? Because nobody eat flamingoes for Thanksgiving dinner. I went out to the ranch to get some wild turkey for dinner, but they carded me. What did the turkey say when they bumped into the president? Pardon me. Turkeys always travel in luxury. Yeah, they ride the gravy train. What do you call a turkey the day after Thanksgiving? Lucky! My real estate agent is great to work with this time of year. They specialize in turn-key sales. What’s a turkey’s favorite month? Any month that’s not November! What sound does a turkey’s phone make? Wing-wing. What did the turkey say to the turkey hunter on Thanksgiving Day? Quack, Quack! Why did the farmer have to separate the chicken and the turkey? They sensed fowl play. What key has wings and can’t open a door? A tur-key. We let the turkey join our band in high school because he had his own drumsticks. I actually lost weight at Thanksgiving. I got in a fight with my family and got the stuffing knocked out of me. Turkeys have a different view of the tradition of pulling on the wishbone.
Well, it’s almost time for that great American holiday, Thanksgiving. If you want to over analyze it, it’s basically a pagan harvest festival co-opted by Christian Americans to have an excuse for recreational overeating. Yeah, yeah, it’s supposed to be about giving thanks and all that, but come on, it’s about eating foods that you don’t eat any other time of the year in larger quantities than medically advised and getting annoyed with those aunts and uncles you only see once a year. Here’s what I really know about the holiday:
On my way back home from last year’s Thanksgiving dinner I was pulled over by a police officer. I got a ticket for exceeding the feed limit …
Did you hear of the turkey who joined a rock and roll band? Yes, he had his own drum sticks.
My wife asked me to make cornbread. I told her that I thought that was a crummy job.
In my town we’re all about safety. We only let little pumpkin pies cross the street where there’s a crossing gourd.
I tell people to never tell secrets in the kitchen on Thanksgiving day … the corn has ears …
I just witnessed a turkey in a fight with and eagle … the turkey got the stuffing knocked out of him.
I’m writing a country song about thanksgiving, here’s one line I’m working on, “you turned my cranberries into blueberries the day you walked out on me …”
When my father was dating my mother he noticed my mother’s family love of pies. All pies, peach, apple, cherry — if it was in a pie crust they eat ate it. Pies were always in the house. Pies, plural, never just one. My father carefully observed the rules for cutting and eating pie at mother’s home. Here are those rules as father told it:
If there are two people, one pie is cut into four pieces and each person gets two pieces.
If there are three people, one pie is cut into three pieces and each person gets one piece.
If there are four people, the pie is cut into four pieces and each person gets one piece.
Andrew's View of the Week 